A beneficiary reads a will and discovers an unexpected disposition. A sibling receives most of the estate. A longtime caregiver receives a substantial gift. A prior will was dramatically different. The beneficiary wants to investigate whether...
Winning a lawsuit and collecting the judgment are different stages of litigation.
A plaintiff may obtain a money judgment after trial, summary judgment, or default and still receive nothing voluntarily from the defendant. The...
A person can live, die, and have a will admitted to probate in another state while still owning property in New York. A common example is a Florida, Texas, or Connecticut resident who owns a...
A business completes work, sends invoices, and waits for payment. The customer does not immediately dispute the charges. Months pass. Perhaps the customer pays part of the balance, promises to pay later, or simply...
A trust may appear to state who ultimately receives its property, yet the final distribution can sometimes depend on a decision made years later by someone other than the person who created the trust....
A New York resident signs a will leaving most of the estate to children from a prior marriage and only a limited benefit to a current spouse. The decedent also arranged some assets to pass outside probate through joint ownership, beneficiary designations, or trusts. The surviving spouse may assume that the will...
A defendant's failure to answer a lawsuit can create a major procedural advantage for the plaintiff, but it does not automatically produce an enforceable judgment. New York CPLR 3215 requires the plaintiff to take affirmative steps, submit specified proof, and comply with notice requirements that vary with the defendant and the method...
A probate petition can be delayed even when no one intends to contest the will. One common reason is that the family tree is incomplete. The petitioner knows who the beneficiaries are under the will, but cannot identify every person who would inherit if there were no will, or cannot locate one...
A business dispute often begins with a simple accusation: one side says the contract was not honored. Payment was not made, work was not completed, goods were not delivered, a deal was terminated early, or one party says the written agreement does not mean what the other side claims it means.
A second home can be one of the most valuable and emotionally important assets in a family estate. On the East End, a residence that began as a modest seasonal property may now represent a substantial percentage of a family's net worth. The planning problem is rarely limited to deciding who should...
