New York Probate and Estate Administration Blog

August 13, 1970, Julia Eckhart died leaving two children, Charlotte Eckart and Frank Darmody. In her will that was dated August 4, 1966, she left each of them the sum of $50 and the rest to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The will was admitted to probate and daughter, Ms. Eckart and Mr. Darmody submitted intent to contest the will. This is because of the size of the estate distributed by the will. A New York Estate Litigation Lawyer says that in the Estates, Power and Trusts Law, gifts to a charitable institution should not be more than half of the estate if contested by a descendant or parent. The law further states that the person can only contest if they are to receive a monetary benefit if the contest is successful as the beneficiary of the will.
Being the children of the deceased is not questionable. What needs to be decided on is if they have the right because they will receive a pecuniary benefit. The executor’s point of view was that the children did not have the right as the will expressed that Mrs. Eckhart, the deceased, did not want to give her children more than the $50, she provided for each of them. He relied on the case of Joseph Cairo as an example. The Cairo case had the specific words that said that the deceased did not wish to give the grandson, Joseph Cairo, anything from the estate. The grandson was not going to benefit from a successful contest.
In this matter, according to a report, the deceased placed her relatives in different levels as her children got $50 inheritance while the others did not. There was nothing that specifically or expressly stated she wished they do not receive anything more than the $50, she had appropriated in her will. The $50 in this case is insignificant. It does not show the intent of the testatrix if she wished to take away inheritance from her children. The law takes out intention with its provision. It keeps only what is stated in the will.
The policy of Stare decisis, which is for a judge to respect prior instances and follow that example, does not apply to this case because they are different. It is also not a hard-and-fast rule because if there is a compelling reason or if there was a misinterpretation of the law, then they can deviate from the old decision. The exceptions also have limitations.
A New York Estate Lawyer also mentioned that there is Mortmain Act that checks how much a charitable organization can get so as not to deprive or cheat relatives and dependents of the testator. It is similar to the rule that prohibits a testator from disinheriting a spouse. This does not stop the testator fully from giving everything to charity as they can still place a ‘no contest’ clause that can make sure of it. This revision in the will is a way for the testator to dodge the rule. This modification on the will did not appear in the deceased will.
The order appealed from was reversed by the Court of appeals. The matter was given back to the Surrogates court. The costs were given to each party separately payable from the estate. This would be handled in a similar way in Brooklyn and Long Island.

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Joseph Alexander died November 23, 1975, leaving his adopted son, Ronald Alexander. After the probate of his will, his son filed a petition contesting the amount given to charities as in excess percentage amount allowed by law. Executors were placed to check if the claim was valid, and the courts were asked to determine the effect of the ‘no contest’ clause of the will.
In his will, he gave all his properties, a flat in Switzerland and $25,000 per year to his son. In the event that his son dies before the end of the trust then the remaining amount will be put back to his estate.
Joseph Alexander also included in the will that in his lifetime, he had provided his son loans. He had paid indebtedness acquired by his son from other people. He expressly states in his last will and testament, from what a New York Will Contest Lawyer gathered, that if his son directly or indirectly oppose the probate of his will, Ronald Alexander will not getting any part of his estate and will only get $1 per annum.
The contest of the charitable bequest, according to the executors had no standing, because he will not receive any pecuniary benefit if the contest was successful. The executors cited the Cairo case where the grandson was expressly disinherited. Although, there was another case that was reconsidered by the Court of Appeals, which was Eckhart, this case is more similar to the Cairo case.
In this case, the will specifically state the loans and payments the testator has made for his son. According to a New York Probate Lawyer, the executors also were pushing the ‘no contest’ clause of the will. The court also does not favor the ‘no contest’ clause. The Court of Appeals has held that the challenge to the validity of an excessive charitable gift cannot result to have a person disinherited. So the filing of the case is not a violation to the terrorem clause.
The law still maintains that if the testators wish is expressly to disinherit a relative, then it will be upheld. Observers said that in this case, Joseph Alexander only explicitly stated that if his son contests the probate, then he will forfeit his share in the will. The son did not contest the probate. In was within the probate that the son expressed his concern on the amount of the bequest to charity. The question is if he will get monetary compensation if the contest is successful. This was determined to be missing. Even if the contest is successful as per the will, his son still gets the fixed amount per annum and the flat in Switzerland.
The law has a different treatment for children born within wedlock and outside wedlock when it comes to claims for support from a deceased parent. Out of wedlock minors are given support in the amount determined by Surrogate court up until the age of 21. This is taken from the deceased parents’ estate. This is typically not greater than what was determined before the parent died as their support. These are not available minors born within wedlock.
Ronald Alexander was not to be disinherited because of the case he filed to have the gift to charity checked as may be more than the half of the estate. He is still entitled to his legacies whatever the outcome of the contest is. This is also true in The Bronx and Long Island.

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