New York Probate and Estate Administration Blog

According to a New York Estate Lawyer, this is a case about the estate of Bertha Weil Fitzgerald. Reports that reached his office said that the estate was left to a number of charitable institutions and couple of churches according to her will. These charities and churches are Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, including Manhattan and Staten Island, National Society for Prevention of Blindness, Inc., The Fresh Air Fund, First National City Bank as Committee of the Property of Paul S. Ames, Jr., Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Archbishopric of New York and for Terence Cardinal Cooke, The Salvation Army, Heart Fund, American Cancer Society Inc., and the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

According to the Will that was executed in 1970, all of these charities and churches shall receive each an amount of $50,000. The Fitzgerald Estate was valued at $2 million. The remainder of the estate shall be given to the Archbishopric of New York. However, Bertha Weil Fitzgerald had a 41 year old son who was, according to sources told a New York Probate attorney, legally entitled to the estate of his deceased mother. It was also said on the Will that Bertha did not intend to leave any amount r any part of her estate to her son, who was also invalid and incompetent. The son according to reports had been institutionalized since childhood and therefore was under no condition to care for himself much less to her mother’s estate. It was also noted that the grandmother, Bertha’s mother already left half a million dollars to her grandson when she passed away some years back.

This case was filed by the trust company of Bertha’s son claiming that the son, under their representation did not receive any notice about the Will of Bertha. They claim that the son was not able to file an objection to his mother’s last will and testament and that it was right to do so. It was also noted that by law an incompetent spouse or in this case a son can file for an objection if he or she was left with a sum leas than or not equal to the sum that were left to other beneficiaries in this churches and charitable institutions. It is also what is known as a case of excessive or too much charity.

Also, the New York Will Contest lawyer was also informed that the legal counsels of the charities and churches claimed that the objection of the son was not file in time and that it was already too late to file such an objection in court. It was however traced that the son was declared incompetent in 1971 a year after the Will was executed.

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We all want to trust those we love to do the right thing. For some, that blind faith in family and loved ones to do what is right may prove to be detrimental. According to a report by a NY Estate Planning Lawyer, when a will, trust or inheritance is concerned, people get dollar signs in their eyes, so much so that they become irrational in their thinking and in turn, in their behavior. Since money is touted as the most important survival tool in our country, once some people have access to it, they will take it even if it belongs to someone that they have loved and respected all of their lives. 

Such is the case for an 89 year old woman whose grandson was named the trustee of her estate, which included her house, social security checks and a trust fund that had been gifted to her 35 years ago. Within just two weeks of having been awarded the position of trustee, the grandson began removing money out of his grandmother’s accounts and plugging it back into his own, now defunct, carpet and construction businesses. 

The New York Estate Planning Lawyer reports that the elderly woman went from having $105,000 to live on for the rest of her life to losing her house and having her bank account blasted to less than $6000 by her grandson, who was caught after his own mother, the daughter of the elderly woman, realized what he was doing and called authorities. 

Though the money is gone and the grandmother is now living in a small trailer with no money, revealed the New York Estate Planning Lawyer, the woman has forgiven her grandson and is worried that if he goes to jail for his crimes against her then she will never see another penny from him, leaving her worse off than before. In Brooklyn and Manhattan this action could be prosecuted by the authorities. It just goes to show that in matters of financial planning, blood relation is not always a guarantee that your finances will be safe.

Continue reading "Granson is the alleged thief of Grandma's money reports a New York Probate Attorney" »