John G Farinacci

September 02, 2022 | New York Law Journal

This column is intended to illustrate a few examples of jurisdictional issues that involve disputes over a decedent's assets or affairs to demonstrate why a choice of forum is not always as obvious or simple as one might assume.

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

9 minute read

October 29, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Suffice it to say that something as simple as raising affirmative defenses has complexities not found in Supreme Court practice. This is especially true in accounting proceedings, the procedural vehicle where parties often litigate a whole panoply of claims.

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

9 minute read

July 03, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estates column, Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci write: The interest in settling inheritance issues becomes particularly important to couples where there are children of the marriage and couples are confronted with the possibility that a subsequent remarriage will jeopardize the children's or their own inheritance rights.

By Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

12 minute read

November 01, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estate Law column, C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci conclude a series of articles about contested probate proceedings in the Surrogate's Court by focusing on the trial and pre-trial considerations.

By Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

9 minute read

March 16, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Trusts and Estates Law columnists C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci discuss additional significant court decisions concerning Article 17-A, which is widely criticized as making blanket assumptions concerning the need for guardianship based on a diagnosis rather than the specific functional capabilities and limitations of the person that is the subject of the proceeding.

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

20 minute read

June 09, 2016 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estates Law column, C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci discuss courts' balancing of the wishes of the deceased, the desires of the surviving family, and the need for bodies and organs for transplants, education and research in cases arising under the New York Anatomical Gifts Act or the right of sepulcher.

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

12 minute read

November 12, 2015 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estates Law column, C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci write: The general rule in New York regarding the payment of estate taxes is that they are equitably apportioned among the recipients of assets included in the taxable estate unless otherwise provided in a will or non-testamentary instrument. But what effect do tax apportionment clauses in a will have when a spouse elects against the will? Does the spouse's election result in a forfeiture in any benefit that a tax apportionment clause might provide to the spouse?

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

12 minute read

November 10, 2015 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estates Law column, C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci write: The general rule in New York regarding the payment of estate taxes is that they are equitably apportioned among the recipients of assets included in the taxable estate unless otherwise provided in a will or non-testamentary instrument. But what effect do tax apportionment clauses in a will have when a spouse elects against the will? Does the spouse's election result in a forfeiture in any benefit that a tax apportionment clause might provide to the spouse?

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

12 minute read

November 10, 2014 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estates Law column, C. Raymond Radigan, John G. Farinacci and Jennifer F. Hillman write that at a minimum in New York, a surviving spouse is entitled to elect to receive $50,000 or one-third of the net estate outright by exercising what is known as the right of election. The public policy is fairly straightforward; however, the logistics of calculating the elective share and the correlating tax consequences of that election can be complex.

By C. Raymond Radigan, John G. Farinacci and Jennifer F. Hillman

10 minute read

September 18, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In their Trusts and Estates Law column, C. Raymond Radigan, a former surrogate of Nassau County and of counsel to Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, and John G. Farinacci, a partner with the firm, write that the legal standards articulated in 'Janes' and its progeny should not be so rigidly interpreted without a reasonable application of the law to the facts of any given case as to do so may be a failure to "…avoid reaching determinations that arrive at unreasonable or absurd results."

By C. Raymond Radigan and John G. Farinacci

14 minute read