Surrogate's Court Surrogate Webber

ESTATE OF MONROE SEIFER, DECEASED, FOR SUSPENSION OF EXECUTORS’ AUTHORITY UNDER SCPA §712 AND FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LIMITED LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION UNDER SCPA §703, FOR REMOVAL OF EXECUTORS AND REVOCATION OF LETTERS TESTAMENTARY PURSUANT TO SCPA §711, AND FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATOR C.T.A. (1865/06)—This is a petition by decedent’s wife to revoke Letters Testamentary issued to her step-sons Robert Seifer and Michael Seifer on June 8, 2006 and to appoint an independent administrator, c.t.a. on the grounds that 1) the executors failed to comply with this Court’s Order dated September 11, 2008 directing them to repay the estate the sum of $90,000 as reimbursement for the executors’ commissions paid to themselves without the Court’s approval¹ (SCPA 2310, 2311), and 2) the executors have exhibited a pattern of hostility and self-dealing towards her which amounts to a breach of their fiduciary duty and a want of understanding of what that duty entails. Decedent’s wife alleges that not only have the executors’ actions prejudiced her, but they have resulted in unnecessary and costly litigation, thus wasting and improvidently using estate assets.

In support of her allegations, decedent’s wife refers to the fact that it took the executors two years to reimburse her for documented funeral expenses, and then only after being ordered to do so by this Court. She notes that while the executors had to be ordered to reimburse her for legitimate funeral expenses, they had no compunction against paying themselves unauthorized commissions in the sum of $90,000.