Giftinga fundamental tool of estate planningis often fodder for estate litigation. Indeed, litigation is often fueled by issues pertaining to the validity of an alleged gift transaction, including donative intent, undue influence, and delivery. This month’s column will address decisions respecting inter vivos gift transactions, providing the practitioner with useful instruction as to their enforceability.
Determining Validity
The month of April saw two decisions in which the validity of purported gifts was the subject of motions for summary relief. As discussed below, the court in In re Rella, NYLJ, April 10, 2012, at 22 (Sur. Ct. New York County)(Sur. Anderson) granted an application for partial summary judgment and recognized the validity of the alleged gift, while in In re Goodwin, NYLJ, April 10, 2012, at 31 (Sur. Ct. Suffolk County)(Sur. Czygier), the court granted summary judgment finding the alleged gifts to be invalid, and directed the return of the assets to the decedent’s estate.
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