The Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act §707 provides that letters may be issued to any “natural person or to a person authorized by law to be a fiduciary.” This grant of fiduciary power contains exceptions. Section 707(1)(e) specifically excludes any person who possesses such traits as “substance abuse, dishonesty, improvidence, want of understanding, or who is otherwise unfit for the execution of the office from acting as the fiduciary.” Exclusions for improvidence was the subject of my last article.1
In terms of the types of petitions being brought, dishonesty has been the subject of numerous court decisions over the years but is greatly misunderstood. This article discusses the standard for showing dishonesty, refinements to the meaning of dishonesty, the standard for proof applicable to such findings and the procedure necessary to make such a finding.
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