Surrogate MellaEstate of STANLEY RICHMOND, Deceased (15-1319/D) — Mari Dimano, preliminary executor of the estate of Stanley Richmond, has petitioned for an order lifting the restrictions on her letters. Those restrictions, imposed by decision and order of this court dated January 15, 2016, prohibit her from selling decedent’s co-operative apartment — the main asset of decedent’s estate — without court order. In her prayer for relief, petitioner seeks an order “allowing the sale of the cooperative apartment and permitting the proceeds thereof to be used by the estate for representation and defense of the Estate [sic] at trial.” Alan Fisher, objectant and cross-petitioner in the probate proceeding, opposes the petition.Decedent died on March 26, 2015, survived by four nieces and nephews, including Mr. Fisher, as his distributees. On April 8, 2015, Ms. Dimano, who had begun to work for decedent as a home-care attendant in April 2011, and had become his primary care-giver, petitioned for probate of a December 1, 2014 instrument under which she is named beneficiary of the apartment. On May 13, 2015, Mr. Fisher objected to Ms. Dimano’s probate petition and cross-petitioned for probate of a May 30, 2007 instrument under which he is the named sole beneficiary. A note of issue having been filed, the proceeding to probate the 2014 instrument is ready for trial on the issues of testamentary capacity, due execution, and undue influence (see Matter of Richmond, NYLJ, July 19, 2017, at 28, col 3).According to Ms. Dimano, decedent left an estate composed of the apartment valued at $400,000, and savings and checking accounts valued at $110,000. According to Mr. Fisher, the apartment is worth considerably more than $400,000, and decedent left somewhat more cash than that reported by Ms. Dimano. In any event, Ms. Dimano avers that, at the time she filed the amended petition in the instant proceeding to lift the restrictions on her letters, the balance of the estate bank account was only $1,367. Since the May 22, 2018 return day of the citation in this proceeding, Mr. Fisher has paid, or at least has tendered, monthly checks of $1,027.14 in satisfaction of the maintenance charge on the apartment; he has indicated that he is prepared to continue to pay the monthly maintenance charges until the probate petition has been determined.The administration of the assets of this estate appears to be complete. The maintenance payments on the apartment are being paid. Ms. Dimano, having provided not even a cursory accounting of the liquid assets that she acknowledges to have marshaled, has failed to substantiate her alleged need to raise cash (cf. Matter of Jones, NYLJ, Dec 11, 2015, at 20, col 6 [Sur Ct, Bronx County]; Matter of Faranna, NYLJ, Mar 2, 1992, at 32, col 3 [Sur Ct, Nassau County]). Accordingly, the petition is denied.This decision constitutes the order of the court.Clerk to notify.Dated: October 10, 2018
ESTATE OF CELESTE TRAGER, Deceased (16-1579/A) — In this final accounting in the estate of Celeste Trager, the New York County Public Administrator requests that the court determine the validity of claims and the identity of decedent’s distributees.The claims of AABP LLP, Community Surgical Sply Tomsriver, Discover Bank, and NS LIJ Park East Cardiovascular are disallowed for failure to file a claim in accordance with SCPA 1803(1).Based upon the proof submitted at a hearing before a court attorney-referee, and the report of the guardian ad litem appointed to represent unknown distributees, and the court being satisfied that diligent and exhaustive efforts have been made, without success, to ascertain the existence of additional distributees, and that more than three years have elapsed since decedent’s death and that no claim to a distributive share in the estate has been made by any person other than those stated in the record (SCPA 2225), the court finds that decedent was survived solely by two nieces and one nephew.Accordingly, the Public Administrator is directed to distribute the net estate in equal shares to Claudia Kilkenny Weissenborn, Geralyn Anne Ward and Clifford Kilkenny, pursuant to EPTL 4-1.1(a)(5).The Public Administrator shall supplement her account by affidavit and, as so supplemented, the account is settled.Settle decree.Dated: October 10, 2018
