As 2023 came to an end, and 2024 began to unfold, the Surrogate and Appellate Courts throughout the state have been busy issuing decisions of interest—not only to the trusts and estate practitioner but to the bar at large. Consider the following opinions.

Fourth Department Addresses Ratification and Judicial Estoppel

Before the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in In re R.W. Burrows Grantor Family Trust (Lengvarsky), was an appeal from an order of the Surrogate’s Court, Herkimer County, which dismissed the underlying SCPA 2103 petition seeking discovery and delivery of certain assets that allegedly belonged to the trust that was established by the decedent for the benefit of his daughters, and was the subject of certain terms in the decedent’s divorce settlement agreement.