Surrogate Edward McCarty III
In a proceeding to determine the validity of a claim, petitioners moved for an order granting summary judgment declaring valid and enforceable their claim against an estate. Petitioners, two of the decedent’s grandchildren, commenced this proceeding against the decedent’s daughter, the husband of a petitioner, and the decedent’s grandson, as executors of the estate. Petitioners asserted that they are entitled to both their testamentary bequests and the "donative property" because respondents failed to lay bare any evidence regarding a contrary intention on the decedent’s part. The court held that petitioners have established prima facie that they are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law, determining that respondents failed to present proof sufficient to raise a genuine issue of fact as to the decedent’s intention. The court added that respondents have offered no evidence that the decedent intended the bequests to petitioners under an agreement in his will to satisfy his obligation to bequeath his donative property to petitioners.
