Settlement Agreement: SCPA 2102 provides an array of strategies to exploit against a fiduciary, yet its practicality is often under-utilized. Under this section titled “Proceedings for Relief Against a Fiduciary” are six subsections of various proceedings that can be commenced requiring a fiduciary to do everything from supplying information regarding the assets of an estate, forcing fiduciaries to pay the claims of creditors or the payment of advance bequests to beneficiaries.
This article will focus on SCPA 2102(4), which can be effectively used to compel the payment of a claim or a legacy and then (later) compel compliance with a settlement agreement—a tactic which was recently shown in Estate of Petschek, a case out of New York County Surrogate’s Court. In Petschek, an SCPA 2102 proceeding was first utilized to settle a dispute concerning the failure of the fiduciary to fund testamentary trusts, then a second SCPA 2102 proceeding was commenced to compel compliance with a settlement term sheet.
