In the Matter of the Estate of Dorothy Dreher, No. A-4800-17T3, 2019 WL 1512720 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. April 8, 2019). Dorothy Dreher had two children, David and Rebecca. David was the executor.  Rebecca filed a verified complaint to vacate the probate judgment on grounds of undue influence and lack of capacity.  After four […]

In the Matter of the Estate of Paruta, No. A-3456-17T2, 2019 WL 92244 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Jan. 3, 2019). The testator died with no immediate family and a will that left bequests to charities and individuals, including the defendant bank employee. The bank’s Code of Conduct and Ethics prohibited employees from accepting bequests […]

Mecca v. Levine, No. A-0548-17T3, 2018 WL 6711343 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Dec. 21, 2018). This legal malpractice action arose out of the drafting of a will. The Appellate Division addressed whether a ruling in a prior litigation that established the testator’s intent estopped any claim that the defendant attorney breached his duty in […]

Estate of Chernowitz v. Dir., Div. of Tax’n, No. 004863-2017, 2018 WL 6173591 (N.J. Tax Court Nov. 16, 2018). The New Jersey Tax Court addressed whether the decedent’s $5.1 million transfer was in contemplation of her death, such that it triggered New Jersey transfer inheritance tax due pursuant to N.J.S.A. § 54:34-1. In 2012, at […]

In the Matter of the Estate of Edward Wlodarczyk, No. A-0258-16T4, 2018 WL 3431779 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. July 17, 2018). Plaintiff Anna Wlodarczyk (“Anna”) appealed from an order granting a motion by Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (“Trinity Church”) for involuntary dismissal at the close of Anna’s case. The Attorney General of New Jersey, […]

On March 1, 2018, a district court judge appointed an experienced accountant to tally the assets of the estate of Stephen Paddock, the gunman of the Las Vegas mass shooting. Paddock’s mother became his sole heir by default, since he had no will, was not married and had no children. At the mother’s request, Paddock’s […]

In the Matter of the Estate of Helen Hauke, 2018 WL 580259, No. A-4103-15T3  (N.J. App. Div. Jan. 29, 2018).

Terranova v. Estate of Stuart Paer, et al., 2017 WL 5507957, No. A-4221-15T4 (N.J. App. Div. Nov. 17, 2017).

In the Matter of Mildred Suesser, deceased, 2017 WL 5898961, No. A-0098-16T2 (N.J. App. Div. Nov. 29, 2017).

In the Matter of the Estate of Alfred Finocchiaro, Sr., WL 5898592, No. A-4532-14T1 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Nov. 30, 2017). This matter was on appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Probate Part, Morris County. Judge Fuentes, Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division, wrote the opinion.