Developing Trends in Probate Law & the Exercise of Judicial Discretion in the Surrogates’ Courts: Common Issues with No Common Answers
On October 8, Donald Craig, Melissa Dibble, Tony La Ratta, and Steven Mignogna presented “Developing Trends in Probate Law & the Exercise of Judicial Discretion in the Surrogates’ Courts: Common Issues with No Common Answers” to the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey (COANJ).
The presentation was divided into two main parts.
The first part, “Developing Trends in Probate Law,” was a review of recent cases that impacted estate litigation generally, as well as practice in the Surrogate’s Court and/or the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part specifically. The program materials consisted of a bound set of over forty case summaries with a table of contents. The speakers focused on six cases.
The second part, “The Exercise of Judicial Discretion in the Surrogates’ Courts: Common Issues with No Common Answers,” offered a discussion of the factors relevant to the exercise of judicial discretion in matters arising in the Surrogates’ Courts where existing authority provided no clear answer. These issues included:
- Conflicts between statutes and court rules
- Fiduciary account audit issues
- Exceptions to accounts
- Informal accounts
- Applications for administration by a surviving spouse in light of recent amendments to the intestate distribution statute
- Factors relevant to issuance of an order to show cause