Representative Cases and Matters for Katherine Sohr Jedlicka

Often, controversies in families arise from a decedent's alleged decisions on gifts; and then a property turnover proceeding take place in the Surrogate's Court to deal with property that is the subject of a gift. Here, McCarthy Fingar lawyers, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka, Elizaveta S. Korotkova, and Joseph J. Brophy, successfully opposed a summary judgment motion by opposing counsel seeking dismissal of a "reverse" property turnover proceeding brought on by our client. The reverse turnover proceeding demanded that the Estate fiduciary turn over property belonging to McCarthy Fingar’s client under a family agreement made out of court regarding distribution of the assets of the Decedent’s Estate. The court denied the motion, refusing to rule that the family agreement was unenforceable as a matter of law and determining that issues of fact exist as to its validity. The court similarly denied the movant’s request for alternative relief of dismissing the reverse turnover proceeding as to the Administrator’s siblings (also distributees) as unnecessary parties, finding that the court’s determination as to how the Estate will be distributed affects all distributees’ rights; and, therefore, all distributees were interested parties in the proceeding.   

As part of their work in complicated estates, sometimes lawyers have to seek permission of the Surrogate's Court to do things that were not contemplated by decedents when they made their wills. Here, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka successfully petitioned the Surrogate’s Court for permission for the fiduciary of an estate to sell specifically devised real property in order to pay estate expenses. That application was made in order to prevent foreclosure of the real property for unpaid real estate taxes. The Court granted the relief under SCPA 1904.

Litigation sometimes takes place when agreements are signed by clients and issues exist as to the enforceability and validity of such agreements. Here, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka and Gail M. Boggio successfully opposed a motion by the former attorney for an estate fiduciary and a cross motion by the estate fiduciary seeking, among other things, to dismiss objections to the fiduciary’s judicial accounting based on a Release and Discharge agreement signed by McCarthy Fingar's client, who was not represented by a lawyer at the time the agreement was signed. The Surrogate's Court denied the motions and set aside the agreement. The court ruled the movants had not proven that the objectant was given a copy of the fiduciary’s informal account on which the agreement was based, and that she was not given a sufficient amount of time to review the same. The court also denied the motion to dismiss on an alleged violation of the statute of limitations, finding the fiduciary had not openly repudiated her fiduciary duties. 

In will & trust contests, success or failure in a case often depends upon the facts uncovered through pre-trial discovery. Here, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka and Gail M. Boggio successfully opposed a dismissal of their client’s objections that were made to the probate of the decedent’s purported Will on the grounds of lack of due execution, undue influence, and fraud. The Court denied the other side's motion for summary judgment, since the motion was made even before the completion of court-ordered discovery.

When persons who are foreign nationals die leaving assets situated in the United States, ancillary proceedings in the United States are usually required to dispose of those assets. In those proceedings, an expert affidavit is generally required to describe and apply to the case the laws of the domicile of the foreign national. That affidavit must also translate extensive passages of applicable foreign law and relevant legal documents into English from the language of the domiciliary country. Accuracy in the latter task is typically beyond the ability of otherwise capable translators who are not also lawyers. In this matter, Robert J. Kiggins, who is fluent in Spanish and familiar with the civil law system of succession in most Spanish-speaking countries, acted as special legal counsel on Nicaraguan law in a successful petition for ancillary probate of a Nicaraguan Will. Bob was also assisted in the matter by Katherine Sohr Jedlicka.

As part of our experience in Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death cases and otherwise, McCarthy Fingar's lawyers have much experience in dealing with such proceedings in the Surrogate's Court. Katherine Sohr Jedlicka represented the surviving spouses and children of decedents in compromising wrongful death proceedings in the Bronx, Nassau and Sullivan Counties. The cases involved allocating the proceeds of a wrongful death action between wrongful death and conscious pain and suffering, successfully settling the claims of the Department of Social Services against the proceeds, and establishing annuities for minor children entitled to a portion of the proceeds.

Creative legal counseling is often necessary in difficult estates to solve complex problems. Here, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka successfully petitioned the Surrogate’s Court for permission to set aside and vacate a deed transferring title to real property from the former executor of the estate to the specific devisees of the property and to permit the current fiduciary to sell the property in order to pay estate expenses, including estate taxes. The Court granted the relief under SCPA 1904 & 2107, but did not approve or disapprove of the specific real estate transaction proposed by the fiduciary. Rather, the fiduciary was required to use good business judgment in the sale of the property.

Katherine Sohr Jedlicka successfully settled a case in which the firm was retained to represent two specific devisees of real property, one of whom was appointed as successor fiduciary of the estate of a Decedent.  The Estate’s fiduciary and the specific devisees were all named as defendants in a case where the plaintiff alleged damages to his real property were caused by real property owned by a Decedent at her death and specifically devised to three beneficiaries under the Will.  After the Surrogate’s Court rescinded a deed transfer from the Decedent’s estate to the specific devisees and permitted the sale of real property in order to pay estate expenses, the successor fiduciary settled the claim on behalf of the Estate.

McCarthy Fingar often represents executors/administrators in SCPA 2103 proceedings. In these proceedings, an executor/administrator sometimes seeks to recover assets that were the subject of an alleged lifetime gift or a lifetime beneficiary designation. In this case, Frank W. Streng and Katherine Sohr Jedlicka represented family members, appointed as limited administrators, seeking to rescind a transfer of real estate on the grounds, amongst others, that the agent under a power of attorney form improperly gifted the property to himself. Here, the estate of the individual who received the alleged gift of real estate made a motion to dismiss our case, primarily citing the alleged failure of our clients to file their proceeding within the applicable three-year statute of limitations. The Surrogate's Court denied the motion, finding, among other things, that the statute of limitations never started, since our clients had no notification of the existence of the power of attorney, which power of attorney form was used to make the gift in question.

Clients often to choose to settle their cases. Here, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka and Frank W. Streng successfully settled a case in which the firm was retained to represent the decedent’s brother and sister in removing the current executor because of his failure to file a judicial account as ordered by the court. McCarthy Fingar’s client was immediately appointed as temporary fiduciary pending a hearing for the executor’s removal. The executor resigned voluntarily prior to a hearing for his removal, and our client was appointed fiduciary.

A basic obliglation of a fiduciary is to provide an accounting to beneficiaries of estates and trusts. In this case, representing two of three co-executors of an estate, Katherine Sohr Jedlicka sought a court order revoking Letters Testamentary issued to the third co-executor of an estate for his failure to administer the estate. The Surrogate's Court, Queens County, revoked the letters of the executor and appointed McCarthy Fingar’s clients as sole co-executors.