Archives: News

Michael S. Kutzin, a member of various practice groups, including our Guardianship Practice, Taxation and Trusts & Estates groups, will speak on “Revocable Trusts: Creative Uses and Drafting for the Elder Law Practitioner”, in Saratoga Springs, NY, at a program sponsored by the Elder Law & Special Needs Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Six of McCarthy Fingar’s lawyers have been selected Super Lawyers in the New York Metropolitan area. Susan Taxin Baer has again been selected in the fields of Estate Planning & Probate. Gail M. Boggio has again been selected in the fields of Estate & Trust Litigation/Estate Planning & Probate/Elder Law. Michael S. Kutzin has again been selected in the fields of Estate Planning & Probate, Estate & Trust Litigation and Elder Law. Kristen Mackay Pennessi has been selected in the field of Family Law. Irma K. Nimetz has been selected in the fields of Estate & Trust Litigation, Estate Planning & Probate, and General Litigation. Frank W. Streng has again been selected in the fields of Estate & Trust Litigation and Estate Planning & Probate. Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have been recognized by their colleagues as having the highest degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Irma K. Nimetz, a member of our Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Surrogate’s Court Litigation and Trusts & Estates groups, spoke on “Ethical Issues in Trusts and Estates Practice: A Surrogate’s Court Litigator’s Perspective for NY Attorneys” for myLawCLE. This webinar provided an overview of ethical issues arising in trusts and estates practice from the perspective of a Surrogate’s Court litigator and provided insights as to how attorneys can minimize their risk of becoming a “target” in Surrogate’s Court litigation.

It is with great sadness that we announce that Milton R. Gleit had died. His obituary is set forth below:

Milton Ralph Gleit – a devoted husband, father, and grandfather – passed away at home on June 29, 2023. He was 86 years old.

Milton was born and raised in the Bronx. He excelled in school, going on to major in English at NYU in the Heights. He joined the college debate team and, as he told his granddaughter, “it turned out, I was damn good at it”. During Milt’s junior year, a fellow debate team member set him up on “a blind date to remember” with his future wife, Marjorie Rose. When Marjorie returned to school, Milt and Marjorie exchanged letters, deepening their connection through the written word. They married in 1959 and welcomed three children, Jonathan, Lawrence, and Pamela, within the next decade. Milt and Marjorie had a love story for the ages; they independently saved each letter they had exchanged while dating – now preserved in twelve binders – and recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary.

After graduating, Milt attended Harvard Law School on a full scholarship. He became a dedicated and accomplished corporate lawyer, eventually becoming managing partner of Delson & Gordon in Manhattan. He later worked as senior counsel at McCarthy Fingar. He loved his work, never formally retiring and maintaining relationships with clients until his passing.

Milt had a whip-smart, dry sense of humor, a surprising affinity for penguins, and rarely missed a Yankees game. He was detail-oriented and a man of routines. He was dependable – for the big things, but also for the small, like the pastries he religiously bought in advance of his grandchildren’s visits. Milt was a devoted grandfather, hosting his grandsons for weekend visits and proofreading his granddaughters’ college essays. He prioritized attending family b’nai mitzvot and graduations. He relished vacations with his children and grandchildren. During these vacations, he’d sit on the porch, camera at the ready, watching his loved ones come and go before they all sat down to dinner at a round table for 12. He was incredibly bright and a dedicated reader (of books and, of course, The New York Times). No matter the topic, he was well-informed, able to explain it clearly, and willing to provide his perspective and analysis. He thought that no work was beneath his considerable intellect, teaching us that all work done well is respectable.

Milt was intelligent, committed, independent, and resilient. He was deeply loved and will be missed. Milton is predeceased by his parents, Nathan and Dora, his brother, Ernest, and his son-in-law, Robert DeBell. Milton is survived by his wife, Marjorie Rose Gleit, his children: Jonathan Gleit and his wife Debra, Lawrence Gleit and his wife Paulette, and Pamela DeBell; and his four grandchildren: Rebecca, Jennifer, Zachary, and Matthew. We are incredibly proud of his life and accomplishments.

A private funeral service for Milton was held on July 2, 2023. In honor of Milt’s memory, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or The Windward School.

We are pleased to announce that Yvonne St. John has joined our firm as an associate attorney and is a member of our Trusts and Estates, Guardianship Practice, Surrogate’s Court Litigation and Taxation groups. Prior to joining McCarthy Fingar, Yvonne was an associate of a firm that concentrated its practice in trusts and estates and real estate transactions. Her experience includes, but is not limited to, the following: representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in the administration of estates and trusts; estate planning services, including drafting wills and trust agreements and Medicaid planning; representing clients in residential and commercial real estate transactions from contract to closing; and assisting clients with business formation.

Irma K. Nimetz, a member of our Appellate Practice, Surrogate’s Court Litigation and Trusts & Estates groups, was appointed to the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association on behalf of the Westchester County Bar Association. The House of Delegates is the governance and decision-making body of the New York State Bar Association and determines policies and develops positions on issues that affect the law and the legal profession.

Irma K. Nimetz and Frank W. Streng, both members of our Appellate Practice, Surrogate’s Court Litigation and Trusts & Estates groups, spoke on “Ethics in Estate Planning” for the Elder Law and Disability Committee of The New York Women’s Bar Association.

Irma K. Nimetz, a member of our Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Surrogate’s Court Litigation and Trusts & Estates groups, did a webinar, entitled: “Aging Adults & Estate Planning: How to Start The Conversation” for Senior Law Day Collaborative. In her presentation, Irma discussed how to start conversations with aging adults (parents, partners and/or friends) about estate planning and related issues; how, where and with whom you begin conversations about wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies and living wills, and/or financial assets; and what those conversations entail. The webinar discussed planning issues for today and ways to avoid estate litigation in the future. Senior Law Day Collaborative offers free legal and financial advice for Westchester County seniors and their families.

McCarthy Fingar’s Matrimonial lawyers prepare prenuptial agreements and our Surrogate’s Court lawyers litigate the validity of such agreements. Clients make prenuptial agreements when a client is getting married for the second time and desires for his or her prospective spouse to waive rights to elect against the client’s Will. In Matter of Fischer, two of our Trusts and Estates litigators, Frank W. Streng and Ryan J. McLeod, representing the executor of the estate, in which the decedent’s surviving spouse challenged the validity of the prenuptial agreement that she signed in the 1970s. Following pre-hearing discovery, including depositions, Frank and Ryan moved for summary judgment in Surrogate’s Court, Rockland County, in successfully dismissing the surviving spouse’s elective share notice filed under EPTL 5-1.1. In rejecting the surviving spouse’s elective share claim, the Court mentioned that the surviving spouse, relying upon the prenuptial agreement, availed herself of the prenuptial agreement by making a trust agreement in which, like the decedent, she gave her assets to children of her first marriage. The Court upheld the basic legal principal that, In the absence of proof of fraud, a prenuptial agreement will be upheld; and the Court noted that the surviving spouse did not prove either fraud or overreaching.

Two of our Trusts and Estates litigators, Irma K. Nimetz and Frank W. Streng, made and won a motion to compel discovery in a case in which two individuals allegedly used their iphones to change the beneficiary on a decedent’s 401K plan on a financial services company’s web site. In Ellis v. Byrne, a case involving digital discovery, the Supreme Court, Westchester County, found spoliation, holding as follows: “Defendants ‘turned in’ their iPhones, and obtained replacement devices, while already aware that Plaintiff had accused them of using a computer device to unlawfully change the beneficiary designation.” The Court directed a turnover to McCarthy Fingar’s lawyers of the defendants’ iphones for forensic examination.