New York Real Estate Lawyers Blog

Many of our readers may have been shocked to hear of the recent passing of acclaimed actor Gene Hackman.  Not because he was 95 at the time of his death, but due to the circumstances of “Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle’s” death and the status of his family relationships.  The two-time Academy Award winner was married for more than thirty years to his second wife, Betsy.  A property caretaker found both of them deceased in their home for up to several weeks.  Although Betsy was younger than “Little Bill Daggett” by several decades, autopsies conducted on both bodies indicated that Gene survived Betsy by approximately one week.  Sadly enough, another conclusion was that Mr. Hackman suffered with Alzheimer’s disease, may not have known that his wife was deceased, and seemingly did not know how to obtain assistance.  Notably, Mr. Hackman’s children (all from his first marriage) did not seem to be in contemporaneous contact with him so as to have avoided his passing away alone.

It should be noted that Mr. Hackman’s primary residence was in New Mexico.  This discussion will address how such a situation would be handled in New York.  When both spouses pass away within a short timeframe of one another, the issue of simultaneous deaths should be considered.  In New York, clear and convincing evidence is required that the second to pass away survived the first by one hundred twenty hours (five days) in order for a disposition to the survivor to be effective.  Otherwise, the second to die is deemed to have predeceased the first to die and the following person named as a beneficiary will receive the property at issue.  Certainly, the results of an autopsy would meet the higher evidentiary standard.  An important exception to this statute is if a legal document such as a Will or Trust specifies a different timeframe than one hundred twenty hours.  For instance, “Lex Luthor’s” Will required survival by ninety days.

Betsy left her estate to Mr. Hackman and then to charity if he did not survive her.  There now seems to be a discrepancy in the date of Betsy’s passing (rumors suggest that she passed away at least one day later) such that there was less time in between their deaths than initially reported.  Assuming that Betsy also had a ninety day survival provision in her Will and Mr. Hackman did not meet that threshold, her estate may have been left to charity, not to Mr. Hackman; who would be deemed to have predeceased in this situation, so that Hackman’s children would not stand to inherit (indirectly) from Betsy.

There are challenges that people encounter that may become legal problems, such as eviction or the untimely death of a loved one.  Sometimes hiring an attorney can seem daunting during the most difficult time of one’s life.  In response to public need, some Courts have help desks or help centers for unrepresented litigants.  This post will describe the shortcomings of such help centers and our proposed solution from the perspective of Surrogate’s Court matters.

Probably nothing is more difficult than the death of a loved one.  Not only are emotions heightened, but practical legal and financial issues need to be navigated.  A Court’s help desk may provide procedural advice on the proper from that should be used, but may omit specific advice on how to actually complete the form or other general legal advice.  Laypersons are ill-equipped in possessing the technical knowledge that an experienced attorney has to complete all documents required for a successful Court filing so that the Court can appoint a legal fiduciary to handle estate affairs.

A qualified attorney will recognize complex estate matters and will be more readily able to make the proper Court filings that the Court will require.  Otherwise, the Court will inevitably delay the case when it requests additional filings that an experienced attorney would have already anticipated.  Of course, a legal expert is required for contested estates, where a party challenges the validity of a Will being submitted for probate or other contested matters such as who may be the best person to serve as the fiduciary of the estate.  Other examples of complex estates may entail those with non-marital children, a handwritten will submitted for probate or multiple wills presented for probate.  A Court’s help center does not provide legal representation and cannot provide the personal attention that a survivor needs in complex estate matters.