Attorney Albert Vincent Messina's Legal Cases

Probate

Estate of Costello

Mar 14, 2014

OUTCOME: Summary Judgment Granted, Will Denied Probate

Associate attorney Albert V. Messina, Jr., of Novick & Associates, P.C., secured an order granting summary judgment from the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court in a contested probate proceeding in which ... the adult children of decedent George David Costello, Sr. alleged that their father's will was executed improperly in Matter of Costello, (Czygier, Sur.). Novick & Associates, P.C., represented two of the decedent's five adult children. In his clients' motion for summary judgment, the clients claimed that 1) the will execution was not attorney-supervised, and 2) the testamentary instrument submitted as their father's last will and testament for probate was six pages long, while the two people who served as witnesses for the signing of the will said they remember the document only being two pages long. The court ultimately granted summary judgment, thus invalidating the six-page will, on the basis that the spouse and the infant daughter's guardian ad litem failed to provide enough proof to refute the adult children's claims.

Trusts

Estate of Doman

Dec 08, 2009

OUTCOME: Motion to Dismiss Granted, Affirmed

Novick & Associates, P.C. founding partner Donald Novick and associate Albert V. Messina Jr. obtained an order for their client, the executor of the Estate of Nicholas Doman, to dismiss the April 4, 20 ... 08 petition of the Estate of Judith Doman seeking to invalidate an inter vivos trust. According the petitioner, the August 24, 1998 Qualified Annuity Residence Trust (QPRT) was invalid because the property was not delivered to the Trust until March 4, 1999. The order of the Suffolk County Surrogate's Court was affirmed by the Appellate Division, Second Department. The Court found no support for the petitioner's contention that the trust was invalid due to the delivery of the real property to the trust six months after the trust was created. Matter of Doman, 68 A.D.3d 862 (2d Dep't 2009).

Litigation

Estate of Kaminester

Oct 14, 2009

OUTCOME: Motion to Dismiss Granted, Right of Election Denied

Founding Partner Donald Novick and associate attorney Albert V. Messina Jr. obtained an order denying the respondent's motion to dismiss the petition to determine the validity of a spousal right of ele ... ction and declaring that the decedent's marriage void ab initio, in the Surrogate's Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Glen, J.). This proceeding concerned the validity of a spousal right of election filed by the decedent's live-in girlfriend who had secretly married the decedent during a pending Article 81 guardianship proceeding. After the decedent's death, the judge in the Article 81 proceeding annulled the marriage, change of beneficiary of the decedent's life insurance policy and deed to the decedent's house based upon lack of capacity pursuant to Mental Hygiene Law §81.29(d). The remaining issue was whether the girlfriend was permitted to election against the Estate and receive 1/3 of the net estate due to the post mortem annulment. The girlfriend argued that the right of election of a surviving spouse becomes fixed and unalterable upon the decedent's death and cannot be affected by the posthumous annulment. Founding Partner Donald Novick and associate attorney Albert V. Messina Jr. argued that the marriage was void ab initio and that the girlfriend was prevented from stating that she was the spouse when she misrepresented her marital status to the Court. The Court agreed and rejected the girlfriend's argument and held that a marriage revoked pursuant to Mental Hygiene Law §81.29(d) is void from inception. The Court also held that the girlfriend was equitably estopped from claiming that she was the surviving spouse based upon her fraudulent misrepresentation to the Article 81 court that she was merely a "girlfriend" and not the spouse after the secret marriage ceremony took place and that she had a duty to disclose the marriage to the court. Her failure to do was "misleading and deceptive."Matter of Kaminester, 26 Misc.3d 227 (Sur. Ct. N.Y. County 2009).

Litigation

Wiener v. Spahn

Mar 31, 2009

OUTCOME: Motions to Dismiss denied, affirmed.

The Appellate Division, First Department in the matter of Wiener v. Spahn, affirmed the denial of defendants' motions to dismiss. After successfully defending motions to dismiss the complaint from e ... ach defendant before the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Bronx County (Hunter, J.), founding partner Donald Novick and associate Albert V. Messina Jr. successfully obtained an order for the plaintiff, acting individually and as co-executrix of her mother's estate, affirming the denial of the motions to dismiss. The Court found that for the purposes of the motion to dismiss that defendant Spahn, plaintiff's sister, did not own an interest in property individually as a tenant in common and violated the terms of a family partnership agreement that required that she obtain consent before selling or assigning her interest in the property when she failed to do so. The Court also rejected the defendants' argument that plaintiff Wiener did not have the legal capacity to sue as co-executrix since a fiduciary has the duty to protect the interests of the estate. Wiener v. Spahn, 60 A.D.3d 586( 1st Dep't 2009).

Litigation

Estate DeLorenzo

Aug 11, 2008

OUTCOME: Summary Judgment Granted, Affirmed

Novick & Associates, P.C. founding partner Donald Novick and associate Albert V. Messina Jr. successfully obtained summary judgment for their clients, the Executors of the Estate of Rita DeLorenzo, in ... a proceeding to compel the payment of the death benefit balance of an annuity contract purchased by the Decedent entitled Matter of DeLorenzo, in the Surrogate's Court of the State of New York, County of New York. The New York County Surrogate's Court previously denied respondent Sun Life Insurance and Annuity Co. of New York's motion for summary judgment to dismiss the petition, finding that the remaining issue was the value of the annuity. Matter of DeLorenzo, 8/11/2008 N.Y.L.J. 32 (col. 3) (Sur. Ct. N.Y. County) aff'd 67 A.D.3d 494 (1st Dep't 2009). In granting the Executor's motion, the Court held that the valuation date of the annuity was October 23, 2000 based upon the insurer's receipt of a valid election and its liquidation of the annuity account and that the Executors were entitled to the balance of the annuity in the amount of $201,038.43, plus interest from October 23, 2000.

Albert Vincent Messina's Legal Cases (5)

Estate of Costello

Estate of Doman

Estate of Kaminester

Wiener v. Spahn

Estate DeLorenzo