Fishkind - Probate wars of the rich and famous: an insiders guide to estate planning and probate litigation

Contents

Copyright 2011 by Russell J. Fishkind. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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ISBN 978-0-470-58593-1 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-15901-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-15902-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-15903-3 (ebk)

To those Ive loved and lost, heres to your legacy.

My father, Eugene L. Fishkind

My grandmothers, Sara Fishkind and Dolly Gutterman

My grandfather, Matthew Gutterman

My father-in-law, Mel Zodkoy

My aunt Anne Diamond and her son, David Diamond

My second father, William L. Melillo Sr.

My little brother, Patrick W. Melillo

Acknowledgments

This book could not have been completed without the contributions of so many who deserve honorable mention. First and foremost, my clients, who for the past 22 years have entrusted me to help protect their family and their legacy. To my students at New York University (NYU), who come into the class after a long days work, contribute their experiences and their insights, and help make each and every class interesting and fun. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have spent so much time with so many capable individuals.

Nichole Alling, Megan Davies, Melissa Lowe, Stacey A. Digan, and Thomas Hearne for their research and creativity. Debra Englander, Susan Bliss, Emilie Herman, Melissa Lopez, and Tula Batanchiev of John Wiley & Sons, who have extended deadlines, commented on draft after draft, and worked with me to see this dream become a reality.

My partners at Saul Ewing, LLP, who provided me with encouragement, a room in which to write, and staff to assist.

To Cathy, formerly known as Kathy, who read the Introduction and politely suggested a complete rewrite. You were right.

Leona, Bill, Frank, and Marion, I have learned more from you than you can ever learn from me. You have redefined the meaning of the word process .

Nancy Slowe, Esq., and Ron Colicchio, Esq., who helped with the research and editing of each chapter and provided their frank and candid comments.

Each of the following professionals provided valuable comments and suggestions from their vast experience: Greg Blank, Greg Butler, Bill Carrozza, Robert Chirumbolo, Stella Matteace-Esposito, David Friedman, Myron Gelman, Frank Granzio, Jeff Green, Thomas Henske, Christopher Hildebrandt, Michael Kay, Lawrence Keller, Jenny D. Krstinovski, Thomas Loester, Ken Mayer, William McDevitt, Philip Pahigian, J. George Reilly, Neil Rhein, Erik Rudolph, Ralph Saviano, Debra Franklin Schatzi, Manish Shah, David Stecker, Stuart Stern, Les Streitfeld, Andrew Sukhin, Kate Sweeney, Bruce Weinstein, Erik Wildstein, H. Edward Wilkin III, and Ralph Wright; and Wesley Bedrosian for his artistic contributions.

Where would I be without Linda Hanley. For the past 15 years she has filed, organized and indexed every file. She has scheduled each and every matter, proofed all the documents and greets all my clients, colleagues, friends and family members warmly. Ms. Hanley, thank you and dont retire.

William L. Melillo Jr., who for the past 30 years has given me the support of a brother and the benefit of his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. My Mother, Charlotte Leigh Fishkind, thank you for your undying love and support.

Josh, Larry, and Shaina: What a pleasure to have my three children contribute to this effort. Josh provided me with current events and his comments to numerous chapters; Larry found song lyrics and movie quotes that fit perfectly into the book; and Shaina edited countless fragmented sentences, fixed misplaced commas, and taught me the proper use of semicolons.

And then theres my wife, Lori L. Fishkindthe glue, the stalwart, the engine that makes it all work. Our journey has been filled with challenges, never a dull day, more than a handful of trying days, but thank God, you are by my side day in and day out. I love you.

About the Author

Russell J. Fishkind, Esq. , is a partner in the Personal Wealth, Estates and Trusts Practice Group at the Mid-Atlantic law firm of Saul Ewing, LLP. His practice focuses on high-net-worth estate planning, business succession planning, estate administration, and probate litigation. He has been practicing law in New York and New Jersey for over 20 years.

In addition to practicing law, Mr. Fishkind is an associate adjunct professor at New York Universitys Department of Finance, Taxation and Law, where he has been teaching Estate and Business Succession Planning in the evenings for more than 15 years. His classes are interactive and chock full of celebrity probate litigation cases to help illustrate the need for effective estate and business succession planning, or strategies to implement when probate litigation is necessary.

Mr. Fishkind authored Legacy of a Lifetime , a guide to planning your estate, and co-authored the first and second editions of J.K. Lassers Estate & Business Succession PlanningA Legal Guide to Wealth Transfer . He has appeared numerous times on television and radio and is a frequent lecturer. He addressed the Michigan State Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and New Jersey State Bar Association at their annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the midyear meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has written articles for newspapers and magazines and was a contributing author for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education publication entitled Sophisticated Estate Planning . He has appeared on radio and television talk shows and in 2005, 2007, and 2009 Mr. Fishkind was named as a New Jersey Super Lawyer.