In re the Estate of Devlin
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
Ritter, J.
We are asked to decide whether the Surrogate is empowered to review the reasonableness of a fee first proposed by a so-called "heir locater” firm and agreed to by the distributee of an unclaimed estate. We hold that the Surrogate has such a power and that it was properly exercised in this case by reducing the fee from 40% of the estate to approximately 15%.
An agreement was entered into between The Markham Company Research Services, Inc. (hereinafter Markham), a business that provides heir locator services, and Catherine Devlin Nordt, who was unaware that she was…
2Cases cited15 opinions
- In re Accounting of Lincoln Rochester Trust Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1974
- In re the Estate of PiccioneNew York Court of Appeals · 1982
- In re the Estate of SchaichAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1977
- Lorisa Capital Corp. v. GalloAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1986
- In re the Estate of KummerAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1983
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3Cited by7 opinions
- Nelson v. McGoldrickWashington Supreme Court · 1995
- In re the Estate of BetlemAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2002
- In re Public Administrator of Westchester CountyNew York Surrogate's Court · 2009
- Hershfield v. DavidoffAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2024
- In re DilibertoNew York Surrogate's Court · 2014
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