Tag: surrogate's court

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AABANY Trusts & Estates Committee Hosts Inaugural Reception on Sept. 20 to Celebrate its Formation

AABANY’s newly-formed Trusts & Estates Committee held its inaugural event in the courtroom of Hon. Rita Mella at New York County Surrogate’s Court on Chambers Street in lower Manhattan on September 20, 2023. About two dozen attendees, including many AABANY members and court staff, filled the ornate courtroom. 

Yang Chen, the Executive Director of AABANY, presented welcome remarks, followed by Co-Chair P.M. Natasha Chang, who then introduced Co-Chair Yi Stewart. Yi introduced the Hon. Rita Mella, Surrogate Judge, New York County. (Yi was formerly Judge Mella’s law clerk.)

Judge Mella, both the host and honored guest, spoke on the history and role of Surrogate’s Courts, and the importance of diversity in the courts and among trusts & estates practitioners. Judge Mella disclosed that the Surrogate’s Court of New York County, which consists of only two judges (including Hon. Hilary Gingold) and their staff, processes approximately 10,000 cases a year. In addition to the probate and administration proceedings, the court handles adoption, guardianship, and miscellaneous proceedings. Among these cases, Judge Mella particularly noted the proceedings for settling 9/11-related personal injury and wrongful death claims which involve many who lived and worked in Manhattan Chinatown. 

Judge Mella had pulled from the records room and laid on the table for exhibit the original wills of Alexander Hamilton, Babe Ruth, Herman Melville, Marilyn Monroe, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Committee members pored over the documents in fascination. Champagne and dim sum were served before everyone gathered on the steps of the courtroom gallery for a photo. 

Congratulations to the T&E Committee, AABANY’s newest Committee, on a successful inaugural event. Thanks to everyone who came and took part, and thanks especially to Judge Mella and her staff for welcoming us into her beautiful and historic courtroom. To learn more about the T&E Committee and how you can get involved, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/1154. If you would like to join the Committee’s listserv, contact [email protected].

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Get Involved with AABANY’s New Trusts & Estates Committee

AABANY is pleased to announce the launch of the Trusts & Estates Committee. This new committee serves as a professional and community network for AABANY members and non-members interested in the practice of Trusts & Estates law, which spans trusts, estates, and tax planning to Surrogate’s Court practice and litigation. The Committee is dedicated to providing a platform for networking, mentoring, and professional development, as well as opportunities for public service.

Pang-Mei Natasha Chang, Co-Chair of the Committee, is a member of Dunnington Bartholow & Miller LLP’s estates, trusts and private clients practice group, as well as its international France desk, and charitable, not-for-profit and religious institutions practice groups. She counsels both domestic and international individuals, businesses and charitable organizations in estate and trusts planning, and wealth transfer planning. She represents clients of all ages, and advises in insurance planning, IRA/retirement benefit planning and the use of trusts for not only estate planning but asset protection. She also serves on the Trusts, Estates and Surrogate’s Court Committee of the New York City Bar Association, where she has participated as a writer and presenter. 

Yi W. Stewart, the other Co-Chair of the Committee, works at the firm Farrell Fritz as a trusts and estates litigation associate. She performs pretrial discovery, conducts legal research, and prepares motions and memoranda of law for litigated Surrogate’s Court proceedings. Prior to joining Farrell Fritz, Yi served as associate law clerk to the Hon. Rita Mella for three years in New York County Surrogate’s Court, where she assisted the Surrogate with decisions on typical contested probate and accounting matters, complex issues of will construction and reformation, as well as novel issues such as a fiduciary’s authority to administer digital assets stored in Google and Apple accounts.

To contact the Committee Chairs for this Committee, click “Contact Us” at the top of the AABANY website and fill out the form, and tell us in the Comment field what in particular you would like to know about the Committee and its activities.

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AABANY Hosts Annual Judges’ Reception in Celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month 

On Monday, May 24, 2022, AABANY’s Judiciary Committee hosted its annual Judges’ Reception to honor newly inducted and elevated and retiring judges in celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We are pleased that this year’s event could be held in person, as last year’s event was via Zoom. The event was held at the Surrogate’s Courthouse, 31 Chambers Street, in downtown Manhattan. 

The honorees recognized at the event were individuals who represent the significant strides that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have achieved, in the ongoing effort to increase diversity in our leading institutions. The following judges were honored: 

  • Hon. Giyang An
  • Hon. Margaret Chan
  • Hon. Christopher Chin
  • Hon. Phyllis Chu
  • Hon. Vanessa Fang
  • Hon. Karen Gopee
  • Hon. Simiyon Haniff
  • Hon. Judy Kim
  • Hon. Biju Koshy
  • Hon. Andrea Ogle
  • Hon. Vidya Pappachan
  • Hon. Kim Parker
  • Hon. Raja Rajeswari
  • Hon. Omer Shahid
  • Hon. Soma Syed
  • Hon. Lillian Wan
  • Hon. Frances Wang

We are proud to celebrate these AAPI trailblazers in the judiciary. AAPIs remain significantly under-represented in New York courts. According to Secretary Johnson’s Report on New York Courts, 14% of New York City’s population is Asian but only 6% of judges are Asian. In light of current events and the rise in anti-Asian violence, AAPI representation on the bench is more important than ever. AABANY thanks the honorees for their pioneering example.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for this event and the Judiciary Committee for organizing. To learn more about AABANY’s Judiciary Committee and its work, click here.