Estate Litigation
When Interests Conflict and Rights Must Be Enforced
Principled Advocacy. Strategic Resolve.
Estate disputes arise when the administration of a loved one's estate goes wrong — when a Will is challenged as the product of manipulation or incapacity, when fiduciaries act in their own interest rather than in service of those they serve, when assets are wrongfully withheld, or when the meaning of a governing document is genuinely contested. These situations require counsel who understands not only how to litigate, but how estates and trusts are structured, drafted, and administered — and what is genuinely worth pursuing.
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New York's Surrogate's Court is the primary forum for estate and trust disputes. It is a specialized court with its own procedural framework, its own body of governing law, and its own culture of resolution. Navigating it effectively requires familiarity with the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, the practices of the court across the five boroughs and the surrounding counties, and an understanding of how disputes in this forum — where underlying family, fiduciary, and financial relationships rarely disappear after litigation ends — are most effectively resolved.
Protect
your rights
Confront
misconduct
Achieve
resolution
When the Will Is the Problem
Challenging the Validity of a Disputed Instrument
A Will offered for probate may be challenged on several grounds: lack of testamentary capacity at the time of execution, undue influence exerted over the testator, fraud, duress, forgery, or failure to comply with New York's execution requirements. These are serious claims — they go to whether the decedent's final wishes were genuinely their own, or were the product of exploitation, manipulation, or defect.
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Objections to probate are filed in Surrogate's Court and typically lead to a pre-trial examination of medical records, financial records, witness testimony, and the circumstances surrounding execution. In practice, most will contests resolve before trial through negotiated settlement, but they require rigorous preparation, a clear theory of the case, and counsel willing to develop the factual record that drives that resolution. For clients who have reason to believe that a Will does not reflect what the decedent would have intended under fair circumstances, this proceeding provides the only available remedy.
Recovering What Belongs to the Estate
Turnover and Discovery Proceedings
When a person wrongfully holds property that belongs to an estate — or when the location and extent of estate assets are in dispute — the Surrogate's Court provides targeted remedies. Under SCPA Article 21, a fiduciary may compel the return of estate property through a focused proceeding that does not require the scope of a full adversarial action. Discovery proceedings under SCPA 2103 allow the court to examine anyone suspected of concealing, withholding, or possessing information about assets that belong to the estate.
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These proceedings are well-suited to situations where funds were moved shortly before or after the decedent's death, where a power of attorney was used to transfer property for improper purposes, or where a fiduciary has reason to believe assets are being concealed or dissipated. They are among the most efficiently resolved forms of estate litigation — direct, focused on defined assets, and capable of producing concrete relief without the length and cost of broader proceedings.
When a Surviving Spouse Is Left Out
Enforcing the Elective Share
New York law gives every surviving spouse the right to elect against a Will and claim a statutory share of the decedent's estate — regardless of what the Will provides. This right exists to prevent the disinheritance of a surviving spouse and applies even where the parties were estranged, where the decedent attempted to work around the statute through pre-death transfers, or where the Will was executed before the marriage was fully established.
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The elective share equals the greater of $50,000 or one-third of the net estate, with specific rules governing what property is counted in the calculation and what transfers are subject to recapture. When a surviving spouse has been left less than their statutory entitlement — or nothing at all — enforcement requires a formal proceeding in Surrogate's Court. For clients with existing estate planning or marital agreement relationships with this office, enforcement of the elective share is a natural and efficient extension of counsel already in place.
Holding Fiduciaries Accountable
Removal Proceedings
Executors and trustees are bound by the highest duties of loyalty, care, and impartiality to the estates and beneficiaries they serve. When a fiduciary breaches those duties — through self-dealing, mismanagement, failure to distribute or account, or the outright conversion of estate assets — Surrogate's Court provides the mechanism to remove them from office.
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Removal proceedings under SCPA 711 may be brought where a fiduciary has wasted or misapplied estate property, failed to perform their required duties, or engaged in conduct that makes continued service incompatible with the interests of beneficiaries. Many of these matters resolve through resignation, replacement, and negotiated settlement once the factual record has been developed — but achieving that resolution requires advocacy capable of establishing the conduct and its consequences.
When the Court Must Decide the Meaning of a Document
Construction and Interpretation of Wills and Trusts
When the language of a Will or trust instrument is ambiguous, internally inconsistent, or disputed among interested parties, a construction proceeding asks the Surrogate's Court to determine what the instrument means — and to give it legal effect accordingly. These proceedings do not challenge the validity of the document; they resolve how it is to be applied.
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Construction proceedings arise most commonly where a bequest uses language that has become unclear due to changed circumstances, where a beneficiary predeceased the testator and the disposition of their share is not addressed, or where the discretionary terms of a trust are subject to competing reasonable interpretations. They are among the most legally focused forms of estate litigation — turning on careful analysis of the instrument itself, the circumstances surrounding its execution, and New York's rules of construction — and are well-matched to the analytical strengths of estate counsel rather than the trial resources of a general litigation firm.
When a Document Means Something Different to Everyone
Construction and Interpretation of Wills and Trusts
When the language of a Will or trust instrument is ambiguous, internally inconsistent, or disputed among interested parties, a construction proceeding asks the Surrogate's Court to determine what the instrument means — and to give it legal effect accordingly. These proceedings do not challenge the validity of the document; they resolve how it is to be applied.
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Construction proceedings arise most commonly where a bequest uses language that has become unclear due to changed circumstances, where a beneficiary predeceased the testator and the disposition of their share is not addressed, or where the discretionary terms of a trust are subject to competing reasonable interpretations. They are among the most legally focused forms of estate litigation — turning on careful analysis of the instrument itself, the circumstances surrounding its execution, and New York's rules of construction — and are well-matched to the analytical strengths of estate counsel rather than the trial resources of a general litigation firm.
Will Contests & Objections to Probate
Challenge the validity of a Will on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or defective execution, through Surrogate's Court proceedings tailored to the facts of the matter.
Turnover Proceedings
Compel the delivery of estate property wrongfully held or concealed, through targeted SCPA Article 21 proceedings available to fiduciaries and interested parties.
Fiduciary Removal
Petition for the removal of an executor or trustee engaged in misconduct, self-dealing, conflict of interest, or material breach of fiduciary duty.
Construction & Interpretation Proceedings
Seek judicial determination of the meaning and application of ambiguous or disputed provisions in a Will or trust instrument.
Discovery Proceedings
Examine individuals believed to be concealing or withholding estate assets through SCPA 2103 proceedings before the Surrogate's Court.
Spousal Right of Election
Enforce a surviving spouse's statutory entitlement to their elective share when a Will fails to provide the minimum required under New York law.
Estate Litigation Services
— What We Handle —
What We Handle
Will Contests & Objections to Probate
Challenge the validity of a Will on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or defective execution, through Surrogate's Court proceedings tailored to the facts of the matter.
Turnover Proceedings
Compel the delivery of estate property wrongfully held or concealed, through targeted SCPA Article 21 proceedings available to fiduciaries and interested parties.
Discovery Proceedings
Examine individuals believed to be concealing or withholding estate assets through SCPA 2103 proceedings before the Surrogate's Court.
Spousal Right of Election
Enforce a surviving spouse's statutory entitlement to their elective share when a Will fails to provide the minimum required under New York law.
Fiduciary Removal
Petition for the removal of an executor or trustee engaged in misconduct, self-dealing, conflict of interest, or material breach of fiduciary duty.
Surcharge Claims
Pursue personal liability against a fiduciary whose mismanagement or breach of duty caused quantifiable loss to the estate or its beneficiaries.
Construction & Interpretation Proceedings
Seek judicial determination of the meaning and application of ambiguous or disputed provisions in a Will or trust instrument.
Estate Litigation Services
Litigation With Purpose
Strategic Assessment, Honest Counsel, and a Focus on Resolution
Estate litigation is not undertaken for its own sake. Surrogate's Court proceedings carry real costs — in time, in legal fees, and in the damage that protracted adversarial proceedings can inflict on family relationships that exist long after a dispute ends. This office approaches estate disputes with an honest assessment of the likely outcome, the realistic cost of pursuit, what the record will support, and whether litigation is the most effective available remedy — or whether a negotiated resolution more efficiently protects the client's interests.
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Clients receive candid advice about the strength of their position, the discovery process likely to follow, the realistic timeline, and the range of outcomes that can be achieved. Where settlement is obtainable on terms that fairly protect the client's rights, it is pursued deliberately. Where it is not, matters are prepared thoroughly and presented with the same rigor applied to planning and transactional work: careful analysis of the governing instruments, a clear theory of the claim, and strategy calibrated to Surrogate's Court rather than the general civil courts.
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The goal is not prolonged litigation — it is the right result, achieved as efficiently as the matter allows.
Trusted, Principal-Led Counsel
Jason D. Jones
Jason D. Jones brings a disciplined, New York–grounded approach to estate disputes that demand judgment, precision, and an understanding of how Surrogate's Court proceedings actually resolve. His litigation work grows directly from his planning practice — giving him an unusually clear view of how wills and trusts should be structured, where they go wrong, and what claims will and will not withstand scrutiny under examination.
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Estate disputes frequently involve sensitive family dynamics, competing financial interests, and long-term consequences that extend well beyond the courtroom. Mr. Jones approaches contested matters with measured authority, focusing on the legal and factual record rather than on escalation, and advising clients candidly about the realistic value and cost of the positions they seek to pursue. He prepares cases thoroughly and resolves them efficiently — and where a matter requires capabilities beyond the scope of a focused private-client practice, he coordinates with co-counsel rather than overextend the representation.
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Clients in estate litigation benefit from the same principal-led, detail-oriented counsel that defines the firm's planning work: direct communication, honest assessment, and an unrelenting focus on results that actually serve the client's long-term interests.