In re the Estate of Cardoso

19 Misc. 3d 1008
CourtNew York Surrogate's Court
DecidedMarch 13, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 19 Misc. 3d 1008 (In re the Estate of Cardoso) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Surrogate's Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Estate of Cardoso, 19 Misc. 3d 1008 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Kristin Booth Glen, S.

Paul C. Benko, administrator c.t.a. of the estate of Ruth V Cardoso, and petitioner in a turnover proceeding against Citicorp Investment Services (CIS), Wolfgang Roddewig, John J. Reddy, Jr. (Reddy), and Bekerman & Reddy, EC., counsel to the Public Administrator of the County of New York, now seeks summary judgment and treble damages. CIS cross-moves for summary judgment, seeking dismissal of the turnover petition and revocation of petitioner’s letters of administration c.t.a. A motion for summary judgment may be granted only if the allegations, viewed in a light most favorable to respondent(s), fail to raise a triable issue of fact (Matter of Council of City of N.Y. v Bloomberg, 6 NY3d 380, 401 [2006, Rosenblatt, J., dissenting]).

Decedent, a domiciliary of Brazil, died February 11, 2000, survived by no known distributee. On June 27, 2002, Benko proffered decedent’s one-page handwritten will dated July 25, 1998. The will bequeaths decedent’s “holdings at the Citibank in New York” to Benko.

During the pendency of Benko’s probate proceeding, Roddewig obtained probate in Brazil of a later will, dated March 12, 1999. On March 11, 2003, the Brazilian State of Bahia, Judiciary Power, 1st Family, Successions & Orphans Court appointed Roddewig executor of decedent’s March 12, 1999 will. Article first (of a certified translation of a court certified copy) of that later will provides: “That this was the only and exclusive testament, and any previous act was hereby revoked.”

Thereafter, CIS, presented with certified translations of: (1) decedent’s death certificate; (2) the March 11, 2003 certificate issued by the Brazilian State of Bahia, Judiciary Power, 1st Family, Successions & Orphans Court to Roddewig, as executor of decedent’s March 12, 1999 will; and (3) the March 12, 1999 will itself, transferred decedent’s investment account, which Benko estimates at $70,000 to Roddewig, as executor of decedent’s will.1

On July 12, 2004, this court — unaware of the probate of a later will — probated the earlier July 25, 1998 will proffered by [1010]*1010Benko, and on July 14, 2004, issued to him letters of administration c.t.a.

On October 8, 2004, Benko filed a petition for the turnover of property belonging to decedent’s estate.

First, Benko claims CIS (which already had turned over to Benko the checking account of which he and decedent were joint tenants, and which was on notice of the pendency of his probate proceeding), lacked authority to choose between Benko’s and Roddewig’s competing claims, and improperly transferred decedent’s investment account to Roddewig.

EPTL 13-3.4 prescribes the circumstances under which an institution may, without a court order, turn over to a foreign fiduciary personal property belonging to the estate of a nondomiciliary.2 At the time CIS transferred decedent’s account to Roddewig: (1) Roddewig was authorized by the foreign jurisdiction in which decedent was domiciled to receive decedent’s personal property; (2) Benko had not yet been appointed administrator c.t.a., and therefore could furnish no written notice of his fiduciary appointment; (3) CIS evidently had not received written notice of the existence of any New York creditor; and (4) CIS had no reason to believe Roddewig, or the persons he represented, would not get the benefit of the property. Accordingly, CIS is availed of the protections of EPTL 13-3.4.

Second, Benko challenges the validity of the March 12, 1999 Brazilian will. He claims the certified copy of the document [1011]*1011written in Portuguese and furnished by CIS is not a will, because it is signed by an individual other than decedent. He suggests the translation furnished by CIS is not a translation of decedent’s Brazilian will, because it is date stamped March 6, 2003, more than three years after decedent’s death. (He also speculates “the original document would have to be in German, because German was the primary language of Ruth Cardoso.”) In the alternative, Benko, noting the recitation in the Brazilian will that decedent was “sick in bed at her home,” suggests decedent was “too weak and sick, on the verge of death, and therefore unable to sign the will,” and questions decedent’s competence. Benko thus attacks both the genuineness of the will and decedent’s testamentary capacity.

A photocopy of the certified translation provides in its text: “Signed by: RUTH VOLKL CARDOSO,” and indicates the document being translated was, itself, signed by a notary public. Further, counsel for CIS, in oral argument on the return date of the motions for summary judgment, confirmed the Portuguese document is a photocopy of a court-certified version of the Brazilian will, and that the original will, signed by decedent, remains on file in the Brazilian court. At any rate, a challenge to the validity of the March 12, 1999 Brazilian will may be mounted only in the court that gave it effect.3

Third, Benko argues he and decedent considered the CIS investment account a joint account, contributing to it equally. Benko, however, has tendered no evidence the account was in the form of a joint account. Thus Benko has failed to meet his burden of establishing the existence of a joint account (see Banking Law § 675).

Fourth, Benko claims decedent (who moved to Brazil as an adult and for whom Portuguese was a third language) was not completely fluent in Portuguese, and — despite the clarity of her testamentary expression — intended the Brazilian will to govern only property situated in Brazil. Contending decedent did not intend to revoke the New York will, Benko asks the court to consider evidence extrinsic to the wills to ascertain decedent’s [1012]*1012actual intent. Benko alleges: “She [decedent] often told me that the people in Brazil did not even know about her bank accounts in New York. One reason for this is she felt that there are legal restrictions to a Brazilian having foreign bank accounts.” He also alleges decedent told him: “No one knows about this money, only me. So no one else can touch it.” Further, Benko asserts:

“Citibank has two branch offices in Salvador[,] Brazil. Ruth Cardoso had a bank account with the Citibank office in Salvador, Brazil. There was only an insignificant amount of money in that account for several reasons, one being that due to hyperinflation in Brazil any funds held in that country are often wiped out by inflation.”

Extrinsic evidence of a testator’s intent is inadmissible to vary or contradict the clear and unambiguous terms of a will (Matter of Cord, 58 NY2d 539, 544 [1983], rearg denied 60 NY2d 586 [1983]; Matter of Wickwire, 270 AD2d 659, 661, 662 [3d Dept 2000], Iv dismissed in part, denied in part 95 NY2d 824 [2000]; see Matter of Bieley, 91 NY2d 520, 526 n 2 [1998]; Matter of Walker, 64 NY2d 354, 358 [1985]). That is, the probable intent of a testator, indicated by extrinsic evidence, may not prevail over the plain meaning of the will, unless the language of the will, itself, is adequate to express such intent (Matter of Smith, 254 NY 283, 289, 290 [1930]).

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19 Misc. 3d 1008, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-estate-of-cardoso-nysurct-2008.