Welcome!

On behalf of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and the members of its Executive Committee, we welcome to our website all members and hope that our new members will consider becoming actively involved. The benefits of your membership and active participation with the Trusts and Estates Law Section cannot be overstated. You will profit not just from the educational component offered by the outstanding Continuing Legal Education Department, but also from the congeniality and friendships that endure throughout your career. For many new attorneys you will find your participation in the section akin to having an informal mentor.

The Trusts and Estates Law Section is actively involved in all aspects of estate practice, by analyzing topical issues, drafting new legislation and providing relevant continuing legal education to practitioners. Our Section has been in the forefront of proposing significant legislation which has enhanced our practice, such as the enactment of the New York State SOP tax, the creation of unified forms throughout the Surrogate’s Court system referred to as “HOT DOCs” and ratification of the attorney-client privilege between counsel and a fiduciary. It is enormously rewarding to play a role in the development of the law which governs our practice.

The Trusts and Estates Law Section is divided into 16 committees. Each committee has a chair and one or more vice-chairs all of whom are members of the Section’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee meets five times a year. The work of the Section covers the breadth of the practice through the participation of members on designated committees. At the Executive Committee meetings, members consider and vote on recommendations made by in a report or proposed legislation prepared by a sub-committee which was responsible for studying the particular issue. The participation of each member counts and through these reports, articles and legislation we shape our practice.

A brief description of each Committee is set forth on the Section’s web page which may be accessed on the New York State Bar Association’s web site. Currently, each Committee is actively engaged in several projects, a sampling follows:

1) the Estate Planning Committee is reviewing issues involving the expansion of the grounds for disqualification of surviving spouses; 2) the Surrogate’s Court Committee is addressing the allowance of guardianship investment in 529 College Savings Plans; 3) the Special Committee on E-Filing is working on expanding electronic filings in all the Surrogate’s Courts and 4) the Estate and Trust Administration Committee is drafting legislation to clarify New York’s trust decanting statute.

Each member of our section may participate on a sub-committee in a variety of ways, from researching a topic, drafting a report or legislation, or debating an issue during an Executive Committee meeting. Every member is heard and his or her opinion given weight. 

Our Section is committed to finding a way to help more members get started. For those members who have not signed up for a committee, please do so by contacting the Chair of the Committee or by filling out the attached form and emailing it to Lisa J. Bataille at lbataille@nysba.org: Upon receipt of the form, a member of the section will contact you.

Your membership will enable you to participate on a committee, access invaluable information on the Section’s web page where topical cases and new legislation are posted, receive the Section’s Newsletter (published several times a year) which contain articles on topical issues, and receive via email alerts on breaking cases and legislation.

The benefits of membership are invaluable. The relationships you will form will enrich your practice and provide you with a network that cannot be duplicated.

Committee Assignment Request 

Symposium at ColumbiaLaw School 9/23/2011 (Section Members Only)