Why Probate Courts Were Invented

Writing in The Huffington Post, trusts and estates lawyer Herbert Nass argues that the criminal trial of Tony Marshall, Brooke Astor's son, was a bad idea from the start:

Regardless of the final verdict, I believe that this case has set a dangerous and bad precedent just by the fact that it was ever commenced at all.

The probate, or surrogate’s, courts in New York, and in most states, are specialized courts that understand and address all of the intricate legal issues involving testamentary capacity, undue influence, forgery and fraud. The judges and clerks in those courts deal with all of these issues on a daily basis, although rarely involving the magnitude of the assets of Mrs. Astor. The Astor case may be an extreme case of overreaching by her only child, or it might not be, but to have made it a criminal matter at the outset is, in my opinion, the wrong way to approach what is initially a civil, family matter.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/herbert-nass/brooke-astors-will----doe_b_292621.html