Case ID: ad3d_41/html/0345-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

In the Matter of the Estate of Mark Tarka, Deceased. Public Administrator of the County of New York, Respondent; Melanie Tarka, Appellant.
    [837 NYS2d 571]
   Decree, Surrogate’s Court, New York County (Renee R. Roth, S.), entered April 6, 2006, which granted the petition for letters of administration with respect to the goods, chattels and credits of decedent Mark Tarka, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Respondent, who was long estranged from her deceased brother, objects to the grant of letters of administration to the Public Administrator. However, the Surrogate’s Court appropriately exercised its broad discretionary authority (see Matter of Stortecky v Mazzone, 85 NY2d 518 [1995]) in finding respondent herself ineligible to serve as a fiduciary of this estate, in view of her history, inter alia, of noncompliance with judicial directives (see SCPA 707 [1] [e]).

We have considered respondent’s arguments and find them to be unavailing. Concur—Tom, J.P., Andrias, Sweeny and Kavanagh, JJ.