C. Raymond Radigan

Of Counsel

516-663-6602

Of Counsel

516-663-6602

516-663-6802

crayradigan@rmfpc.com

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Practice Areas

Alternative Dispute Resolution
Estate, Trust and Fiduciary Litigation

Judge C. Raymond Radigan, retired Nassau County surrogate, serves as counsel to the Trusts & Estates Department. He is chair of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.’s Mediation Solutions Group. His practice focuses on estate and trust litigation, estate administration and estate planning.

He served as the judge of the Nassau County Surrogate’s Court for 20 years after he was first elected in 1981. Previously, he served the Nassau Surrogate’s Court as chief clerk and deputy chief clerk, and as a law assistant to Surrogate John D. Bennett. As chair of the Advisory Committee to the Legislature on the Estates Powers and Trusts Law, and the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, he has been a driving force in the revision and update of trusts and estates law and practice in New York State.

C. Raymond was a special professor at Hofstra Law School, an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law, and a former adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School and Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. He has lectured extensively, delivering more than 100 lectures annually to a wide variety of organizations, including the Long Island Estate Planning Council, Cornell University Law School, New York Law School, Columbia Law School, Pace Law School, New York State Bar Association, City Bar of New York, the bar associations of Kings, Queens and Westchester counties, New York County Lawyers Association, and numerous other professional, business and social service organizations.

He is member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Nassau County Bar Association and its Decedent Estate Committee, Long Island Lawyers Association, National College of Probate Judges, and New York State Bar Association Judicial Section where he served as president of the Judicial Council and as a former delegate to the House of Delegates. He is also former chair of the Executive Committee of the Surrogates Association, chair of the Advisory Committee to the Legislature on EPTL and SCPA and former chair of the Committee to Examine the Effectiveness of the Fiduciary Appointment Rule.

In addition, C. Raymond is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (“ACTEC”), member of Federal and New York Bar, Knight of Malta, a former president of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a member of the New York State Guard, where he served as colonel, and editor of several trust and estate publications. He is also a Certified Arbitrator and Mediator by the American Arbitration Association. Due to the Pandemic and shortage of court staff, several Surrogates have referred matters for the Judge to mediate, or referee to hear and report or hear and determine.

Awards

Estate Planning Council of Suffolk County, 1980.
Surrogates Law Association, 1981.
United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, 1985.
Nassau Lawyers Association of Long Island, 1988.
Great Neck Lawyers Association, 1989.
Columbian Lawyers Association, 1990.
Parkville Youth Organization, 1992.
International Association for Financial Planning, 1992.
Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Rockville Center, Judiciary Award, 1992.
New York State Bar Association House of Delegates, 1992.
Nassau County for Community Service.
Court Officers Benevolent Association, Fidelis Juri Award, 1997.
Man of the Year, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
Friends of the Arts.
USA and Diabetes Association.

Publications

Coauthor, New York Estate Administration, West Publishing.
Surrogate’s Forms with Commentary for Computer Use, DatalexBender’s New York Practice, (SCPA-EPTL).
Warren’s Heaton Surrogate’s Courts.

Articles

Personal Liability of a Fiduciary for Claims Against an Estate, New York Law Journal
Continuation of a Business of a Decedent, New York Law Journal
Surrogate’s Court: Seeking Advice for Construction or Direction, New York Law Journal
Why New York Attorneys Should Consider Inter Vivos Trusts in Estate Planning, New York Law Journal
Hostility as a Basis for Removal Of a Fiduciary Without a Hearing, New York Law Journal
Arbitration and Mediation: Role of Surrogates in Settlement Conferences, New York Law Journal
Accountings in Estate and Trust Proceedings, Part I: Informal Accountings, New York Law Journal
Dead Man’s Statute, New York State Bar Journal
“Estate Practice Guide,” Nassau County Bar Association Bulletin
“Guidelines for Guardian ad Litem.”

Publications

New York Law Journal – Personal Liability of a Fiduciary for Claims Against an Estate
New York Law Journal – Jury Trials in Surrogate’s Court
New York Law Journal – Continuation of a Business of a Decedent
New York Law Journal – Surrogate’s Court: Seeking Advice for Construction or Direction
New York Law Journal – Why New York Attorneys Should Consider Inter Vivos Trusts in Estate Planning
New York Law Journal – Hostility as a Basis for Removal Of a Fiduciary Without a Hearing
New York Law Journal – Arbitration and Mediation Role of Surrogates in Settlement Conferences
New York Law Journal – Accountings in Estate and Trust Proceedings, Part I: Informal Accountings
New York Law Journal – Considerations in Choosing Fora For Disputes Over Decedents’ Assets
New York Law Journal – How Final is a Decree Based Upon Virtual Representation?
SCPA Article 17 Guardianships: How To Invest for a Minor
New York Law Journal – Thoughts on Court Consolidation, Revisited
Accounting for Fiduciaries’ Actions
Self-Dealing Fiduciaries: What Is the Appropriate Standard? – New York Law Journal, 11/15/11
New York Law Journal – Asserting Affirmative Defenses To Objections in Accounting Proceedings
Is the Third Time the Charm? NYS Assembly Considers Amendment Increasing Individual Charitable Trustee Commission in 2021 Legislative Session
Accessing Safe Deposit Boxes Owned By Allegedly Incapacitated Persons
Now, More Than Ever, New York Needs a Directed Trust Statute
New York’s New Statutory Power of Attorney
Wrongful Death Compromises: A Proposal
Joint Bank Accounts: Friend or Foe?
My Kidney to Yours: The Organ Shortage Crisis
Estate Pitfalls in Divorce And Separation Agreements
Consider the Potential Benefits of Mediation Or Referees During the Pandemic
Implications of DNA Registries For Trust and Estate Practitioners
The Future of Mediation In Trusts and Estates
Thoughts on Court Consolidation: The Surrogate’s Court
Anatomy of a Probate Contest, Part 5: The Trial
Anatomy of a Probate Contest, Part IV: Objections in a Probate Proceeding
Freedom or Life: Does a Living Will Truly Serve Its Creator?
Anatomy of a Probate Contest Part 3: SCPA 1404 Examinations
Anatomy of a Probate Contest, Part 2: The Probate Petition and Jurisdiction
Mediation as an Alternative To Estate Litigation
Anatomy of a Probate Contest, Part I: Planning to Avoid a Contest
Partial Probate in New York
Presumption of Death: What Happens When an Individual Vanishes From Society?
The Facts and Misconceptions Between Undue Influence and Mental Capacity
Protecting Digital Assets in a Digital Age
Nominating a Guardian- Ad Litem Pursuant to SCPA Article 4
Time for a Second Look: Revisiting New York’s Proposed Directed Trust Statute
EPTL §2-1.5: How and When Can A Donee Acknowledge an Advancement?
Considerations When the Proposed Article 17 A Guardian May Not Be Suitable
Proposed New York Trust Code
Practical Concerns When Settling a Wrongful Death Action
Estate Tax Apportionment and Ratable Contribution to Elective Share
Balancing Competing Concerns: Law Of Organ Donation and Transplantation
Mortmain Statutes and Restrictions On Testamentary Gifts to Charities
Article 17-A Guardianship Statute: Still Alive and Well
Recent Tax Court Ruling on Crummey Trusts
Clarifying When and Whether Divorce Revokes Bequests
Third-Party Miscellaneous Proceedings in Surrogate’s Court
The Right of Election and Tax Apportionment
Honorable C. Raymond Radigan Becomes Fellow of “ACTEC”
Statutory Inheritance Rights of a Posthumously Conceived Child (NYLJ, January 2015)
Filing A Bond by a Preliminary Executor
Interplay of Health Care Proxy and Living Will (New York Law Journal)
Changes to New York’s Estate and Trust Income Tax Laws (NYLJ, May 2014)
The Evolution of Prudence in Trustee Investing – New York Law Journal 7-9-13
Annual Exclusion Gifts to Minors (NYLJ, May 2013)
‘Knox,’ the Prudent Investor and Fiduciary Duties – New York Law Journal, 9-18-2012
Need for Slayer Statute to Determine Effect of Homicide on Property Rights
Extent of Surrogate’s Court Jurisdiction
New York Needs a Directed Trust Statute – New York Law Journal, 11/20/12
Article 17-A Proceedings Remain an Important Tool – New York Law Journal, 1/6/10
Privity and the Role of Limited Letters in Legal Malpractice Actions – New York Law Journal, 11/22/10
Applying Equitable Estoppel to Deathbed Marriages – New York Law Journal, 5/13/10
Till Death Do Us Part: Post-Death Annulment of Marriage and the Right of Election – NYSBA Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Winter 2009
The Evolution of Trust Reformation and Modification Under New York Law – New York Law Journal, 7/9/12
Analyzing New York Estate Tax Law as Federal Proposals Loom
Rulings on Trustee’s Duty to Diversify: What Have We Learned?
Does New York Need a Trust Code? – New York Law Journal, 1/31/11
Advisory Committee: Recommendations on Right of Election Statute
Trusts and Estates Law Avoiding Issues of Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Fraud
Extraordinary Circ*mstances Required for Surrogates’s Court Advice and Direction
Surrogate’s Court Procedure: In-Depth Review, Recommendations

Education

Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 1961)
Brooklyn College (B.A., 1957)

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