Postscript: Matter of Ferrara, Again

In what may be the concluding chapter to the long-standing battle resolved by the New York Court of Appeals' decision in Matter of Ferrara, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the Surrogate's denial of a hearing on the issue of whether the gifts made by the attorney-in-fact were in the decedent's best interest, holding that this was in accordance with the mandate of the Court of Appeals. Matter of Ferrara, __ A.D.3d __, __ N.Y.S.2d __ (2d Dep't 2008). Significantly, the Second Department held (citing CPLR 5001[a]) that the Surrogate should have awarded prejudgment interest because the attorney-in-fact's actions "interfered with" the residuary beneficiary's entitlement to the money.