John G. Farinacci is a partner and Co-Chair of the Trusts, Estates and Fiduciary Litigation practice group. John is a litigator with over twenty-five years of experience handling complex trust and estate disputes. John’s clients have included individual beneficiaries, heirs, executors, trustees, guardians and financial institutions serving as corporate fiduciaries.

 

John is versed in all types of contested proceedings, including the prosecution and defense of contested probate proceedings, will and trust construction proceedings, contested fiduciary accounting proceedings, imprudent fiduciary investment cases, fiduciary negligence and malfeasance claims, contested guardianship proceedings, kinship proceedings, discovery and turnover proceedings, constructive trust claims, commercial and real estate disputes in which estates or trusts interests are implicated, elder financial exploitation cases and a broad variety of other disputes that relate to the affairs of a decedent or administration of an estate or trust. All of this has given John wide-ranging experience that touches upon multiple areas of law.

 

John handles cases from inception through trial and appeals. His litigation practice is most heavily concentrated in the Surrogate’s Courts, but he routinely handles cases in New York State Supreme Court and appeals to the Appellate Division and the New York State Court of Appeals. John has also served as an expert witness on breaches of fiduciary duties in federal court and handles cases that relate to trust and estate issues in federal court.

 

As a complement to John’s litigation practice, John has handled estate planning and administration matters and uncontested proceedings including probate, administration and guardianships. John also has extensive experience in developing litigation-avoidance strategies and in resolving cases through alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation. John is a trained mediator and has received advanced training to mediate Surrogate’s Court disputes specifically.

 

John frequently lectures in continuing legal education programs on various trusts and estates topics.

 

Professional Associations

• New York State Bar Association – Trusts and Estates Section – member since 1998

• Member of the Executive Committee – 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019-2022.
• Past Vice-Chair and Past Chair of the Surrogate’s Court Committee
• Past Chair of the Estate Litigation Committee
• Past Vice-Chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee
• Nassau County Bar Association – Surrogate’s Court Estates and Trusts Committee

• Member since 1998
• Past Chair
• Suffolk County Bar Association – Surrogate’s Court Committee
• Trustee of the Long Island Children’s Museum – 2012-2019

• Active Member of the Governance Committee – 2017 – 2019
   

Honors and Awards

• Long Island Business News Leadership in Law Award — November 29, 2018.
• Long Island Business News 40 Under 40 Award — 2007.
• New York Metro Area Super Lawyers List – 2015-Present
   

Media Appearances

• Quoted in the Newsday article, “Is ‘inbox zero’ the answer to taming the email monster? Not for everyone, experts say”, March 22, 2019.
• Profiled in Long Island Business News cover story, “Law, Love & Marriage”, subtitled, “Husband, wife team litigate bellwether case involving ‘predatory marriages’”, August 17 – 23, 2018.
• Quoted in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle article, “Landmark Surrogate’s Court Decision Could end the Scourge of Predatory Marriages”, July 25, 2018.
• Quoted in WealthManagement.com’s article, “A Step in the Right Direction for Elder Abuse Cases, July 18, 2018.
• Featured in the New York Law Journal article, “In ‘Bellwether,’ Judge Rejects Spousal Share for Caretaker Who Married Businessman at Life’s End”, July 16, 2018.
• Quoted in the New York Post article “Holocaust Survivor’s Kin Can Keep $10M Relec”, April 6, 2010. John’s quotes were republished by several international news outlets such as the UK’s Daily Mail article, “Smart Trade: The £6.6M Ancient Gold Tablet That a Holocaust Survivor Swapped Some Cigarettes For in Post-War Berlin”, April 6, 2010 and Australia’s The Advertiser’s article, “Holocaust Survivor Wins Stolen $11M relic”, April 6, 2010.
   

Publications

•  “Estate Pitfalls in Divorce and Separation Agreements.” New York Law Journal,

    July 3, 2020.

“Anatomy of a Probate Contest, Part 5: the Trial.” New York Law Journal,

    November 14, 2019.      

• “Why Predatory Marriage Legislation Should Draw on Judicial Guidance.” New York  

   Law Journal, June 28, 2019.

• “The Facts and Misconceptions Between Undue Influence and Mental Capacity.” 

  New York Law Journal, July 9, 2018.

• “SCPA Article 17-A Guardianship Statue Revisited.” New York Law Journal,

  March 16, 2017.

• “Balancing Competing Concerns: Law of Organ Donation and Transplantation.”

  New York Law Journal, June 9, 2016.

• “Estate Tax Apportionment and Ratable Contribution.” New York Law Journal,

    November 12, 2015.

• “The Right of Election and Tax Apportionment.” New York Law Journal,

   November 10, 2014.

• “Second Circuit Rules Homosexuals a Quasi-Suspect Class in a Case Relating to  

  the Estate Tax Marital Deduction.” Warren’s Heaton on Surrogate’s Court Practice  

  Legislative & Case Digest, November 2012.

• “Knox,” the Prudent Investor and Fiduciary Duties.” New York Law Journal,

    September 12, 2012.

• “From Greiff to Campbell and Berk: The Judicial Evaluation of Spousal Protection Under Estate Law.” Nassau Lawyer (Journal of the Nassau County Bar Association, February 1, 2012.

 

 

Blogs

• “A Matter of Convenience: From Bank Accounts to Real Property,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, June 11, 2015.
• “Rules Concerning Non-party Subpoenas Finally Made Uniform,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, April 29, 2014.
• “Abandonment Cases in Surrogate’s Court Present Difficult Factual Issues,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, February 18, 2014.
• “Estate Failed to Prove Museum’s Laches on Claim to a 3,000 Year Old Archeological Artifact Missing Since WWII,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, January 6, 2014.
• “Spouse vs. Charity: Estate Tax Apportionment,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, May 14, 2013.
• “Hostility as a Basis to Deny Fiduciary Apointment,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, March 1, 2013.
• “Life Imitating Art on the Stage of the Surrogate’s Court” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, August 8, 2012.
• “Summary Judgment in Will Contests: An Epilogue,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, March 20, 2012.
• “Summary Judgment in Will Contests: atter of Lubin,” Lexis Nexis Estate Practice and Elder Law Blog, February 13, 2012.