It is generally known and accepted that the executor of an estate may be surcharged for improper or excessive expenses incurred in the administration of the estate. That is what happened when the executor of the estate of Ann M Kadah surcharged $35,000 by the Surrogate of Onondaga County, John J. Elliott. Surrogate Elliott, however, went one step further by awarding statutory (9%) interest on the surcharge against the fiduciary. As reported in In Re Carano 946 N.Y.S.2d 755(A.D. 4 Dept. 2012) the Appellate Division of the Fourth Department was ruled to be an unfair penalty and was disallowed.
