Opinion
November 15, 1993
Appeal from the Surrogate's Court, Dutchess County (Benson, S.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.
The plaintiffs are the stepchildren of the decedent Angelina LaBella. The plaintiffs allege that the defendant Phyllis Goodman unlawfully obtained a power of attorney from the decedent, which Goodman exercised to convert assets belonging to the decedent to her own benefit. The assets allegedly included the proceeds from the sale of certain property which was devised to the plaintiffs in the decedent's will. Consequently, the plaintiffs seek to impose a constructive trust on the proceeds of the sale of that property, including those remaining in Goodman's possession, as well as proceeds already remitted to the estate's administrator.
The Surrogate's Court, to which the plaintiffs' suit had been transferred, dismissed the complaint insofar as it was asserted against Goodman. We affirm.
It is undisputed that the subject real property was conveyed during the decedent's lifetime and did not comprise a part of her estate. The Surrogate's Court properly determined that the doctrine of ademption extinguished any claim the plaintiffs may have had regarding the devised property (see, Matter of Wright, 7 N.Y.2d 365; Matter of Brann, 219 N.Y. 263; Ametrano v Downs, 170 N.Y. 388; Matter of Charles, 3 A.D.2d 119; Matter of Kramp, 100 Misc.2d 724). Furthermore, once the devise is found to be adeemed, the court is not permitted to substitute something else for it (see, Matter of Wright, 7 N.Y.2d, at 368, supra). This includes tracing the proceeds from the sale of real property (see, Matter of Kramp, supra, at 726-727). Mangano, P.J., Balletta, Copertino and Joy, JJ., concur.