A heartbroken widow, whose late husband owned 14 properties in the East Village, claims to have received only a fraction of his $45 million estate, accusing her own daughter of excluding her from their family’s wealth.
Robert and Ann Giurdanella were married for 64 years until his passing in December 2021 at the age of 89. The couple resided in the East Village.
They had two children, Christine and Carlo. Robert built a real estate portfolio that included full or partial ownership of nine rental apartment buildings, along with several commercial units on East 11th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, as well as others in the vicinity.
In addition to properties, he left behind $1 million in cash, a condo in Highland Beach, Florida, and a house in Putnam County, according to court documents.
The family business, Giurdanella Bros. Inc., once employed over 40 individuals and created Bella Tile Co. “to provide employment for family members and in-laws,” according to Robert’s obituary.
Despite the apparent wealth, Ann, now 88, alleges that her daughter has only given her a minimal amount of $133,000 since Robert’s death, as cited in court records.
For almost a year, Ann has been battling in Manhattan’s Surrogate and Supreme Courts for a larger share of Robert’s estate, claiming she is legally entitled to a $15 million portion as his widow.
“I no longer trust her or consider her my daughter,” Giurdanella expressed in caustic court filings from November submitted to Manhattan Surrogate Court.
“Our relationship has deteriorated to the point where I am unable to comprehend her deep, unfounded hostility towards me,” the widow continued.
In her lawsuit, she accused her daughter of taking her Social Security payments and the Highland Beach condo. Christine has denied all allegations. The legal proceedings are still ongoing.
Additionally, Giurdanella initiated a $15 million lawsuit on September 17 against Manhattan attorney Gregg Weiss, who drafted Robert’s estate documents, alleging malpractice, fraud, and negligence.
“At no point did Mr. Weiss or anyone else at his firm explain to me my spousal election rights,” or clarify Robert’s estate plan, which designated the assets to be placed in a trust managed by Christine, she contended.
The attorney purportedly misled Ann into believing that Robert’s estate was valued only at $2 million and prepared an estate plan without her consent, according to the lawsuit.
Struggling with her grief, Giurdanella was hospitalized for weeks and missed her husband’s funeral, later returning home with the anti-anxiety medication Lorazepam, stating she was “a physical shell of herself,” according to court documents.
Christine allegedly showed up in February 2022 with a notary and numerous legal documents—prepared by Weiss—for Ann to sign, knowing her mother was in poor health, as asserted by the widow.
These documents reportedly contained deeds for the Florida condo and Putnam home, along with paperwork indicating that Ann would not challenge her husband’s estate plan, she stated in her ongoing Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
Giurdanella, who has an eighth-grade education and resides in one of the East 11th Street properties, claims she “signed them without reading or comprehending what she was doing,” according to her legal statements.
A judge in Manhattan Surrogate Court dismissed Giurdanella’s request for a share of Robert’s estate, ruling in July that she had missed crucial legal deadlines and labeling her accusations against Christine as “irrelevant.”
The judge also determined that Giurdanella’s pursuit of $15 million would have “upended” Robert’s estate plan and incurred $11 million in taxes.
Ann Giurdanella’s attorney declined to provide comments. Christine Giurdanella’s legal counsel highlighted the Surrogate Court’s dismissal of the mother’s claims.
“I represented Robert Giurdanella’s estate interests diligently, saving his family $11 million in potential taxes,” Gregg Weiss stated to The Post, calling Ann’s claims “baseless.”
“It is unfortunate that family disputes have led to unfounded allegations against others,” he added.
