In the NYC art world one of the most renown names is Sikkema Jenkins & Co. In 1991 Brent Sikkema founded one of the world’s most prominent art galleries on Wooster Street in NYC’s Soho. When the 75 year old NYC art dealer Brent Sikkema was found stabbed to death on the floor of his Rio De Janiero apartment last January all eyes immediately looked at Sikkema’s estranged husband of 15 years, Daniel Sikkema. The two shared a 13 year old son Lucas who had been conceived with a surrogate who became the subject of bitter divorce litigation in Manhattan. Brent Sikkema, whose net worth was in the tens of millions of dollars, was brutally stabbed more than 18 times in his face and chest on the morning of January 15, 2024, which authorities normally consider to be associated with a crime of passion.
Brent and Daniel Sikkema each had colorful pasts. Brent who had admittedly frequented sex houses and regularly used male escorts had married Daniel Sikkema who had himself chronicled his own time working as a Cuban male prostitute in his memoir. All of this was made even more scandalous by Brent Sikkema’s influential relationships with American aristocrats such as Michelle Obama.
According to authorities, Daniel Sikkema paid another former Cuban male prostitute, Alejandro Prevez, $200,000 to stab Brent Sikkema to death in the early morning of January 15, 2024. The motive was to gain sole custody of their 13 year old son Lucas, and control of Brent’s estimated $70 million international estate containing a portfolio of prominent properties.
Pursuant to the NYC Police Department’s investigation, Brent Sikkema changed his NY will in 2022 amidst his bitter divorce, omitting Daniel Sikkema from his NY estate. However within the State of New York a testator cannot completely disinherit their spouse absent a prenuptial agreement. According to the Right of Election a surviving spouse is entitled to 1/3 of the gross estate proceeds whether they have been disinherited from their spouse’s NY will or not. This means had Daniel Sikkema not allegedly hired a male prostitute to kill his embroiled spouse his right of election would have entitled Daniel to tens of millions of dollars of Brent’s inheritance despite being completely disinherited by the 2022 NY will if Brent had died naturally.
The Slayer Statute
Unfortunately for Daniel Sikkema, what he probably did not appreciate before allegedly having his estranged husband murdered is the New York Estate Law’s slayer statute. Simply stated the Slayer Statute asserts, “The principle that a wrongdoer may not profit from his or her wrongdoing is deeply rooted in this state’s common law. In 1889, the Court of Appeals decided the seminal case of Riggs v Palmer (115 NY 506, 22 NE 188, 23 Abb N Cas 452 [1889]). In Riggs, a grandson, who had intentionally killed his grandfather in order to ensure his inheritance, was prevented from inheriting under the grandfather’s will. In reaching this determination, the Court of Appeals held that no one shall be permitted to profit by his own fraud, or to take advantage of his own wrong, or to found any claim upon his own iniquity, or to acquire property by his own crime”. In short, the Riggs rule “prevents wrongdoers from acquiring a property interest, or otherwise profiting from their own wrongdoing” (Matter of Covert, 97 NY2d 68, 74, 761 NE2d 571, 735 NYS2d 879 [2001]). In other words under the New York Estate Law, you cannot kill someone and then inherit from their estate either directly or indirectly. In the Matter of Brent Sikkema, Daniel is currently attempting to assert his right of election against his share of Brent’s Estate under the NY Estate Law.
As such, if Daniel Sikkema is found to have been instrumental in the murder of his embattled spouse during their divorce, he will forfeit any and all rights he may have had under the New York Estate Law, to inherit under his Right of Election as the surviving spouse pursuant to the slayer statute.
Thus you cannot kill someone and then inherit from their NY Estate. You would be surprised at how often this issue comes up within the NY estate law. In this case, if you throw a volatile, high profile, eight figure divorce into the mix you have an even greater chance of something like this occurring. While it is often said most crimes of passion are committed for love, the same can be even more true for the love of money.
If you or someone you love is the heir to a NY estate, you may have rights under the NY estate law. Feel free to call an experienced NY estate lawyer at The Law Offices of Jason W. Stern & Associates, at (718) 261-2444 for a free consultation. Our Queens estate lawyers have 60 years of combined NY estate law experience handling these often complex NY estate cases for heirs in the counties of Queens, New York, Kings, Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Nassau, Richmond, Orange and Dutchess.