Family Law › Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning › Civil Remedies

The trustee is not relieved of the duty to defend the trust just because the beneficiary happens to be getting divorced.

The trustee's primary allegiance is to the beneficiary, not to the non-beneficiary spouse or ex-spouse, unless the express terms of the trust provide otherwise. Thus, when there is marital discord, the trustee must suppress...more

Does a trust beneficiary incur any personal liability?

As a general rule, one assumes no personal liability when one becomes a trust beneficiary. There are some exceptions, however. Charles E. Rounds, Jr. explains in Section 5.6 of Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2012)....more

Asset Protection for Parents - Are Your Children A Lawsuit Exposure?

Asset Protection, Are Your Children A Lawsuit Exposure? We all like to think our kids are better behaved, smarter, and more sensible than the ones we see in the news or read about, but their exposures are unpredictable and...more

Wealth Management Update - July 2011

In This Issue: - July Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts - Malpractice claim against an estate was too uncertain to be deductible as...more

Applying Equitable Estoppel To Deathbed Marriages

“Elder abuse, including the financial exploitation of elderly individuals who have become mentally incapacitated is an often well-hidden problem."1 Several recent decisions have highlighted a specific type of elder abuse...more

New York Child Support Laws Demystified

Child Support Laws Demystified...more

Using Nondischargibility in Bankruptcy Against Financial Abusers of the Elderly

"Stealing the Old Lady's Bundle"? Getting back money from those who cheat elderly parents and then file Bankruptcy. Recovering Money and other property from those who abuse the trust of elderly people in their care or...more

Bardfield v. O'Leary

Memorandum in Support of Opposition to Summary Judgment

This is the Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment in a case challenging the imposition of a "range test" where both statute and regulation state no such testing is required....more