Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning

Read Professional Malpractice updates, alerts, news, and legal analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 25, 2013

The Trust Being a Multi-Party Relationship, Whom Legal Counsel Represents Can Get Complicated

by Charles E. Rounds, Jr. on 5/1/2013

The trust being a multi-party relationship, it is not always that easy to discern at any given time whom legal counsel is representing, or should be representing, in matters relating to the trust’s creation and...more

Trial lawyers beware of the in terrorem trust clause: A nasty trap that can keep on springing.

by Charles E. Rounds, Jr. on 1/1/2013

An “in terrorem” or “no-contest” clause in a trust instrument provides for the forfeiture or reduction of the equitable property interest of a beneficiary who contests the arrangement. In a recent New Hampshire case, Shelton,...more

Does a trust beneficiary incur any personal liability?

by Charles E. Rounds, Jr. on 7/1/2012

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

Oliveira v. Kiesler: Attorneys and Non-Attorneys May Be Joint Tortfeasors For Purposes of Offsetting Judgment After Good Faith...

by Sedgwick LLP on 6/22/2012

The California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division 3) recently held that an attorney can be a joint tortfeasor with his or her client for purposes of California Code of Civil Procedure section 877. The...more

Shifren v. Spiro: Legal Malpractice Statute of Limitations Does Not Begin to Run Until Judgment or Settlement of Underlying Case...

by Sedgwick LLP on 6/13/2012

The California Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division 3) reversed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a defendant law firm after concluding that the action was not time-barred by the running of...more

Mediation and Arbitration have their limitations when it comes to trust disputes.

by Charles E. Rounds, Jr. on 4/1/2012

Unless the fiduciary issues and the representation issues in a trust dispute are properly sorted out in advance, there is a very real risk that an ill-considered rush to mediate or arbitrate will prove an expensive and...more

Privity and the Role of Limited Letters in Legal Malpractice Actions

by Ruskin Moscou Faltischek on 11/29/2010

In a significant decision this summer, Schneider v. Finmann, 15 NY3d 306 (2010), the Court of Appeals loosened the privity requirements in legal malpractice actions. Specifically, in Schneider, the Court of Appeals held for...more