Civil Remedies

Read Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning updates, articles, and legal commentary from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 24, 2013

New Jersey Estate Litigation: The Availability of Punitive Damages

by Christopher Massaro | Cole Schotz on 3/7/2013

In In re Stockdale, the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed the availability of punitive damages in estate disputes involving undue influence claims. 196 N.J. 275 (2008). ...more

Interest Under Will Did Not Revert Back To Estate

by David Johnson | Winstead PC on 10/25/2012

In Roberts v. Wilson, the El Paso Court of Appeals ruled that the wife of a beneficiary under a will was entitled to her husband’s interest in real property because he survived his parents and the bequeath did not have a...more

Court is Entitled to Render Equitable Apportionment of Attorney Fees in Partition Action

by Barger & Wolen on 3/9/2012

In Lin v. Jeng, 2012 DJDAR 2498 (2012), the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District rendered a fee award based on equitable principles in a partition action involving a real estate dispute between family...more

The Owner Occupant Exception – When is a Trust a Natural Person?

by Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. on 9/29/2011

A critical question for residential contractors in Arizona is whether a homeowner is an "owner occupant." When a homeowner is an "owner occupant," contractors may only record a lien on the property if they have a direct...more

Los Angeles Targets Trustee to Clean-Up Housing Mess

by Reed Smith on 7/29/2011

The People of the State of California and The City of Los Angeles (collectively, the "Plaintiff") are seeking to hold Deutsche Bank National Trust Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as trustee under hundreds of...more

BofA Settlement Information

by Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 7/1/2011

As you likely are aware, this past Wednesday (June 29th) Bank of America (BofA) announced an agreement to resolve nearly all of its repurchase and servicing exposure for legacy Countrywide-issued first-lien residential...more

Fraudsters Beware - Homestead Exemptions Don't Always Work

by Brian Mahany on 9/3/2010

New tax court case limits the asset protection afforded to Florida residents by Florida's homestead law. If you transfer assets to avoid creditors, do not automatically assume that Florida's powerful homestead exemption will...more