This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. Intentional Interference and Unjust Enrichment Claims in Connection with a Trust...more
Mishaps of celebrities in their estate planning can offer insight into what can happen when you neglect your estate planning. While interest in a band or song rights may not be a part of your family’s portfolio, business...more
Time for some summer fun. You can make bequests in your Will and attach any contingency you would like. Whether the bequest or contingency will be able to be carried out, or withstand an objection by the beneficiary in the...more
Naturally, COVID-19 has led to a large degree of uncertainty, which emphasizes the importance of having your estate plan in place – or establishing one if you have not done so already. ...more
With the coronavirus pandemic, many people have asked, “what happens if I die without an estate plan?” Without a properly prepared estate plan, California does your planning for you. ...more
Yes, sometimes your estate plan can be changed AFTER you die to alter bequests made in Wills and Revocable Trusts. (For ease, “will” is used throughout this article.) This is done to change ownership of assets and/or to...more
Typically, you arrange to leave most of your assets to various family members, including your spouse and children. These dispositions are spelled out in your will. But you don’t have to do what’s “expected” of you....more
The Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter compiles recent Trust & Estate cases. Brother Gets the Cat – and Not Much Else - Where the decedent left his brother his “beloved old cat” and a small sum of money, and...more
The Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter compiles recent Trust & Estate cases. Our lawyers are at the forefront of this area of the law, shaping how it is handled in the Probate and Family Court. Goulston & Storrs is the...more
Those of us who watched AMC’s hit drama “Breaking Bad” may recall the scene in the pilot episode where Walt and Jesse set out to dissolve a dead body in hydrofluoric acid. Jesse neglects to take Walt’s (the chemistry...more
Your friendly neighborhood branch banker suggests that you change all your accounts to either joint with your kids, or to name your kids as beneficiaries on all your accounts (a “pay on death” beneficiary designation). She...more
In Naidoo v Discovery Life Limited & others (202/20170) ZASCA 88 (31 May 2018) the Supreme Court of Appeal was faced with the main task of determining whether a risk-only policy with a beneficiary clause constitutes an asset...more
Judicial oaths require that judges rule on the law, putting their personal feelings aside. Indeed, judges’ personal opinions are presumed to be non-factors in judicial decision making as judges are charged to uphold the...more
In Roth v. Newpol et al., 91 Mass. App. Ct. 699 (May 31, 2017), the Appeals Court considered whether a residuary clause in a decedent’s last will and testament disposing of "any monies remaining in [her] estate" encompassed...more
In some will contests, lawyers will speculate that the decedent may have misled people as to his true estate plan, either out of weakness, to keep the peace, to measure reactions, to avoid uncomfortable conversations, and...more
So you have an estate plan? Good for you. You funded it? Even better. But have you updated it and your will in the last year? If you haven’t, your loved ones or favorite charities may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Your...more
On July 1, 2015, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held, with a few exceptions, upon entry of a final judgment of dissolution or annulment, any provision of a will that “affects” a former spouse is void under...more