An Executor’s Guide to Administering an Estate
Estate Planning 101: The Five Most Important Clauses for Wills and Trusts
Top Ten Mistakes Executors Make and How to Avoid Them
Once you have taken the essential step in formulating your estate plan, you must name an executor of your Will. Whom should you designate for this significant role, and what is expected of them?...more
There are a number of considerations to make when deciding whether to proceed with a Will-based estate plan or a trust-based estate plan. First, as a general matter, there are two ways in which your estate can be distributed...more
Why do you need estate planning no matter where you live, but especially in California? What is estate planning? Isn’t estate planning just for people with a lot of money, property and wealth? Why should someone just...more
When conflict arises in the settling of an estate – especially a high-net-worth estate – the parties involved may look to the courts to help resolve the dispute. Litigation is one way to settle probate disputes, but it is...more
What is the Probate Process in New York? Probate is the formal legal process that gives recognition to a will and appoints the executor or personal representative who will administer the estate and distribute the...more
DURING YOUR LIFE - When preparing your estate plan, it is of utmost importance to ensure that you have documents in place so your spouse or another trusted individual can make medical and financial decisions on your...more
New amendments to the Israeli Succession Law came into effect recently. These amendments aim to alleviate the bureaucratic burden involved both in issuing probate orders or inheritance orders and in supervising estate...more
In Bean v. Bean, a dissenting co-executor sought relief from a probate court regarding whether certain assets were separate property or community property. No. 05-21-00286-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 9058 (Tex. App.—Dallas...more
If probate is needed, the process usually begins soon after a loved one passes away. The probate process can be long, stressful, and expensive. Some family members are able to manage it on their own without an attorney, but...more
In Marshall v. Estate of Freeman, a trial court’s order admitting a will as a muniment of title forty-one years after the testator’s death was reversed. No. 03-20-00449-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2857 (Tex. App.—Austin April...more
When it comes to handling your loved one’s estate, the executor has a series of important duties and responsibilities. If you suspect an executor is mishandling their responsibilities or mismanaging estate assets, you can...more
In Janine v. McAfee, parties fought over who should be the administrator of an estate. No. 01-20-00717-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 10101 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] December 23, 2021, no pet. history). ...more
In In the Estate of Johnson, an applicant to be an independent administrator appealed a court’s decision to not appoint him due to his being unsuitable. No. 02-20-00133-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7138 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth...more
The term “probate” is one you may have heard and might associate with negative connotations, but you don’t fully understand what it is. For some, the term conjures images of lengthy delays waiting for wealth to be transferred...more
The executor position is an important but often misunderstood role. In this webinar on estate administration, Whitney Patience O’Reilly details an executor’s duties, from locating the deceased’s will to making the final...more
The executor position is an important but often misunderstood role. In this webinar on estate administration, Whitney O’Reilly will detail an executor’s duties, from locating the deceased’s will to making the final...more
Maybe you thought that a member of your immediate family — perhaps your spouse or oldest child — would serve as the executor of your estate. Or you may have planned for a close friend to handle these duties. But the person...more
In In re Estate of Hallmark, an executrix of an estate filed suit in probate court for declarations regarding a partnership and sued the other partners. No. 11-18-00187-CV 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 7063 (Tex. App.—Eastland August...more
In In the Estate of Flarity, a son of the testator challenged the trial court’s probating of a 2004 will and the appointment of two of his siblings, named in that will, as executors. No. 09-19-00089-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
The federal estate tax exemption is now $11.4 million per person ($22.8 million/couple), and the New York State estate tax exemption is now $5,740,000 per person. Generally, the exemption amount is the value of assets that...more
California’s probate process aims to expeditiously identify and resolve the claims of creditors against decedents. Creditors who are unsophisticated, or who simply do not learn of the decedent’s passing, may find themselves...more
In In the Estate of Sakima, the probate court appointed a decedent’s sister as his administrator in 2011. No. 05-18-01288-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 8209 (Tex. App.—Dallas September 10, 2019, no pet. history)....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
In In re Estate of Silverman, a trial court granted a will contestant’s summary judgment and denied a handwritten document’s admission to probate as the last will of the decedent. No. 14-18-00256-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 4579...more
In In the Estate of Hargrove, two daughters offered their mother’s last will and testament dated in 2017 for probate. No. 04-18-00355-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 1703 (Tex. App.—San Antonio March 6, 2019, no pet. history). Their...more