John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Next Generation Legacy Management - The Essence of Developing, Managing and Implementing a Plan for Future Generations
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Charitable Bequests With Guest Stephanie Hood
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'
Equity’s maxims have many jurisprudential functions, one critical function being to sinew the equitable principles that regulate the law of trusts. A court that is saddled with sorting out the rights, duties and obligations...more
In In re Kelly, a former executor and the trustee of a testamentary trust initiated a probate proceeding in a county court at law. No. 11-24-00066-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3735 (Tex. App.—Eastland May 30, 2024, original...more
In July 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Pennsylvania Directed Trust Act, Senate Bill 1231 (now part of Act No. 64 of 2024, sponsored by Senator Lisa Baker), into law, making Pennsylvania the 20th state to...more
In In re Poe Trust, a co-trustee of a trust filed suit to modify the trust to change distribution provisions, increase the number of trustees, and change the method for trustees to vote on issues as well as other...more
In a ruling long anticipated in the securitization industry, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on March 19 issued its opinion in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan...more
On November 6, 2023, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued its opinion in In the Matter of the Trust Agreement of Genevieve M. Rossow. Among other topics, the court’s opinion addressed whether a trust beneficiary’s power to...more
This update will address the following issues: whether a party has a right to jury trial in trust modification and other similar actions, what are the standards for pretrial receivership and injunctive relief in trust...more
In the last alert, we reviewed the responsibilities of an executor. In this next introductory review, we will discuss the role of a trustee. Before we define the role of a trustee, we must explain the definition of a...more
Maybe a friend or a relative has recently passed away and you just received a communication informing you that you have been named as a trustee. You have no idea what this role entails, and you feel overwhelmed having no...more
We’ve been your dogged reporter on the ever-growing logjam in the Courts of Appeal on trust modification procedure. We’ve followed the twists and turns that courts have taken as they’ve tackled the question of what happens...more
The days and weeks immediately following the passing of a loved one can be extremely stressful and emotional. Arrangements must be made, and paperwork comes flooding in, all while you are coping with the loss and grief. This...more
Elvis Has Left the Building - In 1977, when Elvis Presley died (to put a complicated situation very simply), his estate and any future royalties generated by his intellectual property, including his music, passed into a...more
On January 30, 2023, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion in In re Eva Marie Hanson Living Trust addressing the ability of an attorney-in-fact to amend a revocable trust on behalf of an incapacitated trust...more
2022 saw a number of changes to legislation affecting trust and estate planning and administration, including some revisions to tax guidelines. In this webinar, Whitney O’Reilly will recap key updates from the previous year,...more
Picture this: your great aunt has died and left you and your brother each one million dollars, her entire estate, in a will. Great, right? Now imagine that your brother never appreciated your great aunt during her lifetime,...more
What pea is in which pod? California probate disputes often involve questions of property ownership. Petitions filed under Probate Code section 850 allow judges to determine whether and to what extent an estate is the true...more
Losing a family member or friend is a difficult situation for everyone. In 1969, the Swiss-American psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote in her book “On Death and Dying,” that grief could be divided into five stages:...more
On May 23, 2022, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine is consistent with Pennsylvania law. This ruling was highly anticipated...more
David Johnson presented his paper on “The More The Merrier: Issues Arising From Co-Trustees Managing Trusts” to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on September 16, 2022. This presentation addressed the benefits and...more
It is a common misconception that if a person has a will, there will be no need for court proceedings upon their death. In Massachusetts, however, a will must always be admitted to probate, a process requiring various forms...more
When preparing your estate plan, it is essential to designate the proper fiduciaries to handle your affairs during your incapacity or after your death. How do you choose the right person for each of these roles? This is one...more
Join us for an interactive two-day webinar that will focus on the multifaceted issues impacting fiduciaries and beneficiaries. We’ll highlight hot topics in the administration of trusts and estates, and we’ll discuss how to...more
No contest clauses generally are not enforceable against beneficiaries of California trusts when there is “probable cause” to challenge the trust instrument. Yet the probable cause safe harbor may disappear if the contest...more
After graduating college and getting your life started, you are filled with pride, excitement and anticipation for your new career and freedom from school. Your last thought is to hire an attorney and prepare an estate plan....more