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Appeals › Probate

Warner Norcross + Judd

When are Probate Court Decisions and Arbitration Decisions of Probate Disputes Appealable?

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In the recent case In Laureen Gordon Revocable Trust, the Michigan Court of Appeals digs into these questions. Gordon Trust involved a fight between an uncle and his niece and nephew primarily over the distribution of family...more

Winstead PC

Court Reversed Summary Judgment And Held That There Was A Fact Issue On Whether The Testator Had Mental Capacity To Execute A Will

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In Castello v. Ex’r of the Est. of Castello, the decedent died leaving a will that left his property to his wife “for life” and then to his three children by a prior marriage. No 03-22-00012-CV 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4454 (Tex....more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That An Order Was Not Final For Appeal Where There Was Still An Issue Of Intestancy Remaining To Be Determined

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In Estate of Long, the plaintiff sued trustees and alleged that she was the only child of the decedent and asserted a cause of action for a will contest and a cause of action for a declaratory judgment action in which she...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Order Voiding Marriage Between Decedent And His Niece

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In Allebach v. Gollub, the decedent had three children, and after he died, one of them filed a will contest and a claim that the decedent’s marriage to his second wife was void. No. 14-22-00272-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3469...more

Downey Brand LLP

Court Applies Harmless Error Rule to Validate Will Benefiting Ex-Fiancé

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Typewritten wills in California generally require the signatures of two witnesses to be found valid, but the harmless error rule can save the day. Probate Code section 6110(c)(2), as recently discussed, provides that a will...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Third Department Examines In Terrorem Clause

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The recent opinion by the Appellate Division, Third Department, in In re Strom Irrevocable Trust III, 2022 NY Slip Op 01356, provides a cautionary tale to estate litigators who conduct SCPA 1404 examinations in the face of a...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter - April 2022

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This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. Our lawyers are at the forefront of this area of the law, shaping how it is handled in...more

Winstead PC

Appellate Court Held That It Did Not Have Jurisdiction Over A Probate Court’s Order Denying A Motion For Summary Judgment And...

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Court of Appeals Takes a Look at an Undue Influence Claim from a Non-Jury Trial

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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced litigants to wrestle with the dilemma of waiting for a jury trial or moving forward more expeditiously by way of a bench trial.  Recently, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and the...more

Downey Brand LLP

Another Broad Reading of the Elder Abuse Act Protects Seniors

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We “ring” in 2022 with a recent case that again shows the long reach of statutory financial elder abuse claims in California trust and estate litigation. In Ring v. Harmon (2021) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, the Court of Appeal...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Decision That Executor Applicant Was Unsuitable For That Position

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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

Conyers

Private Client Bulletin - Summer 2021

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Welcome to the fifth edition of our Private Client Bulletin, bringing you the latest private client and trust news and insights from Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, BVI and Asia. In this issue, we have several notable...more

Burns & Levinson LLP

I Want to Contest My Parent’s Will. What Is the Process?

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While still grieving the death of your mother, you receive a Notice from the Probate and Family Court informing you that your good-for-nothing brother has filed a Petition for Probate seeking to be appointed as Personal...more

Winstead PC

Court Finds That Party Lacked Standing In A Probate Proceeding Where She Was Not An Informal Spouse

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In In re Estate of Pandozy, a woman attempted to intervene in a probate proceeding claiming that she was the informal spouse of the decedent. No. 05-19-00755-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1265 (Tex. App.—Dallas February 22, 2021,...more

Winstead PC

Courts Rule On Jurisdictional Issues Involving Probate Orders

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One of the most difficult areas for probate litigation is determining when a party has an order that is appealable. There have been several recent cases that discuss this important area of probate litigation....more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Holographic Will Was Not Valid As There Was No Signature

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In In the Estate of Hohmann, the decedent died without leaving an executed will, but his caretaker found a hand written document wherein the decedent stated his wishes for his property. No. 04-20-00237-CV, 2020 Tex. App....more

Downey Brand LLP

Lights, Cabin, Action! A Showdown Over Jurisdiction and Venue

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One of the first steps before filing a lawsuit is to decide which court has jurisdiction over it and where it is properly venued. It’s a significant choice – not only for strategic reasons, but also because a poor selection...more

Downey Brand LLP

When Do California Trust and Estate Cases Have Preference in Trial Setting or Appeal?

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Getting a civil or probate case to trial in California can take a long time. The pandemic has backed up many courts given that criminal and civil trials starting in March 2020 were postponed. While most California trust and...more

Downey Brand LLP

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

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Intentional interference with expected inheritance (IIEI) was recognized as a legal claim in California about eight years ago in Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039. Last week, the Court of Appeal issued the first...more

Downey Brand LLP

Showdown at the O.K. Corral – The Battle of the Omitted Heirs

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Providing for your children is one of the primary purposes of estate planning, but what happens to your carefully crafted trust if you had children you did not know about when you created the trust? Or, what if you have...more

Winstead PC

What Did He Say? A Court Reverses A Statutory Probate Court’s Order Because There Was No Record

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In Smith v. Malone, parties litigated the propriety of certain transactions in an estate proceeding before a statutory probate court. No. 01-19-00266-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 4622 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 23, 2020,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Where’s the Will? Indiana Court of Appeals Reverses Trial Court’s Presumption of Revocation for Lost Will

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Background - Recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Trowbridge v. Estate of Trowbridge. The case involved a man, Everett, who, despite their divorce, remained on good terms with his ex-wife, Christal....more

Winstead PC

Court Held That Statutory Probate Court Had Jurisdiction To Grant A Rule 202 Pre-Suit Deposition

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In In the Estate of Nicholas, the temporary administrator of an estate and the decedent’s mother filed a Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 202 petition concerning a shootout at a residence by the City of Houston Police...more

Downey Brand LLP

Trustees May Not Need Lawyers to Seek Instructions from California Courts, But the Do-It-Yourself Approach Remains Hazardous

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While California trustees hope for smooth sailing, they must navigate waters that can be choppy depending on the assets, trust instruments and personalities involved. As fiduciaries, trustees must honor the trustors’ intent...more

Downey Brand LLP

Mind Your Notice in California – Even Remote Contingent Beneficiaries May Need to Be Served

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It’s unremarkable that California courts require that notice be given to affected beneficiaries in trust and probate proceedings. After all, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no person will be deprived of life,...more

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