News & Analysis as of September 20, 2024

Heirs

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Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process. less -

Remarriage and a Blended Family - It's Time for a New or Updated Estate Plan

Allen Barron, Inc. on 7/10/2024

Are you considering remarriage? Do you and/or your spouse have children from a previous marriage? If so, remarriage and a blended family are excellent reasons for a new or updated estate plan. Blended families are quickly...more

Communicating Your Estate Plan: A Helpful Tool, Not a Fix-All

Robins Kaplan LLP on 6/20/2024

In the first 10 minutes of Netflix’s The Gentleman, the grieving heirs of Archibald Horniman are shocked when it is revealed that he has left his sizeable estate almost entirely to his second-born son, to the exclusion of his...more

Death and Dirt: Addressing the Injustices of the Past in Heirs Property

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 4/30/2024

Today on “Splitting Heirs,” host Warren Racusin speaks with Molefi McIntosh and Mavis Gragg about the “heirs’ property problem--” or what happens to real estate when it is passed down within families without benefit of a...more

Experts Beware: Estate of Martino and a Zen Buddhist Approach to Intestate Succession

Downey Brand LLP on 11/21/2023

I am not an expert on Zen Buddhism. However, even if I had spent decades of my life studying its tenets (instead of, for example, baseball stats from the 1920’s), I would hesitate to call myself an expert because of what...more

What Happens if I Die Without a Valid Will in Massachusetts?

Bowditch & Dewey on 11/16/2023

As estate planning attorneys, a question that often arises with new and prospective clients is, “What happens if I die without a will?” The short answer is this: if you die without a valid will in Massachusetts, state law...more

Cohabitation Required for “Marital Presumption” to Bar Heirship

Downey Brand LLP on 3/7/2023

Who’s your father for inheritance purposes in California? Family Code section 7540(a) states that “the child of spouses who cohabited at the time of conception and birth is conclusively presumed to be a child of the...more

The Case of the Laughing Heirs

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 12/21/2021

Estate administration: A discussion with a religious leader and an experienced attorney in estate administration about the legal, emotional, and spiritual rituals and processes surrounding the death of a loved one. ...more

The Secret Child

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 11/30/2021

Wills: An estate planner and a Shakespearean scholar talk about the right way—and the many wrong ways—to design your will. Speakers: Warren Racusin, Chair, Trusts & Estates Bridget Harris, Counsel, Trusts & Estates Mary...more

Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 11/30/2021

An information packed and hopefully entertaining guide to estate planning and the world of trusts and estates. Estate planning really involves thinking about the people and things that are most important to you—family, loved...more

How Ancestry Kits Upend Estate Plans and Create Estate & Trust Litigation

Burns & Levinson LLP on 12/1/2020

Continuing the Smith and Alexander family saga, this blog focuses on the interesting and not-uncommon twist of Stevie Jenkins surfacing and believing to be half-siblings with Twyla and Randall. Tiffany Bentley’s blog last...more

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

Downey Brand LLP on 8/31/2020

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

When There is Only a Will There’s No Way You’re Avoiding Probate

Lewitt Hackman on 5/31/2020

A common misconception is that when you die with a Will, your heirs avoid probate. In California when you die with a Will and the total assets owned in your sole name exceed $166,250, your estate goes through probate (a court...more

Ric Ocasek’s Personal Representative Is In For a Bumpy Ride

Holland & Hart LLP on 1/28/2020

On September 15, 2019, Ric Ocasek, singer, songwriter, and guitarist of The Cars, died in his Manhattan residence. He was found that morning by his wife, Paulina Porizkova, a supermodel and celebrity in her own right, as she...more

Understanding Trusts: Do you need one? What are the? How do they work?

Cranfill Sumner LLP on 7/29/2019

One of the most common questions clients ask is whether they need a trust. While they are usually seeking a “yes” or “no” answer, as with most legal questions, the correct answer usually is, “It depends.” The answer depends...more

California Probate Administration Is No Time for Napping

Downey Brand LLP on 7/3/2019

In the absence of a trust that allows assets to pass without opening probate, the California probate process lasts for at least six months and can run much longer depending on the size of the estate and the nature of assets....more

Wills, Trusts & Estates: Plain and Simple – “Do-It-Yourself” Wills: A Note of Caution

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 8/27/2018

There are lots of “do-it-yourself” Will programs floating around on the internet. You may be able to save legal fees by drafting your own Will – at least up front; but in the long run, the cost usually comes after you die...more

T&E Litigation Newsletter - February 2017

Goulston & Storrs PC on 2/14/2017

Several recent decisions serve as a good reminder that it is not only the Probate and Family Court that addresses important T&E issues in Massachusetts. In the consolidated matters of Hanna et al. v. Williams et al.,...more

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