Mamma Mia!: Common Estate Planning Issues for Blended Families
Financial Planning Tips for the Sandwich Generation with Sherry Finkel Murphy
Once Removed Episode 38: The Legacy Mindset: What It Is and How to Build It
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
The Case of the Laughing Heirs
The Secret Child
Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'
Ruder Ware's Elder Law Team Recognizes National Special Needs Law Month - Part 2
Law Brief: Alexis Gruttadauria and Rich Schoenstein Discuss Why You Need an Estate Plan
Inheritance Data - Digital Planning Podcast
Welcome to The Verdict: Estate Planning Through Film. I'm Hons Yung, and today I’m joined by Farella Senior Associate Taylor Porter to discuss the movie Mamma Mia! With ABBA's blend of pop, rock, and disco setting the tone,...more
The recent death of legendary actor, Gene Hackman, age 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, age 65, has brought attention to the complexities surrounding their estate and illustrates the need for proper estate planning. At his...more
Blending families often introduce unique dynamics. In addition to the day-to-day challenges and opportunities that blended families create, there is also careful planning to consider when creating or updating an estate plan....more
When the Supreme Court made its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, same-sex couples across the country gained the right to marry. But with recent shifts in the legal landscape, such as the overturning of Roe...more
In the recent case of Mills v. O’Connor, 2025 BCCA 34, the BC Court of Appeal offered some fresh insight on the relatively new and unsettled area of tracing property under the Family Law Act (the FLA). Under the FLA, the...more
Dividing assets in a divorce is often a complicated and emotional process, and when inheritance is involved, the stakes can be even higher. In South Carolina, inherited property is generally considered separate from marital...more
A new Supreme Court ruling overturns lower courts’ rulings and regulates the application of the “successive heirs” provision of the Succession Law, in instances when a surviving spouse who inherited property by virtue of a...more
In the United Arab Emirates, inheritance and wills are governed by a combination of Sharia law and civil laws. The legal framework for Muslim individuals' wills and inheritance is primarily based on the Federal Law No....more
People often assume that if their estate isn’t taxable, they don’t need to have an estate plan. In 2023, a Massachusetts estate tax return must be filed if the value of the deceased person’s gross estate exceeds $1 million. A...more
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
If you’re preparing to get remarried, your estate plan likely isn’t top of mind. However, depending on the state you live in, your spouse has property rights that apply regardless of the terms of your estate plan. These...more
Plaintiffs who sue for financial elder abuse run the risk that defendants will spend ill-gotten gains before they can be recovered. To address this problem, the California Legislature gave plaintiffs the opportunity to...more
So you’ve received an inheritance and you’re married. The person who left you the inheritance probably intended for it to benefit you, not your spouse, if you get divorced. How do you protect the inheritance?...more
Many individuals wonder whether it matters how property is titled in a divorce. In other words, some theorize that if an asset is in their individual name, it might mean that they will receive this asset in a divorce. It...more
I have seen this more than one time in my career. One party (or his/her family members) really wants there to be a prenuptial agreement but, either due to lack of time, fear/cowardice, not having your act together, or any...more
According to recent statistics, four out of every ten families are blended families. As you might expect, estate planning for blended families is often complicated. Proper planning requires not only careful financial and...more
When a child is born to parents who are not married, the child oftentimes must satisfy Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (“EPTL”) § 4-1.2 (which requires, among other things, an order of filiation, an acknowledgement of...more
After creating and implementing a plan for your estate, it is important to regularly revisit your plan to ensure that it is still reflective of your values and goals for passing along your legacy. Seemingly small changes in...more
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
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
Last Sunday I learned that my mother’s dear friend who is very active, hikes daily, gardens daily, does senior yoga weekly, eats a healthy diet, and has many volunteer and social commitments that keep her happy, went on a...more
What is one of the things that kids from a first marriage worry about when their parent re-marries? The “evil” step-parent getting it all, of course. Many parents struggle with the problem of alleviating the fears of their...more
It is not uncommon for divorce to bring out the very worst in people, especially when a soon-to-be ex-spouse is used to being the one in control of the relationship. The contentious tug of war can even result in threats to an...more
It is widely understood in California that inherited assets, unlike assets earned from labor, are the separate property of the receiving spouse. But what if the assets do not come directly from a parent and instead pass from...more
It is common for a client whose spouse is receiving Medicaid to lack adequate estate planning to protect those Medicaid benefits in the event the client dies before their spouse. Yet, after all of the time and energy spent to...more