Digital Planning Podcast: Funerals360
This week, the Michigan Court of Appeals released its decision in In re Estate of Joel Solomon Weingrad, Docket No 360247, 2023 WL 3397437 (Mich Ct App May 11 2023) (unpublished), which stands for three principles in estate...more
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently identified a situation in which the personal representative of an estate is not entitled to have attorney fees paid from estate assets. Braun Kendrick Finkbeiner, PLC, v. Estate of...more
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
In In the Est. of Lemme, an administratrix of an estate hired her boyfriend to do legal work. No. 07-21-00300-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 8829 (Tex. App.—Amarillo December 1, 2022, no pet. history). ...more
Daughter with Power of Attorney Had Burden to Show No Undue Influence over Father - Coscia v. Sweezey, 2021 WL 4765696 (Mass App. Ct. October 13, 2021) - Does holding a power of attorney from a parent in declining...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance concerning a new exemption under the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in connection with the provision...more
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
It’s important to name executors and trustees who can provide the necessary expertise in handling assets and duties. This article details the duties of an executor and a trustee. A sidebar explains the need to name successors...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. ...more
An Executor (technically, Executrix if a woman) is the person you appoint to carry out your wishes as expressed in your Will. The Executor’s job lasts a relatively short period of time, typically two to three years, ending...more
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
I. Introduction Historically, Texas courts could not resort to extrinsic evidence to construe an unambiguous will. San Antonio Area Foundation v. Lang, 35 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. 2000)....more
A conservatorship, once ordered by a Superior Court judge in California, deprives a person of the right to control his or her financial affairs or person, or both. When the judge appoints counsel for the proposed conservatee,...more
A Personal Representative (PR) is in charge of the property (estate) of an individual who has died (known as the decedent). When a person passes away, their assets become property of their estate....more
The death of a loved one or close friend is a traumatic experience. In addition to the emotional anguish, those who are charged with dealing with the decedent’s personal and financial affairs following death are often left...more
Three recent trial court decisions address issues that may be of interest to estate planning and administration lawyers, as well as probate and fiduciary litigators...more
First, in Calhoun v. Rawlins, No. 17-P-40, 2018 WL 3131023 (Mass. App. Ct. June 27, 2018), the Appeals Court held that creditors could access a spendthrift trust that was created for a beneficiary with cognitive impairments...more
Since our last newsletter, there has been one significant development in the Probate and Family Court, and one decision of note. First, effective as of November 20, 2017, the Probate and Family Court issued Standing...more
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