An Executor’s Guide to Administering an Estate
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Inheritance Data - Digital Planning Podcast
Newcomers to probate litigation are frequently surprised by how differently things work in probate court, as opposed to your more straightforward civil courts. (And how do those newcomers know how civil courts work? Law &...more
In In re Est. of Hartwell, a trial court granted summary judgment that the applicant to probate a will was not entitled to do so due to the statute of limitations. No. 06-23-00054-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 166 (Tex....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
There is much to commend in O’Brien, Proposing a Model Antilapse Clause, 48 ACTEC L. J. 257 (2023), particularly its flagging of the doctrinal and practical flaws in Uniform Probate Code §2-707, which would apply the...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
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
Subject Matter Matters in Land Court - DiNicola v. Ely, et al., No. 23 MISC 000128 (2023), Berkshire County (Land Court May 25, 2023) - Does the Massachusetts Land Court have subject matter jurisdiction over claims...more
This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. ...more
Retitling your assets to conform with your desired plan is essential to successful estate planning. Whether this means changing ownership of an asset altogether, adding a joint owner, or changing a beneficiary designation,...more
Trust v. Code: What Trumps? Matter of the Leo Kahn Revocable Trust, 102 Mass. App. Ct. 38 (2022) - If the terms of a trust instrument are inconsistent with a provision of the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code (“MUTC” or...more
Power of Attorney Did Not Provide Authority to Create a Trust on Behalf of the Elder Who Granted the Power of Attorney - Barbetti v. Stempniewicz, 490 Mass. 98 (Sup. Jud. Ct. June 28, 2022) Does a power of attorney...more
This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. Intentional Interference and Unjust Enrichment Claims in Connection with a Trust...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
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
This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. Decedent’s New York Residence at Time of Death Does Not Create Jurisdiction in New...more
Even a court order approving an accounting may not protect a California fiduciary if the accounting is inaccurate. That’s the upshot of Hudson v. Foster (2021) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, a recent California Court of Appeal decision...more
Zachary Young is a private professional fiduciary with CMY Fiduciary Services in Sacramento. His mother, Carolyn M. Young, began work as a fiduciary in 1986. Zach received his bachelor’s degree in business and communications...more
Reformation of Trust Supported by Presumption that Settlor Would Not Have Intended Construction Resulting in Payments to Government Rather Than Beneficiaries...more
Testamentary Capacity at Moment of Execution of Will Is Crucial; Testator’s General “Cognitive Decline” Does Not Invalidate Will - Haddad v. Haddad, 19-P-1378 (January 12, 2021) - Where the maker of a will has entered...more
The saga of the Smith and Alexander families continues with a discussion of powers of appointment and the implications of Johnny’s exercise of the limited power of appointment granted to him under his parents’ Family Trust....more
Assailant's Spendthrift Trust Accessible to Child of Murdered Parents - de Prins v. Michaeles, SJC-12865 (October 20, 2020) - In de Prins v. Michaeles, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) tackled a trust...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