This is my third and final article addressing what needs to be done after a person passes away. Part 1 addressed what a person needs to do prior to the decedent’s funeral. Part 2 addressed those things that don’t typically...more
It is no secret that a lot of people in America are living alone and while many have been in one or more serious relationships those never culminated in marriage. Meanwhile, these people accumulate assets but often don’t pay...more
On November 14, 2023, the Appellate Division decided an interesting case that implicated the intersection of family law, estate law and federal law. The reported (precedential) decision In the Matter of the Estate of Michael...more
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently held that to recover for loss of consortium under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, a surviving spouse must be married to the decedent at the time of injury—not the time of...more
On March 4, 2022, the District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, ERISA claims brought by a former employee who retired early at the age of 62 and receives retirement benefits...more
What better way to mark Veterans Day than to learn how you can assist a veteran in need? Please join us for The Veterans Consortium (TVC) Pro Bono Program’s Volunteer Attorney Training on Thursday, November 11 from 11 a.m....more
When William Shakespeare wrote “What’s mine is yours, and what is yours is mine,” he likely was not thinking about a blended family. Blending families offer a myriad of challenges, one of which is how the spouses’ assets will...more
The Ninth Circuit concluded that a plan fiduciary abused its discretion in denying survival benefits to a pension plan participant’s domestic partner. In so ruling, the Court explained that the plan’s choice of law provisions...more
In an unpublished decision dated May 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit held that a plan administrator abused its discretion by denying surviving spouse benefits under an ERISA retirement benefit plan to a participant’s domestic...more
Spouses who are turning full retirement age this year are the last group who can choose whether to take spousal benefits or to take benefits on their own record. The strategy, used by some couples to maximize their benefits,...more
The Second Circuit recently held that alleged misrepresentations by a “ministerial” plan representative about plan benefits will not support a claim for breach of fiduciary duty if the SPD clearly provides “complete and...more
• In Laborers' Pension Fund v. Miscevic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the Illinois slayer statute is one state statute that is not pre-empted by ERISA. A slayer statute is a law that prevents an...more
The Court of Appeal has ruled on two long-running disputes about the ability of an employer to change pension benefits for future service (for example by closing a scheme to future accrual and/or capping pensionable pay). The...more
The Supreme Court in Walker v Innospec Limited, overturning the Court of Appeal, has decided that the exemption for service prior to December 2005 from the requirement for occupational pension schemes to give survivors'...more
Family Court Act § 519 and Estates Powers and Trusts Law (“EPTL”) § 4-1.2 both address a child’s right to prove paternity after the putative father’s death. However, DNA testing may be considered under Family Court Act § 519...more
Supreme Court Advance Release Opinions: SC19480 - McCullough v. Swan Engraving, Inc. - This case determined that when a husband had already filed a claim for disability benefit in a timely fashion under the Worker’s...more
Prior to 2015, members of and retirees from the military could not designate any portion of their military Survivor Benefit Plan ("SBP") to a special needs trust ("SNT"), even when a child of that service member needed the...more
The federal budget agreement that President Obama signed into law November 2, 2015, spells the end to two Social Security strategies that some spouses have used to maximize benefits. The strategies were worth tens of...more
U.S. Structured Warrant Programs: Introduction - U.S. and non-U.S. banks have offered structured warrants in the U.S. to address the needs of both institutional and high-net worth investors. This article will...more
In a historic decision, the United States Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges recently held that the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires all jurisdictions in all fifty states to: (1) license a...more