John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Next Generation Legacy Management - The Essence of Developing, Managing and Implementing a Plan for Future Generations
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Charitable Bequests With Guest Stephanie Hood
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'
In In re Trust A & Trust C, a beneficiary sued a trustee for breach of fiduciary duty and sought a constructive trust over assets that were transferred out of the trust. 690 S.W.3d 80 (Tex. 2024)....more
In In re Kelly, a former executor and the trustee of a testamentary trust initiated a probate proceeding in a county court at law. No. 11-24-00066-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 3735 (Tex. App.—Eastland May 30, 2024, original...more
One of the most important aspects in arranging any fund finance transaction is structuring the security package. As anyone that has ever looked at a complete structure chart for a fund financing transaction knows, even a...more
A trust structure, commonly used for estate planning, can be problematic in certain civil law jurisdictions, such as those in many European countries. Recent acts enacted in Wyoming and New Hampshire allow for the...more
Bermuda is a popular and highly regarded jurisdiction for managing the offshore family assets of wealthy, international families due to several favourable characteristics. As a high-quality international financial centre,...more
In certain circumstances, shareholders of corporations and members of limited liability companies can obtain confidential communications between corporate management and the company’s attorney that would otherwise be...more
I play the five string banjo, but not well at all. Steve Martin plays the banjo very well and he also writes songs for the banjo. One of those songs, Daddy Played The Banjo, ends with these lines...more
In In re McGowan, a dispute arose regarding whether certain interests in real property were funded into a trust or whether the decedent still had those interests at the time of his death such that they were in his estate. No....more
As part of our five year anniversary celebrations of our law firm opening in Bermuda, we put together the original version of this summary report highlighting the latest developments and trends in the Bermuda legal and...more
Cayman Foundation Companies are booming in popularity. Statistics from the Register of Companies have shown a significant uptick in registrations in recent months. 2021 saw 281 per cent year-on-year growth in the...more
In Clark v. Clark, two brothers sued a third brother regarding the third brother’s ability to be trustee of a trust due to a traumatic brain injury. No. 14-19-00604-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 9866 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th...more
STAR Trusts are a form of trust that is exclusive to the Cayman Islands (Cayman), and which have a wide variety of practical applications. The unique features of a STAR Trust provide clients with structuring options that are...more
Welcome to the sixth edition of our Private Client Bulletin, bringing you the latest private client and trust news and insights from Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, BVI and Asia. This edition features articles on offshore...more
A recent decision in a British Virgin Islands court case has raised a number of questions regarding the enforcement of foreign judgments in offshore jurisdictions that have implemented firewall legislation, and highlights...more
Offshore: What is appropriate? Robert Lindley and Wesley O’Brien discuss cases where offshore family courts act as auxiliaries to those onshore - Generally, for a foreign judgment to be capable of enforcement in an...more
On 9 July 2021, a number of important pieces of legislation were brought into force in the BVI on the same day. Those enactments have made significant changes to the law in their respective areas, namely trusts, probate, data...more
In Alexander v. Marshall, the original trustee was the beneficiary’s mother and the wife of the beneficiary’s father, who was the settlor. No. 14-18-00425-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1952 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] March...more
Usually, appellate counsel can confidently say that a grant of partial summary judgment, standing alone, will not allow for an interlocutory appeal. A complete grant of summary judgment is a final, appealable judgment, but a...more
In Duncan v. O’Shea, three co-trustees brought a declaratory judgment action against a fourth co-trustee, seeking a declaration that the sale of trust real property was valid over the objection of the fourth co-trustee. No....more
Individuals execute trusts and wills to determine how certain assets are to be managed and distributed. Those same individuals may want to have some control over the dispute resolution process for any conflicts that arise in...more
In Thunder Patch II, LLC v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., plaintiffs filed suit against a trustee in state court seeking a declaration regarding the enforceability of a mineral lease, and the trustee removed the case to federal...more
The Supreme Court of Alaska issued a ruling on March 2, 2018, denying Alaska courts the exclusive jurisdiction purportedly granted by the Alaska asset protection statute. This holding is consistent with a ruling by the...more
The English Supreme Court has delivered a ruling that provides helpful guidance on the enforceability of trusts in respect of assets located in foreign jurisdictions that do not recognise trusts. The ruling also highlights...more
In In re Tipps, an elderly woman’s son became trustee of a trust due to her incompetency, and the son and his brother went to a mediation concerning a guardianship proceeding and other issues. No. 05-14-01495-CV, 2016 Tex....more
Attorney Julie R. Woods wrote the following case alert for the State Bar of California Trusts and Estates Section regarding FirstMerit Bank, N.A. v. Diana L. Reese. Julie is on the committee for finding and disseminating new...more