News & Analysis as of

Estate Planning › Inheritance › Appeals

Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the... more +
Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process.  less -
Sullivan & Worcester

LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Association: Alabama Wrongful Death of a Minor Statute Applies to Cryogenically Preserved Embryos

Sullivan & Worcester on

Carole M. Bass and Cara Koss co-authored this article. The authors have long raised as an issue the impact personhood legislation could have on assisted reproduction and, by extension, on estate and trust administration...more

Winstead PC

Texas Supreme Court Holds That A Beneficiary May Not Accept Any Benefit From A Will And Then Later Challenging The Will

Winstead PC on

In In the Estate of Johnson, a child of the decedent accepted over $143,000 from the decedent’s estate and then decided to challenge the will due to mental capacity and undue influence. No. 20-0424, 2021 Tex. LEXIS 426 (Tex....more

Downey Brand LLP

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

Downey Brand LLP on

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

Downey Brand LLP

Showdown at the O.K. Corral – The Battle of the Omitted Heirs

Downey Brand LLP on

Providing for your children is one of the primary purposes of estate planning, but what happens to your carefully crafted trust if you had children you did not know about when you created the trust? Or, what if you have...more

Downey Brand LLP

Mind Your Notice in California – Even Remote Contingent Beneficiaries May Need to Be Served

Downey Brand LLP on

It’s unremarkable that California courts require that notice be given to affected beneficiaries in trust and probate proceedings. After all, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no person will be deprived of life,...more

Downey Brand LLP

Your Slice of the Pizza – Only Directly Inherited Asset Qualifies as Separate Property

Downey Brand LLP on

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

Downey Brand LLP

California Probate Administration Is No Time for Napping

Downey Brand LLP on

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

Downey Brand LLP

When Defending Becomes Offensive: California Court Expands No Contest Clauses to Defense of Invalid Amendment

Downey Brand LLP on

No contest clauses are included in wills and trusts to discourage dissatisfied beneficiaries from challenging the document’s validity. Because enforcement of these clauses results in disinheritance, the California Probate...more

Downey Brand LLP

Probate Code Provides Ground Rules for Who Gets What from Wills and Trusts

Downey Brand LLP on

Many California will and trust disputes arise from ambiguity in the document with respect to who is entitled to an asset. Maybe the document was hazy from the start or perhaps circumstances have changed such that the rightful...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Discouraging Family Fights from the Grave

Bennett Jones LLP on

If you are a beneficiary in a will that contains a no-contest clause, and you don't like what the will directs, be careful before you question its validity. You just might lose everything....more

Winstead PC

Court Affirms Judgment That Power-Of-Attorney Holder Converted Funds By Withdrawing Them From A Joint Account

Winstead PC on

In Fletcher v. Whitaker, a brother withdrew $25,000 from a joint bank account while the owner of the funds (decedent) was still alive. No. 02-17-00138-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8329 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth October 11, 2018, no...more

Winstead PC

A. A Fractured Texas Supreme Court Holds That There Is No Tortious Interference With Inheritance Claim In Texas

Winstead PC on

In Archer v. Anderson, Jack, who had no children, executed a will leaving his estate to his brother and his brother’s children, the Archers. No. 16-0256, 2018 Tex. LEXIS 611 (Tex. June 22, 2018). ...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

T&E Litigation Newsletter - November 2016

Goulston & Storrs PC on

There has not been much case law of particular relevance in the T&E area since our last newsletter, but three recent federal court decisions—one from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and two from the United States District...more

13 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
Sign up Log in
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide