Next Generation Legacy Management - The Essence of Developing, Managing and Implementing a Plan for Future Generations
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Authorization for Final Disposition
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
The Renoir Spelling Bee
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Laughing Heirs
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'
Interview with Cody Barbo - Digital Planning Podcast
An Executor’s Guide to Administering an Estate
Estate Planning 101: The Five Most Important Clauses for Wills and Trusts
Interview with Lisa Grayson - Digital Planning Podcast
The State of Digital Assets
Global Evolution of Electronic Wills and COVID-19
Everything You Need to Know About Beneficiary Designations
During a Will contest, a party challenging a Will may assert that the Will was the product undue influence being exerted over the decedent by the party who benefited by the disputed Will. The question arises: What is what is...more
Probate, the legal process of administering a deceased person’s estate, can be complex and challenging. During this process, a court determines whether a Will is authentic and valid and then distributes the estate to heirs or...more
If you expect to face disputes over the allocation of your loved one’s estate, retaining a probate litigation attorney might be the right choice. Here’s what you need to know about hiring an experienced attorney who can help...more
When conflict arises in the settling of an estate – especially a high-net-worth estate – the parties involved may look to the courts to help resolve the dispute. Litigation is one way to settle probate disputes, but it is...more
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that offers guidance as to how a personal representative should respond when the interested persons disagree over the validity of a proffered will. In re Estate of...more
It is a standard requirement in Probate Court disputes that the parties strictly adhere to the rules regarding notice of relief sought to all potential heirs and beneficiaries. The recent decision of Bailey v. Bailey...more
In Estate of Long, the plaintiff sued trustees and alleged that she was the only child of the decedent and asserted a cause of action for a will contest and a cause of action for a declaratory judgment action in which she...more
In Allebach v. Gollub, the decedent had three children, and after he died, one of them filed a will contest and a claim that the decedent’s marriage to his second wife was void. No. 14-22-00272-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3469...more
One of the many reasons for executing a Will and Trust is to make your wishes clear and prevent animosity among family members or other beneficiaries after your death. However, there are circumstances in which it is clear to...more
Elvis Has Left the Building - In 1977, when Elvis Presley died (to put a complicated situation very simply), his estate and any future royalties generated by his intellectual property, including his music, passed into a...more
In In re Estate of Hogan, a father executed a new will, leaving his estate to one of his sons (Harold) and disinheriting his other son (Gary). No. 11-20-00170-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 3863 (Tex. App.—Eastland June 9,...more
If your estate has to be probated, in a perfect world everything will go without a hitch and the assets are distributed to beneficiaries in a timely manner. Everyone is satisfied with their inheritance and family harmony is...more
In Jones v. Jones, the decedent’s wife filed an application for probate of an attested will for her husband, and the decedent’s son from a previous marriage filed a petition contesting the will. No. 01-20-00073-CV, 2022 Tex....more
When considering whether to contest a decedent’s Last Will and Testament, an individual should consider whether red flags might be present which may point to a successful basis to challenge a disputed Will. The purpose of...more
Television shows and movies show a Will being read at a funeral, as if the Will is automatically valid and assets can be distributed immediately. Unfortunately, the probate process is more complex and time intensive. This...more
While still grieving the death of your mother, you receive a Notice from the Probate and Family Court informing you that your good-for-nothing brother has filed a Petition for Probate seeking to be appointed as Personal...more
Grieving the death of a friend or family member is hard enough. Imagine the compounded feelings of realizing that an inheritance you had been promised or otherwise believed would be coming is not materializing. You were...more
So, your sibling is a narcissist. Could this affect your inheritance under your parents’ estate plan? Here are some common intrafamilial disputes and possible strategies to avoid being disinherited as a result of your...more
In a contested estate situation, family members are mad, often fighting mad. A common client question is, “When are we going to court?” Perhaps surprisingly, our usual answer to this is, “Only when everything else has...more
Producers, writers, and reporters have long been fascinated with high-stakes wealth, estate and trusts, and shareholder disputes. Whether tragic or comic, the drama between clients, families, business partners, as well as the...more
In In the Estate of Mahaffey, a testatrix executed a new will nine days before she died of cancer. No. 04-19-00122-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 11171 (Tex. App.—San Antonio December 27, 2019, no pet. history)....more
Emotions can run high at the death of a family member. If a family member is unhappy with the amount they received (or didn't receive) under a will, he or she may contest the will. Will contests can drag out for years,...more
You had a loving relationship with your mother and she always said she would leave everything to you and your siblings, but after she died, you discover she had recently written a new will, leaving everything to her...more
In Ferreira v. Butler, a husband and wife divorced, and the husband married a second wife. No. 17-0901, 2019 Tex. LEXIS 375 (Tex. April 12, 2019). The second wife died, and the husband never probated her will, which left...more
Will contests are a sad reality and while there is no guarantee, with proper planning a contest may be avoided. A will contest occurs when a disgruntled potential beneficiary of an estate challenges the validity of a Will. ...more