Appeals, Beneficiaries, Probate

The Hazards of Not Changing Beneficiaries Post-Divorce

Dickinson Wright on 7/17/2025

A recent case by the Tennessee Court of Appeals highlights the importance of changing one’s insurance and retirement policy beneficiaries after divorce. This is true no matter what the divorce documents say and no matter what...more

Court Reversed Summary Judgment And Held That There Was A Fact Question On Whether A Trust Was Void Due To Forgery Or Fraud

Winstead PC on 6/26/2025

In In re Est. of Prieto, the contestant’s mother executed a will in 2008 leaving her property to a trust. No. 04-22-00038-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 6336 (Tex. App.—San Antonio August 28, 2024, no pet.)....more

Court Affirmed Summary Judgment Order Finding That A Will Should Be Set Aside For Undue Influence

Winstead PC on 5/20/2025

In Monariti v. Monariti, a will contestant filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that the will should be set aside due to undue influence. No. 14-23-00062-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 6476 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.]...more

Court Affirmed Probate Order On The Ownership Of Farm Equipment Which Depended On The Location Of The Equipment At The Time Of The...

Winstead PC on 4/30/2025

In Halderman v. Ivy, the decedent’s will stated: “I give, devise and bequeath my 66.977 acres located on FM 1848 in Freestone County, Texas, including all livestock and farm equipment located thereon to my two children . . ....more

Court Reversed Order Setting Aside The Probating Of A Will Where The Evidence Was Insufficient To Support The Order

Winstead PC on 4/8/2025

In In re Estate of Johnson, an administrator and a third party appealed the trial court’s judgment setting aside the probate of the decedent’s will, removing the administrator, and voiding the sale of an estate asset to the...more

Court Dismissed An Appeal From A Probate Court Order Due To A Lack Of Jurisdiction

Winstead PC on 4/8/2025

In In re Estate of Carr, the court of appeals dismissed an appeal from a probate court order due to a lack of jurisdiction. No. 04-23-00287-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 7827 (Tex. App.—San Antonio November 6, 2024, no pet....more

What Type of Facts Support a “Confidential or Fiduciary Relationship” Determination to Trigger the Presumption of Undue Influence?

Warner Norcross + Judd on 4/4/2025

Two recent Michigan Court of Appeals cases delve into what it takes to successfully pursue an undue influence claim. In re Sherrod Estate, No 369863, 2025 WL 855275 (Mich Ct App Mar 18, 2025) (unpublished) and In re Estate of...more

Trustee's Standing in Estate Distribution: A Legal Analysis of Estate of Barry Tarlow

Offit Kurman on 4/2/2025

In a groundbreaking decision that could reshape the landscape of California estate law, the Court of Appeal in the Second District Division Four has ruled in favor of trustee David Henry Simon, affirming his right to seek a...more

Court Reversed Summary Judgment And Held That There Was A Fact Issue On Whether The Testator Had Mental Capacity To Execute A Will

Winstead PC on 10/3/2023

In Castello v. Ex’r of the Est. of Castello, the decedent died leaving a will that left his property to his wife “for life” and then to his three children by a prior marriage. No 03-22-00012-CV 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4454 (Tex....more

Court Holds That An Order Was Not Final For Appeal Where There Was Still An Issue Of Intestancy Remaining To Be Determined

Winstead PC on 9/11/2023

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

Court Affirms Order Voiding Marriage Between Decedent And His Niece

Winstead PC on 8/28/2023

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

Third Department Examines In Terrorem Clause

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 5/13/2022

The recent opinion by the Appellate Division, Third Department, in In re Strom Irrevocable Trust III, 2022 NY Slip Op 01356, provides a cautionary tale to estate litigators who conduct SCPA 1404 examinations in the face of a...more

The Court of Appeals Takes a Look at an Undue Influence Claim from a Non-Jury Trial

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 1/24/2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced litigants to wrestle with the dilemma of waiting for a jury trial or moving forward more expeditiously by way of a bench trial. Recently, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and the...more

Another Broad Reading of the Elder Abuse Act Protects Seniors

Downey Brand LLP on 12/29/2021

We “ring” in 2022 with a recent case that again shows the long reach of statutory financial elder abuse claims in California trust and estate litigation. In Ring v. Harmon (2021) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, the Court of Appeal...more

Private Client Bulletin - Summer 2021

Conyers on 8/10/2021

Welcome to the fifth 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. In this issue, we have several notable...more

Court Holds That Holographic Will Was Not Valid As There Was No Signature

Winstead PC on 1/14/2021

In In the Estate of Hohmann, the decedent died without leaving an executed will, but his caretaker found a hand written document wherein the decedent stated his wishes for his property. No. 04-20-00237-CV, 2020 Tex. App....more

Lights, Cabin, Action! A Showdown Over Jurisdiction and Venue

Downey Brand LLP on 1/12/2021

One of the first steps before filing a lawsuit is to decide which court has jurisdiction over it and where it is properly venued. It’s a significant choice – not only for strategic reasons, but also because a poor selection...more

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

Downey Brand LLP on 8/31/2020

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

Where’s the Will? Indiana Court of Appeals Reverses Trial Court’s Presumption of Revocation for Lost Will

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 6/23/2020

Background - Recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Trowbridge v. Estate of Trowbridge. The case involved a man, Everett, who, despite their divorce, remained on good terms with his ex-wife, Christal....more

Trustees May Not Need Lawyers to Seek Instructions from California Courts, But the Do-It-Yourself Approach Remains Hazardous

Downey Brand LLP on 4/28/2020

While California trustees hope for smooth sailing, they must navigate waters that can be choppy depending on the assets, trust instruments and personalities involved. As fiduciaries, trustees must honor the trustors’ intent...more

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