News & Analysis as of

Beneficiaries Mental Capacity Estate Planning

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. - Suffolk University...

May a Mentally Incapacitated Trustee Be Held Personally Liable for His Breaches of Trust?

Assume sole trustee of an irrevocable discretionary trust for benefit of deceased settlor’s descendants living from time to time suffers a sudden unforeseen mental disability that causes trustee to imprudently administer the...more

Winstead PC

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

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

Sands Anderson PC

Don’t Pay Lawyers Unnecessarily When You Die

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It may seem odd to hear a lawyer say this, but much of my work as an estate planner is helping people avoid future entanglements with lawyers. I regularly help my estate planning clients identify places where litigation or...more

Downey Brand LLP

Late Trust Contest May Trigger Enforcement of No Contest Clause

Downey Brand LLP on

No contest clauses generally are not enforceable against beneficiaries of California trusts when there is “probable cause” to challenge the trust instrument. Yet the probable cause safe harbor may disappear if the contest...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Admitting A Codicil To Probate As The Testator Had Mental Capacity And Was Not Unduly Influenced And Discussed...

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In Dillon v. King, one sister contested their father’s will and codicil and also asserted other claims against her sister. No. 05-20-00215-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2991 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 4, 2022, no pet. history)....more

Downey Brand LLP

Will California SB 315 Improve Revocable Transfer on Death Deeds?

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The thrifty do-it-yourselfers among us might jump at the opportunity to transfer their family home to their kids while avoiding probate and the expense of creating a trust. Revocable Transfer on Death Deeds, or RTODDs, have...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter – February 2021

Goulston & Storrs PC on

Testamentary Capacity at Moment of Execution of Will Is Crucial;  Testator’s General “Cognitive Decline” Does Not Invalidate Will - Haddad v. Haddad, 19-P-1378 (January 12, 2021) - Where the maker of a will has entered...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Finding That Testator Had Capacity To Execute A Will, Was Not Unduly Influenced, And That The Appointment of...

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In In the Estate of Flarity, a son of the testator challenged the trial court’s probating of a 2004 will and the appointment of two of his siblings, named in that will, as executors. No. 09-19-00089-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more

Downey Brand LLP

Guardian of the Galaxy – What is the Role of a Guardian Ad Litem in Trust and Estate Disputes?

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Most California trust and estate disputes involve adults who can make their own choices about what to seek and how hard to litigate, such as the common scenario of siblings competing for assets. But many disputes, or at...more

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