Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
SDNY Chooses “Time Approach” to Calculating Lease Termination Damages Collectible Against a Bankrupt Estate
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
Joint bank accounts are often viewed as a convenient way to manage finances or pass assets seamlessly upon death. However, in Pennsylvania estate disputes, joint accounts can become a major source of conflict among heirs and...more
David F. Johnson participated in a panel presentation entitled “The Baby-Boomer Generation & The Largest Succession of Wealth in History: The New Frontier in Asset Recovery?” for the Offshore Alert Miami Conference on April...more
This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. Our lawyers are at the forefront of this area of the law, shaping how it is handled in...more
Assailant's Spendthrift Trust Accessible to Child of Murdered Parents - de Prins v. Michaeles, SJC-12865 (October 20, 2020) - In de Prins v. Michaeles, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) tackled a trust...more
In Texas, undue influence is generally described as such influence or dominion as to destroy the free agency of the testator, and substitute the Will of another in its place – compelling the maker of the Will to do that which...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
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, discusses the enforceability of arbitration, forum-selection, and jury-waiver clauses in trust and will disputes as well as other related issues associated...more
Do you have a loved one who recently passed away and you are concerned that their will or trust was procured by undue influence? Although the law on undue influence has not evolved much since the seminal Florida Supreme Court...more
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
Pursuant to the provisions of EPTL 5-1.1-A, every surviving spouse of a domiciliary decedent is entitled to a statutory right of election. The elective share statute is intended to provide a decedent’s surviving spouse with a...more
Mental incapacity and undue influence are the most common theories used to try to invalidate wills, trusts and beneficiary designations in California and elsewhere. Occasionally, the subject in a trust and estate dispute has...more