News & Analysis as of August 4, 2025

Beneficiaries

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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 -

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

PA Supreme Court Reverses Longstanding Case Law Regarding Specific Loss Benefits

Chartwell Law on 6/11/2025

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has just issued a decision in Christina Steets (deceased) v. Celebration Fireworks Inc., specifically overturning longstanding case law regarding whether specific loss benefits are payable after...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

Kositzka v. Fick: Key Lessons on Trustee Fiduciary Duty in Virginia Trusts

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani on 5/20/2025

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals of Virginia upheld a lower court’s ruling that Kositzka, Wicks and Company (KWC) breached its fiduciary duty to Edward Joseph Ryan, awarding his estate $999,050 in damages, attorney...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 Affirmed Removal Of An Administratrix For Gross Mismanagement

Winstead PC on 5/1/2023

In In the Est. of Lemme, an administratrix of an estate hired her boyfriend to do legal work. No. 07-21-00300-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 8829 (Tex. App.—Amarillo December 1, 2022, no pet. history). ...more

Appellate Court Affirms Findings That Decedent’s Will Was Not A Product Of Undue Influence And That He Had Mental Capacity

Winstead PC on 10/3/2022

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

UK Court Clarifies Important Issues Relating to Proprietary Interests in Trust Assets

Latham & Watkins LLP on 2/14/2022

The Court of Appeal ruled that losing proprietary rights under foreign law could invalidate personal claims against third party recipients of trust assets. On 27 January 2022, the UK Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed...more

Court Held That The Estate Planning Privity Rule Barred Granddaughter’s Claim For Malpractice Against Her Grandmother’s Attorneys...

Winstead PC on 2/14/2022

In Flores v. Branscomb PC, before her death, the decedent hired counsel to prepare a new will. No. 13-18-00411-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 4612 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi June 10, 2021, no pet. history)....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

Indiana Court of Appeals Invalidates Trust for Failure to Identify Trust Beneficiary

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 1/20/2022

Recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Wilson v. Wilson. The case involved the last will and testament (“Will”) of decedent Terrel Wilson, Sr. (“Terrel Sr.”), which purported to create a trust....more

Blast from the Past – Trusts Subject to Medi-Cal Reimbursement

Downey Brand LLP on 1/19/2022

We begin the year with a case, Riverside County Public Guardian v. Snukst (2022) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, involving an elder with dementia who received Medi-Cal benefits. The case, a blast from the past, illustrates how the...more

Minnesota Court of Appeals Upholds Settlor’s Intent, Rejects Beneficiary’s Petition to Modify Trust and Receive Attorney Fees

Lathrop GPM on 1/6/2022

In an opinion released last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a petition to modify the terms of a trust to allow for the early distribution of trust assets to the beneficiaries. The court also denied the...more

Court Holds That Probate Court Had Jurisdiction Over Inter Vivos Trust Dispute And That A Beneficiary Waived A Complaint About A...

Winstead PC on 1/3/2022

In Goepp v. Comerica Bank & Trust, N.A., the settlors created inter vivos trusts and their three children were the remainder beneficiaries. No. 03-19-00485-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5461 (Tex. App.—Austin July 9, 2021, no pet....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

Texas Court Does Not Have Personal Jurisdiction Over A Trustee Of A Trust With Texas Timber Rights

Winstead PC on 8/30/2021

In JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Campbell, a member of a limited partnership sued other partners, including a trustee of a trust, to dissolve the partnership. No. 09-20-00161-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5001 (Tex. App.—Beaumont...more

How Can the Same Right Create 2 Separate Property Interests?

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/26/2021

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can file a lien and levy on any and all of a taxpayer's property (and rights to property) regardless of how the property is held or titled. 26 U.S.C. § 6321. Whether the item is a taxpayer's...more

Court Holds That An Executor May Breach Duties In Making A Non-Pro Rata Distribution Of Assets

Winstead PC on 6/30/2021

In In re Estate of Stewart, siblings filed claims regarding the administration of their father’s estate. No. 04-20-00103-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 3897 (Tex. App.—San Antonio May 19, 2021, no pet. history)....more

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

Winstead PC on 6/1/2021

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

Court Affirmed Trial Court’s Reformation Of A Will To Omit The Word “Personal” From The Term “Property” In A Residuary Clause

Winstead PC on 3/15/2021

In Odom v. Coleman, a brother and a sister sued each other regarding their father’s estate. No. 01-19-00669-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 9551 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] December 8, 2020, no pet.)....more

Defining Testamentary Capacity

Conn Kavanaugh on 2/11/2021

In Haddad v. Haddad, the Massachusetts Appeals Court sent a stark reminder to probate litigators about just how difficult it is to prove a claim of lack of testamentary capacity. Such a finding must rely on specific facts...more

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