A man who had three children by a first marriage married a woman who had five children of her own. When she married her husband, her husband sold the house he owned and moved into the house of his second wife. Sometime in Aprill 22, 2009, the man died a…
Articles Posted in Probate & Estate Litigation
Jurisdiction Issue Decided
A testator was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York but after he got married, he lived with his wife in Florida. Later, the testator and his wife resided in Phoenix, Arizona. While they resided in Phoenix, Arizona, the testator’s wife died. It was around April 2004 that he executor…
First Wife Petitions Will
A man married a woman sometime on February 11, 1921 while they were residents of New York state. A year later, the man filed a case for annulment of his marriage in King’s County. He claimed that the woman he married falsely represented herself. He court dismissed the petition for…
Court Discusses Attorney Client Privlege
A man and his wife consulted a lawyer to plan the disposition of their estates on the event of their demise. The man and his wife both executed individual wills based on the advice and opinion of the lawyer they both consulted. When the man died, his will was submitted…
Court Decides Probate of Case After Decedent Was Murdered
On 2009, a mother with her two daughters died at the hand of their husband and father. After the incident, the father committed suicide and died later that same day. Consequently, the mother’s cousin granted the temporary letters of estate administration of the three deceased. The mother was survived by…
Petitioner Questions Legal Fees for Estate Administration
In this proceeding, the two estate administrators contested to the final accounting of the last will and testament of a man. They contested to the two stipulations signed by the interested parties to the accounting. The court previously issued a decision in which the attorneys of the complainants were directed…
Court Says Larger Estate Doesnt Justify Larger Fees
A woman resident died on February 15, 2009, leaving a last will and testament dated June 28, 2007. She was survived by 19 statutory heirs, including four siblings and the 15 children of four predeceased siblings. The last will and testament leaves all of the woman’s property in three equal…
Petitioner Files Application to Modify Trust
The Facts: On 13 April 1968, a woman (hereinafter The Decedent) died leaving a will. The petitioner, a Child Care Society (hereinafter Child Care Society), seeks to modify the decedent’s will to designate a Residence for Boys (hereinafter Residence for Boys) as a beneficiary of a testamentary trust (hereinafter Testamentary…
Court Decides Validity of Will
The Facts: On 11 March 2011, a decedent died testate at the age of 91. She was survived by one child. Under her will dated 18 November 2010, decedent gave her personal property to her child, $6,000 to Children International, $10,000 to another individual, the proceeds of an insurance policy…
Petioner for Estate Claims Lawyer Misappropriated Funds
Sometime in 1985, the respondent was retained by a woman to probate the Last Will and Testament of her deceased mother. The respondent accepted the retainer with full knowledge that the Will would have to be probated in the Court (for estate administration or will contest; estate litigation) in which…