As a result of poorly worded language drafted in a Will by a New York lawyer, the surviving companion of 18 years of the deceased is likely to be disinherited. The Last Will and Testament of 84 year old New York City psychologist, Jill Morris...
After killing several people in Canada resulting in a manhunt over three Canadian provinces, Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, left a video on a cellphone in which they said goodbye to their families and described their last wishes for their remains similar to a...
Many people incorrectly assume that the surviving spouse will always get full title to their homestead that was bought together after the first spouse dies. In this case, the husband, who had two children from a prior relationship and four children born of his marriage...
“Sock it to me, sock it to me” are part of the famed lyrics of Aretha Franklin’s hit song, “RESPECT”, but her lack of estate planning has landed a haymaker to the previously closely-knit heirs of the late songstress who died a little over a...
Jeffrey Epstein’s signing of a Will two days before his suicide leaves many legal issues that may take more than a decade to decide. By creating a “pour-over Will” into a trust he created, we know that he has planned for privacy on who are...
On July 17, 2019, the Uniform Law Commission passed an act allowing probate courts to validate Wills electronically signed by a testator and witnesses. Texas law does not presently permit electronic signing and witnessing of Wills due to special signing requirements to make sure the Will...
Gloria Vanderbilt’s Will provided that her son, CNN news reporter Anderson Cooper (“Anderson Cooper 360”), will receive the residue of her estate other than her Manhattan co-op and contents therein which were bequested to another son, Charles Stokowski. Since Wills and inventory are a matter...
Mistakes made during the signing of a Will are frequently the cause of litigation. Some of the common mistakes are as follows: Attorney should handle the Will signing ceremony. Although it is not required by law that an attorney handle the ceremony, the probability of error is...
Although beneficiary designations (such as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement account) supersede a Will or intestate succession due to the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that if the state has a law that results...
The Will of a quadriplegic man (the “Testator”), who was unable to speak and who communicated with his attorney through a blinking system, was recently upheld by a Fort Worth appellate court. The attorney asked “yes” or “no” questions to the Testator who responded by blinking....
