Downs Law Firm, P.C.
The long, expensive court fight over the will of soul singer Aretha Franklin provides a cautionary tale for people who want to make sure that their wishes are carried out after their death — and for their families.
A badly in debt woman dies leaving the proceeds of substantial insurance policies to her children only to have her trust contested by relatives who claim an amendment naming the children as beneficiaries is invalid with no witnesses, misspelled names, suspicious signatures and was never given to previous trustees for review as required by agreement. A long, expensive, and protracted legal battle likely is brewing.
It turns out it’s not just in the movies that you can get a huge inheritance from that uncle you never knew about.
One of the biggest challenges that clients encounter during the process is deciding who to appoint as their trustees, powers of attorney, health care surrogates and executors.
The oldest son of Anne Heche has filed a petition to assume control of the late actress’s estate.
If husband and wife did not own together or separately any land, a house, a boat etc. but only rented a home and had no children, is the surviving spouse responsible to pay medical bills that insurance did not cover?
It is quite a tragedy when a loved one passes away. You may want to remember them by keeping sentimental objects from their home, or perhaps they wanted you to inherit a specific item.
“Gray divorce” — the unfortunately named term for divorce after age 50 — is increasing among baby boomers.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy. When inheritances, homes, estates and mortgages are involved, tensions can run high within a family. It is easy to get lost in the paperwork and terms.
A competent elder law or estate attorney can keep the estate process on track, and knows of provisions like family allowances, benefits to prepaying inheritance tax, even where the tax return is not yet complete and a listing of itemized deductions.
Copyright © IMS. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement. Some artwork provided under license agreement.
