Surviving spouses may “elect” against the will to receive their spousal share rather than what the deceased spouse left them. The Massachusetts SJC rules that this creates an interest in real estate allowing the surviving spouse to file for its partition.
A challenge to a trust provision conditioning inheritance on divorce fails, but raises questions (at least for this writer) about the judicial concept of “contrary to public policy.”
While it’s an honor to be invited to serve as trustee of a trust, it’s also a burden. As the recently decided case of Greenberg v. Greenberg shows, it can create liabilities that lead to litigation that long survives the deaths of the trustees.
The standard for capacity to sign a TOD designation is a bit higher than that for a will because it is considered a contract.
An article I recently wrote for Next Avenue, the public television website for Baby Boomers, explains how the family of a college friend divided 100s of items from their parents’ estates among the four siblings. The article, “A Clever Way to Divvy Up Items After a Parent’s Death,” describes the
A Massachusetts estate planning attorney was recently disciplined by the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers for reaching out to a client’s daughter when the client called to ask that her will to be changed to give her house, which was the only significant asset in her estate, to charity, rather than have it pass to her daughter and granddaughters.
You may have seen provisions in wills and trusts that bar challenges to their validity with a severe penalty: that the heir will receive nothing from the estate. These are known as no contest or in terrorem clauses with the idea being to strike terror into anyone who may challenge the document.
Couples getting together later in life is far from unusual, but problems often arise if they don’t talk about expectations in advance. Here are some questions they should ask and answer.
In the case of DiCienzo, et al. v. Pizziferri (Mass. Land Court, No. 18 MISC 000418 (KTS), March 17, 2022), the Land Court sets aside the deed signed by the trustee of a realty trust while she was under guardianship.
Karen Wibbeler-Nelson was the primary caregiver for her father-in-law, Andrew Nelson, who died at age 76 in August 2020. By all accounts, the conditions in the house they shared with Karen’s husband and Andrew’s son, Robert Nelson, a friend of theirs, their 16-year-old daughter, and 45 dogs and cats, were deplorable. Andrew died from sepsis resulting from bed sores. Adult protective services had investigated and closed its case four months before Andrew’s death after the house was cleaned of feces left by the animals.
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Jennifer Pilcher Ph.D, head of Clear Guidance Consulting and Care Management. This program will help you learn how to help your clients and their families detect, evaluate, and approach suspected cognitive impairment.
