The Petrosewicz Law Firm Estate Planning Blog

Will Contests May Be Rare, but They Do Happen

In an ideal world, wills and estate plans are created when people are sound of mind and body, just as the familiar legal phrase describes. The best way to avoid a will contest is to have a well-written will, prepared by a qualified estate planning attorney who can help avoid a legal contest. However, there are times when this is not the case, says The Huntsville Item in the article “Legal Corner: Will contests while rare are messy.”

A will is contested when the person challenging the will believes that it does not represent the true intent of the testator to pass the estate to the people he wanted.

A will must be written in the correct form and executed according to the law in order to be valid. This is why it is necessary to work with an estate planning attorney to create a will. A person may try to do it on their own, typing it out, downloading a form or copying a form, but because the law is very strict about the form and execution, many of these do-it-yourself wills end up being deemed invalid by the courts.

When the will is not valid, the laws of intestacy are applied to the person’s estate. This is rarely in accordance with the person’s wishes, but at this point, it’s too late.

To make a will, the person must have “testamentary capacity.” That means that he or she knows what they are doing, what their estate includes and who the recipients of the estate will be. They also must not have been subject to undue influence. That means that the person making the will is so controlled and dominated by another person, that they were not able to make the will that they wanted.

When the sad day comes that a loved one passes, the family grieves. Each member will deal with the loss in their own way. For some people, the intense level of emotions can bring about conflicts. Sometimes these are the result of old battles that were never resolved. Sibling rivalry that’s been simmering for decades can emerge.

One of the goals of a properly prepared will, is to prevent any family fights after a loved one has passed.

Studies have found that the struggle over mom’s necklace or dad’s watch are not about the material items themselves, but over the symbolic meaning of those items. When families fight over inheritances, it’s rarely because of the actual item or even the money.

As the family’s older member, you want to do anything you can to avoid fracturing the family after you’ve gone.

Unless you take the steps to create a will and a strong estate plan, your loved ones could be entrenched in a long inheritance conflict that lasts years and consumes more resources than anyone can spare.  However, with careful planning, you can avoid inheritance conflicts. After all, estate planning is more for those you love than for you.

Rely on the skill and knowledge of an experienced estate planning attorney and leave your family intact.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: The Huntsville Item (May 26, 2019) “Legal Corner: Will contests while rare are messy”

Celebrities Make Estate Planning Mistakes–In a Big Way

Outdated documents, beneficiary designations and other estate planning mistakes can keep your heirs tied up in court for years, with your estate consumed by taxes, penalties and legal fees. This is not to mention the frustrating scenario of people you didn’t want to receive your assets, ever, getting the lion’s share of your estate.

That, says Kiplinger in an article titled “6 Estate-Planning Mistakes Celebrities Made,” could happen to your family, if you don’t update your estate plan on a timely basis. Making sure that your assets and prized possessions end up with the right people requires more than just having a will created. Many accounts have designated beneficiaries, like IRAs and 401(k) accounts, and insurance policies. If the person designated to be a beneficiary is an ex-spouse or a family member from whom you’re estranged, then it won’t matter: the named beneficiaries supersede anything contained in your will.

Just as everything about celebrity lives is oversized, so are their estate planning mistakes.

With no will, Prince died intestate. A judge in Minnesota made the decisions about his assets and there were significant delays due to people who claimed to be his heirs. It has been two years since his death and heirs have yet to receive their inheritances.

Singer Barry White died in 2003, while he was separated but not divorced from his second wife. She inherited everything. His live-in girlfriend of several years and his nine children received nothing. The legal battle got ugly with his girlfriend, daughter and son all filing lawsuits. Until you are legally divorced, you are still married, as far as your estate is concerned. Update your will, your financial and healthcare power of attorney and check your beneficiary designations. Don’t wait.

When actor Heath Ledger died, his will left everything to his parents and three sisters. His daughter and her mother were left with nothing. His family later gave all the money from the estate to his daughter. Use life-changing events, like the birth of a child, as reasons to review and update your estate planning documents.

Olympic sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner died at age 38. It was believed that she had a will.  However, no one could find it. The legal battles between her husband and her mother went on for years. Most estate planning attorneys will keep a copy of your will and other estate planning documents on file. You should also keep the original documents in a safe, readily-accessible place and tell at least two people where they are located.

When acting legend Marlon Brando died, he left most of his approximately $26 million estate to his producer and other associates. A long-time housekeeper said that Brando had promised to give her his home when he died, but he never put it in writing. She sued the estate for the value of the home plus $2 million in damages. The case settled three years later for $125,000. If you are making promises to people that you wish to take care of, put those in writing.

Pop icon Michael Jackson’s death set off a long series of legal battles over his estimated $500 million estate. He had created a revocable living trust designed to pass his wealth to his children and his mother when he passed.  However, he never funded the trust. His entire estate had been left outside of the trust. That meant that it had to go through the probate process, while his children and mother lived on an $8 million annual allowance managed by the estate’s executor and a judge. There were also many legal challenges from creditors and family members.

Estates of celebrities and “regular” people can avoid all of these mistakes, by creating and updating their estate plans, with the help of a qualified estate planning attorney.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: Kiplinger (Aug. 31, 2018) “6 Estate-Planning Mistakes Celebrities Made”

The Challenge of Compensating Shooter's Victims

It still is not clear why Stephen Paddock decided to commit mass murder by shooting at Las Vegas concert goers from his hotel window. He was relatively well-off and had not been in trouble as far as anyone knows.

Despite the mystery surrounding his motivations, his victims and their families would like to be compensated for his actions.

The good news is that his estate is worth approximately $5 million. That money would ordinarily go to his mother, since Paddock is not known to have had an estate plan.  However, Paddock's family has indicated they have no interest in his estate.

The bad news is that there are so many victims, it will be difficult to compensate them all, as The New York Times reports in "The Las Vegas Gunman Was Rich. Will His Wealth Go to the Victims?"

There are some challenges to making sure that all the money goes to the victims.

The first is that the estate could be rolled into an existing victims' compensation fund that has already raised $22 million.  However, all of the victims might not be eligible for compensation under the fund's rules.

The second challenge is that many victims are filing independent claims and lawsuits to the estate.

The case is very complicated and the attorneys who are working on it need to be compensated for their time, but not so much that there is nothing left for the victims.

Reference: New York Times (Dec. 23, 2017) "The Las Vegas Gunman Was Rich. Will His Wealth Go to the Victims?"

Manson Estate and Body in Limbo

It probably seems strange that anyone would want to be associated with the legacy of Charles Manson by laying claim to his estate.

The estate might be valuable because of interest in the notorious cult leader and convicted murderer.  However, most people would still probably rather pass on being associated with him.

It now appears there will be a fight over his estate, as TMZ reports in "Charles Manson Grandson Files Probate Docs Manson's Body Still on Ice."

A fan and friend of Manson's named Michael Channels claims to have a will that Manson drafted designating Channels as the executor of the estate and as Manson's sole heir. Channels has previously vowed to fight anyone who challenges his claim.

Manson grandson Jason Freeman has accepted that challenge.

Freeman filed documents with the probate court requesting that a person of his choosing be appointed to administer Manson's estate. The two are also fighting over how to dispose of Manson's remains. His body remains in storage, until the court can determine which of the two men should be given possession of it for disposal.

When there is money and notoriety involved, some people will fight over any estate including the estate of Charles Manson.

Reference: TMZ (Dec. 8, 2017) "Charles Manson Grandson Files Probate Docs Manson's Body Still on Ice."

Charles Manson's Will Filed With Court

At first it was not clear who would inherit Charles Manson's estate or if anyone would even want it, despite having some monetary value.

However, it quickly came out that Manson had drafted a will in prison. He left everything to a longtime pen pal who had visited him in prison.

That man at first preferred to remain anonymous and left open the question of why someone would become friends with Manson.

The will has been filed in court and the man has been revealed to be Mark Channels, as the Daily Mail reports in "Charles Manson's pen pal files the infamous killer's last will and testament in court after saying 'he'll go into the ring' if anyone challenges the document."

It turns out that Channels worshipped Manson and even had a shrine to the cult leader in his home. Channels has already issued a warning to anyone who might contest the will and stated that he is prepared to fight for Manson's estate.

Manson does have a few living relatives who might want to contest the will.  However, at the time of the article they had not done so. They still have roughly 100 days to file with the court, if they so choose.

Whoever inherits Manson's estate can expect to earn some money from collectors and could also see some money from music royalties.

Reference: Daily Mail (Nov. 28, 2017) "Charles Manson's pen pal files the infamous killer's last will and testament in court after saying 'he'll go into the ring' if anyone challenges the document."

Vivian Maier Estate's Copyright Claim

Vivian Maier was never a well-known person during her lifetime. She sometimes worked as a housekeeper and as a nanny.

She did not even always use the same name when seeking employment.

By the end of her life, she was extremely poor. She stopped making payments in 2007 on a small storage locker she had in Chicago. The contents of the locker were auctioned off.

Maier passed away in 2009 still entirely unknown. She had no known heirs or estate plan, as PDN Pulse reported in "Federal Court Sustains Vivian Maier Copyright Claim."

Included in the Chicago storage locker were a number of photographs and negatives that Maier had taken over the years. She apparently loved to take pictures of what she saw on the street.

However, Maier was not an ordinary amateur photographer.

She was brilliant and interest in her work grew immediately, when some of it was posted online.

Collectors began buying up her works, including a man named Jeffrey Goldstein. He began selling prints of the work and licensing the images for use.

Maier's estate sued Goldstein for copyright violations. Goldstein asked that the court dismiss the suit,  since he claimed to have purchased the works before Maier passed away.

His request has been denied.

Vivian Maier herself will not get to enjoy the benefits of her now famous works.  However, her estate will be able to do so.

Reference: PDN Pulse (Nov. 21, 2017) "Federal Court Sustains Vivian Maier Copyright Claim."

Battle Over War Hero's Remains

Paul Lewis Morigi fought for the U.S. during World War II. While in England, he met and fell in love with Olive Murphy.

The two got married in 1944.  However, the marriage did not last long.

They divorced when Olive decided she did not want to move to America with him. She feared she would miss her family too much.

Morigi went on to be a successful banker and a very wealthy man. He also got remarried to an American, Muriel Morigi. They were married for 40 years and had two children together.

At the age of 92, Paul Lewis Morigi divorced Muriel and moved to England, where he remarried Olive Murphy.

He recently passed away and now the two widows are fighting, according the Daily Mail in "Widows at war: British and American wives of war hero banker both want him buried in their own local cemetery - on opposite sides of the Atlantic - so they can visit his grave."

For now at least, the dispute between the two women does not appear to be over Morigi's assets but over where Morigi should be buried.

They both would like him buried close to them, so they can visit his grave easily. Of course, this could easily turn into a fight over his assets later.

It is not clear whether Morigi left any instructions for where and how he would like to be buried. However, it is clear that he probably should have done so.

Reference: Daily Mail (Nov. 3, 2017) "Widows at war: British and American wives of war hero banker both want him buried in their own local cemetery - on opposite sides of the Atlantic - so they can visit his grave."

Mediation in Estate Disputes

When family members start fighting over the estate of a loved one, the battle can turn acrimonious.

There is almost no way for there to be a civil intra-family estate dispute, unless the case goes to trial before a judge.

When family members start testifying against each other it is extremely difficult for the wounds to heal. To avoid this problem, many courts prefer that families try to solve their disputes through other methods before a case goes to trial.

A common way to do this is for the litigants to be sent to mediation which the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discussed in "Court Rejects Effort to Avoid Settlement Agreement."

In mediation a trained, neutral third party attempts to facilitate an agreement between the parties to the dispute. A mediator will often try to get the parties to see the other person's side and to compromise.

Even when mediation does not instantly help the parties to reach an agreement, it often helps to clarify the issues. Many feuding family members do decide to reach post-mediation settlements.

Mediation does not always work. Some people feel that they are pressured into settling during mediation.

For that reason, it is important to have an attorney during estate litigation as courts are reluctant to allow people who have second thoughts out of any agreements reached during mediation.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Oct. 25, 2017) "Court Rejects Effort to Avoid Settlement Agreement."

DIY Will Goes Bad

Australian woman Sandra Marie Hatton was a very religious woman. She wanted to give most of her assets to charities that carry on religious work.

Perhaps to save some money so that there would be more to go to charity, Hatton did not see an estate planning attorney to help draft her will.

Instead, she used a do-it-yourself will form.

Hatton filled it out and then proceeded to make many handwritten changes to it, as she changed her mind about which charities to benefit.

That could end up costing her estate a lot of money, as News.com.au reports in "Unholy row as court decides on religious woman's will."

The will itself has been accepted into probate as valid.

Now, the court also has to decide which of the handwritten changes to accept as valid.

The charities who could benefit from the decisions are all eager to stake their claim and lawyers will have to be hired by Hatton's estate to help in the case.

Do-it-yourself wills, whether purchased in a kit or online, offer people a way to save some money by cutting out estate planning attorneys.

Unfortunately, as is the case with Hatton's will, things often go wrong with these DIY wills because the people who create them do not know what they are doing.

In the end, that DIY approach costs the estate a lot more money in the long run.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected]. 

Reference: News.com.au (Oct. 15, 2017) "Unholy row as court decides on religious woman's will."

Bank Hit with $4 Billion in Punitive Damages

Max Hopper is not a well-known figure.  However, he became a wealthy man during his time as an executive at American Airlines.

He was best known for creating an innovative reservation system.

At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $19 million.

Unfortunately, he did not have an estate plan.

The bank JPMorgan was chosen to administer his complex estate. However, Hopper's widow and her stepchildren grew angry at the way the bank was handling the estate and accused it of delaying distributions for its own benefit.

They sued in a Dallas court.

A jury recently came down with a verdict.

JPMorgan was ordered to pay the plaintiffs $5 million in actual damages and $4 billion in punitive damages, as Bloomberg reports in "JPMorgan Ordered to Pay More Than $4 Billion to Widow and Family."

It is very likely courts will greatly reduce this punitive damage award,  since the Supreme Court has previously ruled that punitive damages must be proportional to actual damages.

Nevertheless, this case highlights an important point.

Estate administrators can be held liable, if they do not faithfully carry out their duties.

The jury in this case believed that the bank was guilty of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breaking a fee agreement.

JPMorgan is a sophisticated entity that should have known better.

Estate administrators with less experience would be wise to seek the assistance of an attorney to help them make sure they do not run afoul of the law.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected]. 

Reference: Bloomberg (Sep. 26, 2017) "JPMorgan Ordered to Pay More Than $4 Billion to Widow and Family."