Trusts & Estates

Representative Cases

Claim on Estate; Bigamy; Wrongful Death Proceeds

The Client’s husband had abandoned her and their children some 20+ years ago, without obtaining a divorce.  When the Client later learned that her un-divorced husband had “remarried”, and that he had died, and that his second “wife” had obtained a $5 million judgment for his wrongful death, she hired the Firm.  After conducting a multi-state investigation into courthouse records in several jurisdictions, the Firm succeeded in proving that the second marriage was void, and the judgment proceeds were therefore paid to the Client-wife and her children instead of to the second “wife”.

Undue Influence; Artwork; Removal of Executrix

The second wife of an art dealer and collector was the executrix of his estate, and, to the exclusion of his son by his first wife, she claimed all of his estate as her own, including a number of very valuable paintings.  The son hired the Firm to pursue his claim against the Estate, and, at a Probate Court trial, the Firm proved that the widow had unduly influenced her husband to change his Will during his last illness to disinherit the son.  The Court set aside the second Will, removed the widow as executrix, and the son received his full inheritance under his father’s original Will.

Family-owned Business; Estates; Shareholder Action

Soon after the death of the president of a family-owned business, a dispute arose between the estate and the family shareholders as to who had legal authority to control the business.  The surviving shareholders, who held a slight majority of the stock, also alleged that the deceased had looted the company, and they sued his estate.  The Firm was retained by the Executor to represent the estate, and negotiated a favorable buy-out of the estate’s holdings without extensive discovery or expensive litigation.

Trusts; Undue Influence; Alzheimer's Disease

A wealthy elderly North Carolina landowner’s wife died, leaving him a life estate in her assets with the remainder interest to their grown children.  When it appeared that he was developing Alzheimer’s, and was keeping company with a much younger woman to the exclusion of his children, and spending extravagantly, the children retained the Firm to protect their future inheritance of their parent’s estate.  The Firm negotiated a new trust agreement for the family to achieve their goals.

Will Contest; Pre-morbid Gifts; Charitable Trust

The female friend of a wealthy Atlanta batchelor had been his primary caregiver during the several months of his final illness.  He had orally given her most of his very extensive assets, and had quitclaimed to her the title to his mansion, before his death.  Unfortunately, he never changed his Will in which he had left his entire estate in a charitable trust to be administered by a major bank.  When the bank attempted to take control of the Estate’s assets pursuant to the Will, the Firm sued to enforce the oral gifts and succeeded in obtaining the estate for the Client.

Wills; Adverse Possession

The Firm represented two brothers from the Chicago area who had inherited real estate located in Atlanta.  The property had originally been owned by their grandfather, who had willed it to his two sons in equal shares when he died.  One of the sons had maintained it and rented it out for a period of 30-years.  The Atlanta brother also kept all the proceeds from the rentals.  When the second brother died, he left his share of the property to his two Chicago sons.  They then attemped to contact their uncle, who refused to respond.  They then attempted to negotiate with his daughter, their cousin, who refused to discuss the property, claiming that the Chicago sons’ father had given his interest in the property to her father.  The Firm filed suit, and discovery was conducted to determine who owned the property, and what profits the deceased Atlanta brother and his son had realized from the property.  Finally, the deceased’s daughter agreed to a settlement which allowed the Firm’s Clients to retire.

Wills; Caveat; Sound Mind; Conflict of Interest

The Firm was retained on behalf of the executrix and beneficiary of a substantial estate.  When she filed the testator’s Will for probate, a beneficiary of a prior Will filed a caveat, contending that the deceased had been of unsound mind when he executed the second Will.  After successfully disqualifying opposing counsel for a conflict of interest, the opposing party withdrew the caveat, and the Firm’s Client received the full amount of her inheritance.

Guardianship; Incompetence; Collections

The sister of an accountant who had suffered a debilitating brain injury in a car accident was appointed as the Guardian of her brother’s estate after he became unable to manage his own affairs.  When various credit card companies offered him credit, he accepted, and charged thousands of dollars to the cards. The Firm defeated the Banks’ collection claims on the grounds that he was not competent to contract.

Wills; Partitioning of Property; Intra-family Mediation

Four adult siblings had jointly inherited several thousand acres of timberland spread among some fifteen different locations, and they had differing ideas concerning the harvesting of the timber, the development of various parcels, the sale of certain mining rights, and other issues regarding the appropriate disposition of the assets of the estate. One of the sisters retained the Firm to represent her interests and to obtain her separate title and equal share of the total estate. A lawsuit to divide the properties would have resulted in unwanted publicity for the family and the public airing of confidential financial matters. After considerable discussion regarding various options available, the family was persuaded to attempt mediation in order to avoid a public proceeding. Although multiple mediation sessions were required due to the extent of the holdings and the number of parties involved, all the parcels were partitioned among the heirs to their satisfaction.

- additional sample cases available upon request