Trusts & Estates

Lawsuit says former lawyer for Rosa Parks mishandled her estate

A former lawyer for civil rights leader Rosa Parks is being sued by a New York auction house, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Guernsey’s alleges that Detroit attorney Gregory Reed mishandled the estate, worth an estimated $10 million. As a result, it charges, it missed an opportunity to collect…

Oct 1, 2014 2:20 PM CDT

US will pay Navajo Nation $554M to settle suit claiming mismanagement of resources

The United States has agreed to pay the Navajo Nation $554 million in a record settlement with an American tribe in litigation over mismanagement of tribal resources. The payment settles a 2006 lawsuit claiming that the U.S. government failed to maximize profits when it leased Navajo land for purposes such…

Sep 26, 2014 10:00 AM CDT

Widow of author Tom Clancy battles lawyer over $6M in estate taxes

The widow of author Tom Clancy is battling a Baltimore lawyer over an extra $6 million in estate taxes she says he is requiring her to pay, contrary to the provisions of her husband’s will. Alexandra Clancy is trying to get attorney J.W. Thompson “Topper” Webb removed as the executor…

Sep 22, 2014 12:30 PM CDT

Federal judge likens Anna Nicole Smith case to ‘Bleak House,’ says 20 years of litigation is enough

After nearly 20 years of litigation, it appears that efforts by the late Anna Nicole Smith and her estate to get millions from her late husband’s estate may be nearing a conclusion. Comparing the case to the multigenerational estate litigation described in the classic Charles Dickens novel Bleak House, a…

Aug 20, 2014 5:55 PM CDT

Delaware is first state to adopt model law that says social media accounts can be inherited

When individuals die their social media accounts often expire along with them. Even if their loved ones have the passwords, terms of use for Facebook and other providers routinely restrict account-sharing. But a uniform law that Delaware reportedly has become the first state to enact changes this expectation, recognizing social…

Aug 20, 2014 4:20 PM CDT

Chicago woman found dead in suitcase in Bali had received $840K in cruise line settlement

A Chicago woman who had received $840,000 in a cruise line settlement was found dead in a suitcase in Bali last week. The woman, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, was on vacation with her daughter and daughter’s boyfriend when her body was found abandoned in a taxicab trunk. The daughter, 18-year-old Heather…

Aug 20, 2014 2:25 PM CDT

Disbarred NY lawyer admits embezzling $207K in trust funds

A Buffalo, New York, lawyer already disbarred on embezzlement charges has admitted embezzling $207,000 more in client escrow funds. David S. Widenor, 45, used the money to pay off personal loans and on family trips to Disney World, the Buffalo News reports. Widenor, who pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny…

Aug 15, 2014 4:51 PM CDT

Clippers sale is completed as Donald Sterling files challenge with appeals court

A probate judge’s final order on Tuesday cleared the way for the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. The sale was completed as Donald Sterling sought an emergency order from a California appeals court to unwind the sale, report the…

Aug 13, 2014 12:42 PM CDT

Suit says law firm removed estate administrator in effort to block $2M malpractice case

A Houston law firm did not file an adequate medical expert report as required in a wrongful hospital death case, resulting in the “worst possible outcome” when the case was dismissed, an estate administrator says Then Jones Morris Klevenhagen tried to block her from bringing a malpractice case against the…

Jul 22, 2014 3:05 PM CDT

Real estate attorney’s handwritten will gives $800K to humane society for cat care

A California real estate lawyer who called himself “Cat Daddy” has left this world a far better place as far as local felines are concerned. Officials at the Marin Humane Society were overjoyed to learn that Brian Russell Kirchoff had given the group’s cat-care fund nearly $800,000 in a handwritten…

Jul 14, 2014 3:15 PM CDT

Top state court OKs probate judge’s removal from bench for overseeing cases involving friends

Suspended with pay last December, a longtime New York probate judge has now been removed from the bench by the state’s highest court because she did not step aside from cases involving friends. Judge Cathryn Doyle argued that she did nothing wrong because her role in the Albany County Surrogate’s…

Jul 8, 2014 6:30 PM CDT

Arrest warrant issued for Connecticut lawyer after he failed to appear at disciplinary hearing

A judge has ordered the arrest of a Connecticut lawyer who failed to appear at his own disciplinary hearing. Waterbury attorney Raymond Kotulski had been ordered to appear at a hearing last week before Waterbury Superior Court Judge Mark Taylor, the Connecticut Law Tribune reports. Kotulski was already facing contempt…

Jul 1, 2014 9:12 PM CDT

Blogging lawyer gets 30-day suspension for criticizing judge for ‘malfeasance’

Recommended for a one-year law license suspension for criticizing a judge, an Indiana lawyer known for his political blog was pleased to hear this week that the state’s top court had suspended him for only 30 days. “I won on 80 percent of it, so I’m 80 percent happy,” Ogden…

Jun 19, 2014 10:25 PM CDT

Lawyer seeks crowdfunding for online estate-planning game

A lawyer with plans to develop online games that educate consumers is seeking crowdfunding for one offering, about estate planning. Stephanie Kimbro writes at Virtual Law Practice that her game, Estate Quest, features a scenario where players are detectives, getting different cases about decedents who didn’t plan their estates properly.…

Apr 25, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Dispute over Mickey Rooney’s remains to be decided by Los Angeles judge

Mickey Rooney. Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com Mickey Rooney was the highest paid actor in Hollywood 70 years ago, but his personal property is valued at about $18,000, according to documents filed with his will. Meanwhile, a dispute is looming over who has the authority to claim remains of the actor,…

Apr 10, 2014 5:05 PM CDT