Trusts & Estates

Purchase of Old Stock Certificate Is New Version of ‘Beverly Hillbillies,’ Judge Says

A case pending in Delaware considers whether the heirs of a man who bought an antique stock certificate at an estate sale are now entitled to a $130 million stake in Coca Cola. The case involves the California family of Tony Marohn, who died in 2010, two years after he…

Apr 9, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Lawyers Win Reprieve for Boots the Cat, Ordered Euthanized in Owner’s Will

Boots the cat will be able to live out the remainder of her life at a no-kill shelter called Cats are Purrsons Too, thanks to lawyers for a bank appointed to manage the estate of the cat’s owner. The 1988 will of Boots’ owner, Georgia Lee Dvorak, specified that any…

Apr 5, 2012 2:18 PM CDT

Brooke Astor Estate Fight Settles; Her Son Gets Reduced Share of $14.5M Due to Criminal Conviction

After a five-year legal battle that the presiding judge feared could continue on until it ate up most of the $200 million or so in heiress Brooke Astor’s estate, the warring beneficiaries have settled. The pact frees up $100 million for various charities, and slashes to a mere $14.5 million…

Mar 28, 2012 9:02 PM CDT

Federal Judge Nixes Suit by Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Over News Anchor’s Historic Documents

A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed a lawsuit brought against a television news anchor by the estate of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. over documents in his possession. The estate says Howard Ballou has no right to the documents, which he got from his mother, Maude.…

Mar 23, 2012 8:05 PM CDT

Aging Lawyers Often Lack the Business and Estate Planning They Urge on Clients

Lawyers routinely advise clients to develop an estate plan. Yet they themselves often call to mind the “shoemaker’s children go barefoot” proverb, Pennsylvania Bar Association law practice management coordinator Ellen Freedman tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She recalls a situation in which an older attorney who ran his own law office…

Mar 19, 2012 4:23 PM CDT

What Happens to Your Facebook Page After Death? Nebraska Bill Gives Say-So to Estate Representative

A bill pending in Nebraska would make the state the second to give estate representatives the power to handle social media accounts after the death of state residents. The bill would treat Facebook, Twitter and email accounts as digital assets that would be managed by appointed representatives, according to the…

Mar 19, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

More Couples Get Hitched by Clergy Ordained with a Mouse Click; Are Legal Challenges Ahead?

More couples are apparently getting hitched by friends and family members ordained online with a mouse click, a trend that is giving pause to at least one law professor. The New York Times digs up some statistics suggesting an increase in such officiants, though most states don’t keep track of…

Mar 13, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Disinherited Charities Sue Ex-Nixon Peabody Lawyer Over $748,500 They Say He Got Via Undue Influence

A former Nixon Peabody lawyer is facing a case brought by another well-known law firm in Buffalo, N.Y., over $748,500 that onetime charitable beneficiaries of a woman who died in 2008 say he obtained through undue influence. The Erie County Surrogate’s Court is being asked to sort out the claims…

Mar 12, 2012 4:20 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Pinterest Business Card Fishbowl; Legal Foundation of ‘Downton Abbey’

Pin and Win Carolyn Elefant—Washington, D.C., solo and Pinterest member—has invited My Shingle readers to ” ‘drop’ your business card into the MyShingle Online Fishbowl at Pinterest.” Those who participate by Thursday, March 15, will be entered into a raffle for one of two Amazon gift cards. Several of those…

Mar 2, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Man v. Mom: Son Seeks to Evict His Mother, 98, From Her Home of Nearly 60 Years

Peter Kantorowski says he’s just trying to do the right thing for his elderly mother, who surely would be better off living with him or in a nursing home. But a Connecticut court is going to decide the issue at a trial next month, after he served her with eviction…

Feb 21, 2012 9:37 PM CST

Probe of Whitney Houston’s Death Likely to Look at Docs Who Prescribed Drugs to Her, Experts Say

Although it will be weeks before an official cause is established, authorities investigating the weekend death of renowned pop diva Whitney Houston, 48, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel are likely to look at whether medication prescribed by doctors played any role. She was reportedly found submerged in a bathtub. While…

Feb 14, 2012 11:46 PM CST

Guardian for Polo Mogul’s Other Kids Seeks to Reverse Dad’s Adoption of 42-Year-Old Girlfriend

An out-of-state guardian for two minor children of a Florida polo mogul has retained an in-state lawyer to fight John Goodman’s recent adoption of his 42-year-old girlfriend. Arguing that the adoption contravenes public policy and that the judge who approved it wasn’t told the full story, attorney Joseph Rebak is…

Feb 10, 2012 1:27 PM CST

Oops. Filing Lawyer Thought Was Under Seal Reveals Details of Civil Rights Leader Rosa Parks Estate

An ongoing dispute over how the estate of famed civil rights leader Rosa Parks should be handled has hit the news again, after a lawyer filed what he thought was a confidential copy of a 2007 settlement agreement with the Michigan Supreme Court. Attorney Alan May, who had himself previously…

Feb 6, 2012 4:38 PM CST

Judge Jails Attorney for Contempt, Says He Must Ante Up and Account for $3M in Guardianship Funds

A Mississippi judge has jailed a Rankin County lawyer for contempt, saying he will stay there until he deposits guardianship funds into a court registry and provides a complete accounting for the $3 million inherited by a teenager from his mother over a decade ago. Hinds County Chancery Judge Dwayne…

Feb 3, 2012 9:50 PM CST

Polo Mogul Adopts Girlfriend, 42, as His Daughter in Claimed Ploy to Shield Assets from Pending Suit

In a move that has elicited outrage from plaintiffs’ counsel in a wrongful death case, a Florida polo mogul has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend. Since she is over 35, Heather Laruso Hutchins is entitled to an immediate one-third share in a trust set up for John Goodman’s two minor children,…

Feb 1, 2012 8:15 PM CST