Articles Posted in Probate Law

The new tax law doubles the amount that can be passed to heirs without them having to worry about estate and gift taxes. The amount works out to about $22 million for a married couple, but is only in place until 2025. Due to this, the uber-rich are turning to what are called dynasty trusts,…

An attorney running for probate judge in Lawrnce County, Alabama had one of her campaign signs defaced with a mustache. She responded with a humorous Facebook video with her wearing a fake mustache “Hello Lawrence County, Laura Terry Powell here and I mustache you a question…,” she said, then urged people to register to vote…

A Los Angeles judge appointed a probate referee to appraise the late actress Carrie Fisher’s estate. In a one-page order issued Thursday by a Superior Court judge named Zachary Seff the duties of evaluating all interest, inheritance, transfers and property of the late actress/author’s estate. The estate is rumored to be worth $6.8 million. The…

Determining who “legally gets what” would have been provided with an effective will, as these are the decedent’s last wishes. In the event that one passes without leaving behind a will, dying “intestate” means the decedent loses the opportunity to control who will be the recipient of their assets. Intestacy laws, therefore, determine whether or…

A Vermont man, Nathan Carman, who was rescued at sea after going missing with his mother last year, has filed papers to represent himself in probate court to fend off a legal challenge by his aunts to declare him a killer. The legal action is an attempt by the aunts to bar him from receiving…

Leif Johnson of Cameron Missouri inherited a house his father bought at a probate sale. His father had already started renovating the property when he died. Johnson was all ready to move in with his daughter when he got a phone call. Johnson said Received a phone call one morning saying that they had some…

Last month we posted a video story about how in a Michigan county, the probate administrator was in cahoots with real estate lawyers and they were “stealing” properties from legal heirs, legally. Now some new laws, endorsed by the State Attorney General Bill Schuette are poised to reform the Public Administrator law. Recent actions by…

What happens if you become incapacitated and can’t care for yourself and pay your bills? Sure, you’ve named beneficiaries for your bank account, life insurance etc. The problem is those only take effect after you die. What about if you are still alive but incapacitated? That’s where a durable power-of- attorney comes in. When a…

In her will, Bronx widow Ellen Frey-Wouters left $300,000 to Troy and Tiger, her two cats. Her will instructed the money be used to make sure they would “never be caged” and always be lovingly cared for. The New York Post quotes Dahlia Grizzleto, a former health aide Frey-Wouters and now caretaker of the cats…

The investigative unit of a Detroit TV station uncovered some real shenanigans by the probate public administrator who stole people’s inheritances…legally.