Articles Posted in Probate

A Milwaukee County, Michigan judge has denied a biological father a share of the wrongful death proceeds awarded in a suit brought by the mother of a 25 year-old man who died in a mental health facility back in 2012. Alicia Johnson, 48, argued that the biological father, 53 year-old Marcus Crumble, her first cousin,…

In our new world of multi-marriages, divorces and step-children, Will contests and objections to probate are becoming more and more common There are ways to deal with these conflicts to resolve differences without going to court. The best advice is for parents to do estate planning, which includes preparing a Last Will and perhaps a…

Last year we wrote about the scandal in Michigan’s probate system; about how some attorneys and real estate brokers were working together to cheat heirs out their inheritances, legally. Now another scandal has emerged with the news that Oakland County Probate Judges in Michigan have hired an attorney who is under criminal investigation. We posted…

Parents with special-needs children need to take special care when estate planning to insure their child will be provided for not only financially but also physically and emotionally. An article in Forbes by financial planner Christopher Young addresses these issues and suggests 4 financial planning considerations if you have a child with special needs. Do…

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…

There’s a fight going on in Chattooga County, Ga. over $76,000. Last month, County Commissioner Jason Winters, visited Probate Court Judge Jon Payne. He told the judge that the county auditor had noticed the judge had been cutting checks to himself; $35,813 in 2015 and $40,410 in 2016. Payne explained that the money came from…

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…