A woman who filed a legal malpractice claim in a matter that began more than 20 years ago failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that her complaint over the distribution of a trust was timely.
Two daughters who claimed their father was of unsound mind when he executed a purported will and that his new wife tortiously interfered with their inheritance won a judgment against her from the Indiana Court of Appeals.
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel has again reversed for a woman who claimed her ex-husband did not die intestate, holding that a probate court did not engage in the proper analysis to determine whether she rebutted whether the man destroyed his will with the intent to revoke it.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated dismissal of a federal estate lawsuit and remanded a case brought by a Bartholomew County man who claims his father’s wife and her children murdered his father.
The Indiana Supreme Court is taking steps to help trial courts handle the coming backlog of cases, extending certain emergency operations due to the COVID-19 public health emergency through as late as January 2021.
The Indiana Court of Appeals in an interlocutory appeal has affirmed for a brother in a sibling squabble over Southern Indiana real estate and property left by their mother after her death.
We return to the scenario presented in a previous article, “Premortem validation could help avert will, estate contests” (Indiana Lawyer, Oct. 16, 2019). Recall that the mother (“mom”) changed her will six months before her death, giving the entire estate to her caregiver-daughter (“daughter”) and leaving nothing for her out-of-town son (“son”). Since Indiana has not yet enacted pre-mortem validation statutes for wills or trusts, daughter and son must argue the validity of the final will in court after mom has passed. This article discusses how the scenario (and a similar one dealing with a revocable trust) might play out under current Indiana law.
We are almost halfway through 2020 and have seen the stock market fall, rally and fall again. We have been trapped in our houses unable to help our unstable economy, attempting to find new hobbies to pass the time and, of course, practicing social distancing. The silver lining to this pandemic is that it has provided an opportunity for us to better ourselves, and with falling interest rates, transfer our clients’ wealth to the next generation.
The coronavirus pandemic seems to be the push many people needed. Most clients, estate planning lawyers say, tend to put off preparing their documents, usually believing that they still have time. But with the continuance of the COVID-19 pandemic and the daily coverage of case counts and death tolls, attitudes have changed.
The COVID-19 public health crisis has caused many people to reconsider their estate planning in light of scenarios that may have previously been unthinkable.
An Indiana Supreme Court order relating to probate and estate planning documents executed during the health crisis posed by COVID-19 will remain in effect until the health emergency is over, the high court announced Friday.
No abuse of discretion occurred in allowing an Indianapolis law firm to recover fees in a heated estate dispute, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. Neither was there an abuse of discretion in failing to declare the law firm responsible for attorney fees stemming from the filing of what an estranged wife called a meritless petition.
The Indianapolis Bar Foundation has implemented a new program in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic to put dollars in the pockets of young lawyers while continuing to provide free legal services to the public.
On a typical Tuesday, the Allen County Bar Association’s legal help line gets 40 to 60 calls, but the organization is bracing for an increase as the coronavirus crisis worsens.
A widow who contested whether she could satisfy her election to take against the will of her deceased husband when he transferred the majority of his assets into a revocable trust lost her appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed for more than a dozen grandchildren in their fight to secure heirship in the distribution of trust property.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Friday that a woman breached her duties as a trustee after she sold several real estate properties from a living trust for less than their fair market value and then paid herself.
Indiana estate planning and business succession attorneys say often, business owners don’t like to think about what might happen to their company if they were no longer able to run it. This is also true nationwide, with Forbes reporting that 30% of businesses don’t have a formal estate plan in place.
Premortem validation may be a useful tool for any testator or settlor who suspects her will or trust will be challenged after her death. By implementing the premortem validation procedures, the testator or settlor can ensure a contest action will be brought while she is alive to defend her capacity and likely deter a meritless challenge.
When the Probate Code Study Commission convened for its first meeting Aug. 12, it marked the return of a process meant to help Indiana legislators understand the often complex and intertwined issues regarding wills, estates, trusts, guardianships and other probate matters.