16 YEARS OF #INSURANCE LITIGATION ENDS IN TEXAS #PROBATE LAWSUIT
#SUCCESSFUL DOCTOR LEAVES #ESTATE TO #CHARITY, FATHER IS #SOLE HEIR
A Texas #probate case decided just days ago involved not only #estate litigation, but also #life insurance litigation.
- Anne was a successful doctor in Texas who died in 1997, survived by one, sole #heir: her dad, Glenn.
- Anne had a #last will which named a Ms. White as #estate executor, to #probate the will.
- Her #last will left some property, and a #farm to a cousin, but left the rest of her #estate, sometimes called the #estate residue, to a #charitable foundation to help with spinal cord injuries.
#LIFE INSURANCE LAWSUIT: WHO IS THE #RIGHTFUL BENEFICIARY?
Her dad was the beneficiary of a #life insurance policy. This 16 years of litigation involves that #life insurance policy.
Anne’s dad engaged in #inheritance litigation on two fronts:
- he sought to receive his #inheritance under the #life insurance policy since he was the #life insurance beneficiary.
- He also sought to get an Indiana farm which Anne left to her cousin under her #last will.
DAD: #LITIGATION WITH #INSURANCE COMPANY AND #ESTATE BENEFICIARY
Her father engaged in #probate litigation and #insurance litigation.
- The #life insurance policy had been pledged as collateral for a loan. The bank wanted the #life insurance policy and its #death proceeds.
- He also tried to defeat the #inheritance rights of the cousin to the Indiana farm: He argued that no one was #probating the will and he was #sole heir at law— and he should inherit.
#ESTATE DISPUTE OVER WILL SETTLED — but, #insolvent estate
He settled the #inheritance dispute over the farm with the cousin. But the #estate became insolvent while Ms. White was serving as #executor. In #Florida probate circles, we refer to an #executor as the #Florida personal representative.
#SOLE HEIR DIES – HIS #ESTATE SUES DAUGHTER’S #ESTATE FOR MIS-MANAGEMENT
Anne’s father died in 2006.
His #estate, through the #executor, sues the #executor of Anne’s estate.
They claim that Ms White, while #administering the estate of Anne, #mismanaged the estate. Were #estate expenses and costs and #estate fees too high, unnecessarily depleting the estate?
DID #EXECUTOR OWE #HEIR A #FIDUCIARY DUTY ?
The father’s estate claimed that the #personal representative of Anne’s #estate owed a #fiduciary duty to the father . The #probate court disagreed.
The #probate court said that Miss White was a “independent executor” and that the father was a unsecured estate creditor and that no such duty was owed. Miss White, the #estate executor, didn’t even need a #probate trial– she won on a #motion for summary judgment
#FLORIDA ESTATE LAW AND RIGHTS OF CREDITORS
The rights of #creditors to #Florida estates and to #estate property is a subspecialty of the #Florida probate code. There are unique rules, interesting #Florida probate rules, and very short #statutes of limitations. #Florida estate law also divides #creditors by a class system. Some #estate creditors get paid before others. A #Florida personal representative, while #probating a Florida State, has a duty to be fair and to act in good faith with #Florida estate creditors.
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS
We help you with Florida estate and trust administration and trials, and #probate appeals.
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not prepare estate plans
- does not draft wills and trusts
- does not steal your clients or your probates
Our #West Palm Beach, Florida #probate litigation firm :
- hands your clients back to you at the conclusion of the #Florida matter—after all, they are YOUR clients
- we try cases & handle appeals
- our practice is restricted to #Florida probate disputes & contested guardianships
- we work with you on #Florida estate administration, #Florida probate
- we litigate for and protect beneficiary rights
- we represent #Florida personal representatives or executors, and #Florida trustees
- we receive approximately 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases
Who are we? Our firm is comprised of
- serious Florida litigators, with an outstanding reputation in our legal community
- focused probate lawyers,
- experienced paralegals and support staff.
We have been involved in high profile, nine figure, multi-million-dollar #Florida estates, including Madoff matters, old # Palm Beach money and complex trusts and multi-party #Florida probates. We also handle “small” or “simple” matters. All we do is litigate and help you with #Florida estate and trust administration. #Tortious interference with an inheritance and allegations of #undue influence, and #will challenges and trust challenges are a unique subspecialty of the law. Does your client know which ones to file, when to do that, and why? Do you know the different ways to prove each case? How about quantifying or assessing damages? It would be our pleasure to work with you and to serve your clients. For a complete copy of this very recent legal opinion please email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.
John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida, www.pankauskilawfirm.com and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox networks.