In what has become a recurring #estate dispute, the #widow of a deceased man is suing his estate in an #inheritance lawsuit — over an inheritance and a prenup. This #probate lawsuit pits a California #widow, and #stepmother, against her second husband’s son, or her #stepson, who is the #estate administrator and the #executor of his father’s will. A #probate lawsuit over a #$12 million state.
In this California #probate lawsuit, whose opinion was issued literally days ago, the second wife wants a share of a rich doctor’s $12 million estate — after being married to him for five years, and waiving her rights to his estate in a valid prenup.
#WIDOW VERSUS #ESTATE, STEPMOTHER VS. STEPSON
- Two people met in China, after which
- She moved to Pennsylvania to be with him.
- They were married in 2006.
- He was a doctor who had lost his wife in 2000 and had two children.
- She had also lost her spouse when she married the doctor.
- He was 77, she was 60
- He died in 2011 after a massive heart attack
#PRENUP SIGNED AFTER #WIDOW SPEAKS WITH LAWYER — ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING !!
On the day of the wedding, the doctor told her to speak with an attorney:
- The doctor chose the attorney for her
- The doctor paid for this attorney
- She spent over an hour with this lawyer
- Who spoke in her native language.
- She had the opportunity to ask the lawyer questions about the prenup
- Her meeting lasted an hour
#SURVIVING SPOUSE TESTIFIES NO ONE PRESSURED HER TO SIGN PRENUP
The #widow, the #surviving spouse testified at the #inheritance trial that
- no one lied to her
- the doctor would not lie to her
- she did not bother to review the prenup before signing it
- she did not care much about #prenuptial agreement
- the doctor did not trick her into signing #prenup
- the prenup was signed in two versions – – in English and Chinese
- no one pressured her into signing the #marital agreement
#PROBATE COURT UPHOLDS PRENUP: #ESTATE VICTORY
The #widow was not able to convince the court that she was forced to sign the prenup. She lost the #inheritance lawsuit and received $100,000 according to the terms of the prenup. She had waved her #rights to the estate under the prenup. The #probate court also denied the widow a #family allowance.
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.