A brother and sister were involved in a probate lawsuit involving undue influence. This probate & inheritance lawsuit over dad’s estate came to a head after theprobate trial. No jury. On September 9, 2014, the appeals court ruled on the probate judge’s trial. If you are a brother or sister suing your sibling over undue influence or are involved in an estate lawsuit, such as a will contest, you may want to read this very recent probate decision.
Sister Sues Brother For Undue Influence: Sister tries to contest dad’s will
- Dad just passed away
- Dad had two children, both adults: a son and a daughter
- Dad met with an estate planning attorney in 2010 to write his will
- Evidently, sister and brother, dad’s two adult children, were involved in probate litigation over the grandmother’s estate
Grandmother’s Estate: probate litigation over power of attorney
- Grandmother left everything to her two grandchildren; both adults
- The grandchildren were dad’s children
- The son, or grandson, evidently used a power of attorney to “transfer significant amounts of cash to himself and his wife”
- Where did the money go?
- Daughter, or grandaughter, wanted to know where the estate money went
- So, sister sued brother to set aside the money transfers.
- Three years later, on the day of trial, the siblings announced a probate lawsuit settlement.
Dad’s Estate: sister sues brother for undue influence
- Dad died in 2012
- Son wanted the will probated
- Sister filed an objection to the will and claimed undue influence by brother
- Sister also wanted certain transfers to brother, brother’s wife (the sister in law) and their LLC be set aside
- April, 2013: probate trial
- Sister loses undue influence trial
- Sister appeals
- Sister loses appeal
Question: want to learn more about what happened in this will contest trial? Want to read what the judge said about the sister and brother engaging in probate litigation over two estates?
- The case: In the Matter of the Last Will and Testament of Herman BOWLING, Deceased
- Westlaw cite: 2014 WL 4413265
- Paula B. Hicks v. Mark Bowling
- No. 2013-CA-01174-COA, Court of Appeals, Mississippi
- Justice Maxwell wrote the appellate opinion to this probate lawsuit
- Pontotoc County Chancery Court, Hon. C. Michael Malski was the probate judge