SONS #CHALLENGE WILL OF $8 MILLION ESTATE AND SUE #STEPMOTHER IN #ESTATE LITIGATION —- WERE EXECUTORS ALLOWED TO USE #ESTATE FUNDS TO PAY #LAWYER’S FEES ?
A #probate case or #probate lawsuit whose opinion was issued within the last 10 days pits stepsons against a stepmother ……………………………….. all fighting over an #$8 Million Estate.
LAST SPOUSE GETS LIFE ESTATE TO #$8 MILLION ESTATE
Norman died on November 20, 2007. Norman had a wife, Carol, and three children from a prior marriage.
Q: You know what that means, right?
A: #Probate disputes. #Estate litigation.
How many kids get along with their step mother, right? Add money……. And………………… enter the #probate litigators. Another chapter in the #inheritance war. The fight over blood and money.
SONS #OBJECT TO WILL — #CHALLENGE WILL
Norman’s two sons #objected to the probate and filed a #challenge to the will.
The sons #objected to a #last will and #codicil which gave the #widow or #surviving spouse a “lifetime enjoyment” of the $8 Million Estate.
3 EXECUTORS TO RUN #ESTATE
The #widow, a bank and a third person were the #executors of the estate.
#ESTATE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
On November 24, 2009, a #settlement agreement was entered and the #heirs agreed:
- The #last will would be #admitted to probate
- The sons would get an #inheritance of $1.5 million
- To be made with #estate funds in the nature of an #inheritance
- A federal #inheritance lawsuit was resolved, regarding the #trustees of two retirement #trusts created under a #post-nuptial marital agreement
Was everything resolved and really settled? ………………….
EXECUTORS WANT TO BE #DISCHARGED – FILE #ESTATE PETITION
On May 9, 2011, the #executors filed a petition for the judicial settlement of their account. ….. What we in #Florida probate circles might call a #petition for discharge of the personal representative.
In July 2011, a #guardian ad litem was appointed by the #probate court to represent minors —– # estate beneficiaries having an interest in the #estate.
#GUARDIAN AD LITEM AND SONS FILE #OBJECTIONS TO #ESTATE ACCOUNTING
The executors wanted the #guardian ad litem dismissed and to have the #minors’ interests in the #estate represented by others — by the legal concept of #virtual representation.
The sons objected to the #stepmother and the bank, as #estate executors from using #estate money to pay the #legal fees they incurred in defending the federal #probate lawsuit which was settled in the settlement agreement. The #probate court agreed ! ——- but not the Supreme Court, appellate division, which heard the appeal. That issue, it said, was settled by the #estate settlement agreement .
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS ONLY
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.