WWII Jacket in Probate Case: Tax Bill & Probate Dispute over Priceless Family Heirloom

West Palm Beach probate litigators know that an inheritance dispute does  not have to be about cash or stocks sometimes the family heirlooms are the subject of dispute. Do you know who is going to hold your family heirlooms in trust or escrow while you duke it out in probate court? Check out this recent probate case out of Pennsylvania dealing with World War 2 memorabilia. This also brings up some important issues are you prepared for a tax bill after the probate case closes?

Inheritance Disputes

• West Palm Beach inheritance disputes are not always about money, stocks or real estate.
• Sometimes it is about heirlooms and other personal property of a decedent.
• Who is going to hold the property in trust or escrow while the probate court decides ownership?
• How are you going to show the West Palm Beach probate court that your interpretation of the will is correct?
• You are going to want to establish the testamentary intent.
• Do you know what that means?
• You may find that the West Palm Beach will is unclear on several things.
• Most importantly who gets Mom’s china or that jewelry?
• It may end up being for the Court to decide if the will does not clearly leave instructions for the West Palm Beach personal representative.
• That is what happened in one probate dispute out of Pennsylvania, take a look.

The Flying Tigers and Probate

• Do you know who the “Flying Tigers” were?
• Also known as the American Volunteer Group these were American aviators who volunteered to help the Chinese fight the Japanese prior to Pearl Harbor.
• What does this have to do with West Palm Beach probate?
• The ownership of a man’s Flying Tigers flight jacket became grounds for a probate battle years after his death in 2008.
• The man’s will left everything to his wife who died in 2013.
• Now the children are fighting over who owns the jacket.
• According to reports the son took the jacket out of the mother’s home shortly before her death and the executor (personal representative) asked numerous times for its return.
• The son then got the inheritance tax bill for the 24k jacket. 
• He then tried to get the Court to pretend he never got the jacket because he returned it the pilot’s true son (the man who had it was actually a step son).
• Do you think he should be able to get his inheritance tax bill deleted after what he did?
• Any experienced Palm Beach probate litigator will tell you this is not how to go about getting the family heirloom you want.

Want to learn more about this interesting probate dispute or are you interested in the Flying Tigers?

Check out this recent news article by clicking here.