One of the longest-running estate and trust battles on record added another chapter with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent ruling in the saga involving Anna Nicole Smith, now deceased, and her estate’s attempt to claim a chunk of her former husband’s billion-dollar fortune. Specifically, Anna Nicole, stripper-turned-Playboy model-turned-pop-celebrity, married elderly oil magnate J. Howard Marshall in [...]
Archive for March, 2010
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Estate Of Pinup Anna Nicole Smith, “Widow” Of Elderly Texas Billionaire
Posted in Duties of executors, In the news, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Rights of beneficiaries, Will contests, tagged Anna Nicole Smith, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, probate court, will contest on March 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Arkansas Court Of Appeals Rejects Cousin’s Attempt To Set Aside Gifts To The Decedent’s “Yardman”
Posted in Interpretation of wills/trusts, Powers of attorney, Recent Arkansas appeals, Rights of beneficiaries, Will contests, tagged competency, deceased, impairment, incompetent, mental capacity, power of attorney, quitclaim deed, revocable trust, undue influence, will on March 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One common thread running throughout this blog since its inception has been the issue of competency, i.e., the ability of a person to make informed decisions. Conflicts often arise when ill or elderly people are claimed to have made signficant decisions regarding disposition of their property shortly before they died—sometimes the decision will be legitimate, the culmination of some long, thought-out [...]
