Pretty much anyone who has lived in Central Arkansas over the last few decades has been aware of if not actually visited University Mall in Little Rock’s midtown area. While it used to be the hot spot for shopping many moons ago, in more recent years it became better known for its empty stores and the litigation that resulted from disputes [...]
Archive for the ‘Duties of executors’ Category
UPDATED: Dispute Erupts Over Wealth Of Deceased Billionaire Shopping Mall Developer
Posted in Duties of executors, In the news, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Will contests, tagged Baby Boomer, Bren Simon, Central Arkansas, Melvin Simon, Park Plaza Mall, Parkinson's, shopping mall, Simon Property Group, trust, University Mall, Wall Street Journal, wealth war, will on January 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Removal Of A Trustee Under Arkansas Law
Posted in Accounting actions, Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, Self-dealing, tagged Arkansas Trust Code, beneficiary, breach of trust, executor, personal representative, removal on January 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
My previous blog post generally discussed principles associated with the removal of executors or personal representatives of an estate. This post is similar except that it analyzes this issue in the context of trusts rather than estates. Every trustee of a trust, and every beneficiary of a trust, should be aware of these principles as well.
To remedy a [...]
Removal Of An Executor (Personal Representative) From An Estate Under Arkansas Law
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, tagged administer, arkansas, asset, beneficiary, conflict, conflict of interest, debt, distribute, estate, executor, fiduciary, good faith, heir, intestacy, intestate, letters, manage, passed away, personal representative, probate, property, removal, remove, testamentary, will on January 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As previously discussed on this Blog, an executor, also known as a personal representative, is a person who is charged with the responsibility of administering an estate after another person has passed away. They will typically do things like collect and inventory the deceased’s assets, manage the property, pay the debts, and distribute property according to [...]
UPDATED: Sentencing Time In The Ultimate Wealth War: The Astor Family Fortune
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Misappropriation of assets, Self-dealing, tagged Anthony Marshall, Astor, Brooke Astor, estate planning, law enforcement, Phillip Marshall, trust administration, wealthy, white collar crime on December 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As we are in the midst of the holiday season and families all around the world are coming together to enjoy each other’s company for a few fun-filled days (or in some cases a couple of miserable hours), it can be a little disheartening to read about (much less write about) another wealth war in the news. [...]
Avoiding Estate, Trust & Probate Litigation
Posted in Accounting actions, Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, Will contests, tagged Abraham Lincoln, beneficiaries, bypass, distribution, estate litigation, estate planning, fraud, intentions, no-contest, probate litigation, surprise, trust department, trust litigation, trusts, U.S. News, undue influence on November 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Since one of my areas of practice is estate, trust & probate litigation, it is obviously not in my economic self-interest to counsel against getting involved in this type of litigation in the first place. However, first and foremost is a lawyer’s duty to his or her client, which while sometimes involves filing or defending a [...]
Michael Jackson’s Father Making Push For Allowance And Say-So In Deceased Son’s Estate
Posted in Duties of executors, In the news, Interpretation of wills/trusts, Rights of beneficiaries, tagged allowance, challenge, children, control, duties, estate litigation, executor, litigation, michael jackson, probate litigation, will on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
At my house we just started giving allowances to our kids so long as they do certain chores around the house, and hopefully the experiment will teach them a number of lessons including personal responsibility, teamwork, the value of hard work, budgeting, saving, etc. Each of our children will receive one dollar (per year of their age) [...]
Modern Recordkeeping Fraught With Potential For Abuse When Individuals Die
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, Duties of trustees, In the news, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, Self-dealing, tagged administrator, assets, computer, digital, estate planning, lawsuit, liabilities, recordkeeping on October 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
An interesting article on msnbc.com from a few days ago sheds light on how modern day estate planning probably needs to catch up with the practicalities of modern day life. Specifically, the article’s author discusses how, years ago, when an individual died the survivors typically conducted a search of the house, papers, safety deposit box, etc. in order [...]
Children Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Settle Dispute Over Father’s Estate
Posted in Breach of fiduciary duties, Duties of executors, In the news, Misappropriation of assets, Rights of beneficiaries, tagged assets, children, estate litigation, executor, jury trial, Martin Luther King, property rights, siblings on October 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Anyone who knows me is aware of my admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a speaker, preacher, writer, community activist, and proponent of peace and nonviolence. Many do not appreciate the fact that he was much bigger than a mere advocate for racial equality, but rather was a warrior for the larger causes of social and economic justice. [...]
