Executors of the estate filed an Order to Show Cause requesting approval of the estate’s final accounting in a summary manner. The Order to Show Cause was entered and a return date was scheduled. Opposing family members filed a responsive pleading, in which they accused the executors of withholding financial information and commingling estate assets… read more →
Shortly after their father’s death, plaintiff (one of the decedent’s sons) filed a caveat against the estate, based on allegations of undue influence and payments made to his siblings prior to their father’s death. After his brother filed a complaint in the Superior Court, Probate Part to admit the father’s will to probate, plaintiff voluntarily.. read more →
Wayne Lippincott’s widow Anne probated a will dated two days before his death in 2015. The couple had been married 28 years, and each had grown children from prior marriages. Wayne’s children and grandchildren challenged the will, claiming undue influence, lack of capacity, forgery, and failure to comply with the formalities of execution. They sought.. read more →
In 1990, Irving Helsel established the “The 1990 Irving Helsel Family Trust” (the Trust), which included the “Irving Helsel Family Trust” (Family Trust) and the “Irving Helsel Exempt Trust” (Exempt Trust). He designated his children, Frederic and Bonnie, as beneficiaries of the Family Trust. The Family Trust allowed for distribution of the principal to Bonnie.. read more →
Judgment Invalidating Incompetent Person’s Last Will And Testament While He Was Still Alive Affirmed In Pre-Death Will Contest
Harry and Jean Sable were the parents of three adult sons, Michael, Don and Barry. Harry and two partners owned a building in Philadelphia where Harry conducted Harry Sable, Inc., a jewelry business. Harry and Jean had wills prepared in 1994 and 1998 with similar provisions. Harry left his entire estate to Jean if she.. read more →
The decedent, Kathryn Parker Blair, had executed a will bequeathing her estate to her siblings and directing that, if any of her siblings predeceased her, that sibling’s share would pass to his or her surviving children. After her brother died, the decedent executed a new will omitting the brother’s child (“petitioner”) as a beneficiary. The.. read more →
(The following blog post is adapted from a summary of this case on the ElderLawAnswers website. Mr. Vanarelli is a founding member of ElderLawAnswers.) A New York appeals court ruled that a lower court erred in ordering the trustee of a special needs trust (SNT) to personally pay various fees and costs associated with the.. read more →
The decedent was an elderly man with no immediate family. His Last Will and Testament left his estate to a cousin, several charities and individuals, and to two Valley National Bank employees, including the defendant. One of the bank employees refused the bequest as unethical, based on the bank’s Employee Code of Conduct. The defendant.. read more →
The decedent’s wife predeceased him. Thereafter, in 2009 the decedent executed a new will leaving his estate to his wife’s niece (the defendant). At the defendant’s suggestion, the decedent also executed a revocable living trust. Shortly thereafter, he became concerned about losing control of his assets, and he retained a new lawyer to draft a.. read more →
Anthony F. Cordasco and his wife, Louise, were living in a condominium when Louise became ill in late 2012. The Cordascos decided to sell the condominium and move in with their daughter, Roseann Altiero, who agreed to care for Louise. Anthony and Louise signed a listing agreement in January 2013 and placed the condominium on.. read more →
Karen Horbatt was Theodore A. Kaczmarek’s niece by marriage. After Karen’s aunt died, Theodore executed a will in 2009 leaving Karen his entire estate, valued at over four million dollars. At the same time, Theodore executed a revocable living trust agreement, designating Karen as the sole trustee. Both documents were drafted by a lawyer procured.. read more →
The decedent was estranged from her daughter Cheryl, the defendant, for almost 25 years, but they reconciled shortly before her death, when the decedent was ill. In 1996, the decedent and her husband had executed wills and a trust, excluding Cheryl from their estates. In 2006, the decedent and her husband consulted with a special.. read more →
Mrs. Jones and her husband had three children: Barbara, David, and Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had owned an investment account with Olde Discount Corporation (the “investment account”) as joint tenants with right of survivorship and, when Mr. Jones died in November 1998, Mrs. Jones became the sole owner. According to the investment firm’s policy,.. read more →
Robert B. Cohen was a man of “great wealth.” At the time of his death at age 86, he had suffered for years from a progressive form of Parkinson’s disease. His son James filed a complaint to declare that Cohen’s 2009 will, as later modified, was valid. In turn, Cohen’s granddaughter Samantha filed a complaint.. read more →
Following the decedent’s death, Bank of America became successor trustee of four trusts created by the decedent. In 2016, the decedent’s children filed complaints against the bank, seeking accountings for the trusts. The bank submitted accountings and a complaint seeking court approval of the accountings. The decedent’s children then filed another complaint, seeking another accounting.. read more →
Gregory Bock, Jr. was born two months after his mother married Gregory Bock, Sr. However, Gregory Jr. was the result of his mother’s previous relationship with Douglas Castellano. Gregory Sr. and Castellano both knew that Castellano was the biological father; however, the birth certificate identified Gregory Sr. as the father. When Gregory Jr. was approximately.. read more →
Following their father’s death and the appointment of Brandon Marrazzo (“Brandon”) as executor of the estate, Brandon’s brother Todd Marrazzo (“Todd”) filed a caveat against probate of the will. The brothers litigated the estate case, and eventually executed a consent order resolving their issues. One provision of the consent order permitted Todd the option to.. read more →
It’s not always easy to recognize elder abuse when it happens to someone you love or care for. There are several types of elder abuse: Physical Abuse – An act, rough treatment or punishment that may result in injury, pain or impairment Psychological Abuse – Psychological, verbal or emotional abuse causing suffering, emotional pain, or distress.. read more →
The decedent, John F. Piazza, died a widower in 2012, survived by three children: Barbara Piazza (“Barbara”), John H. Piazza (“John”), and Debra Elly Shaefer (“Debra”). His will appointed Barbara as executrix, and left his residuary estate to his three children equally. However, there was a purported codicil to his will, which disinherited Debra. Following.. read more →
Love And Care Provided By Nephew Did Not Justify His Failure To Notify Any Beneficiaries Of The Existence Of Aunt’s Will
In 1998, Joan McFadden executed two powers of attorney (POAs) and a Living Will-Durable Health Care Power appointing John McFadden, her nephew, as her agent and attorney in fact, and Mary Sexton, her niece and John’s sister, as her alternative agent and attorney-in-fact. The two POAs stated that they would become effective upon the following.. read more →
At the time of Carol Rankins’ death in 2015, she had been married to Clyde Rankins for 28 years. She had one adopted daughter and two daughters from a prior relationship. The decedent’s surviving spouse was granted letters of administration of her intestate estate. One of her surviving daughters, Ursula, later filed a complaint seeking.. read more →
A tenancy by the entirety is a form of joint property ownership, available only to spouses, that is created when a husband and wife take title to real or personal property “under a written instrument designating both their names as husband and wife.” Case law has recognized that property held as tenants by the entirety.. read more →
The decedent was killed in a motor vehicle accident. After his death, his father was appointed as personal representative of his estate, to administer the non-probate estate and to prosecute a wrongful death action. Plaintiff was the biological mother of the decedent’s two sons. She never married the decedent, and she raised the children on.. read more →
John F. McGrail, Jr. died intestate in 2016. His uncle, William J. McGrail, Jr., then filed a complaint against his nephew John’s estate, claiming ownership of a classic car that was part of that estate. The uncle had entered a nursing home in Maryland in 2009. He claimed that, after he entered the nursing home,.. read more →
Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (https://vanarellilaw.com/) participated in the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s “2018 Elder Law in a Day” Seminar held on July 11, 2018 at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ. Mr. Vanarelli provided the “Case Law Update: The Year In Review” – a review of the cases decided.. read more →
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