California Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

A woman who was adopted by her lover says she is entitled to the family inheritance—even though she and her partner have been broken up for years. Patricia Spado and Olive Watson were together for fourteen years. As they could not marry back then because they were a same-sex couple, in 1991,Watson legally adopted Spado—even though Spado is one year older than Watson—and Spado became Watson’s legally adopted daughter. They broke up one year later.

Watson is the daughter of former IBM CEO, president, and chairman Thomas J. Watson, Jr., who passed away in 1993. Mr. Watson left two multimillion dollar trust funds to his grandchildren and now Spado, as his adopted granddaughter, wants her share. Mr. Watson was unaware of the adoption.

According to a Connecticut judge, Watson’s share is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. Gay rights activists say that this case is the perfect example of how blocking same-sex marriage can lead to the misuse of other laws in order to allow couples to establish legal connections with one another.

The adoption was challenged by trustees of the two trusts in Maine, where the adoption took place. They said the adoption wad invalid because Spado did not live in Maine and because she and Olive Watson never meant to have a normal parent-child relationship. They won their claim, and Spado appealed the ruling.

Continue reading "Lesbian Adopted By Lover Wants Share Of Family Inheritance Belonging To Former IBM Chairman" »

Choosing the executor of one’s estate is an important and necessary task. The executor is the person who carries out a deceased person’s wishes. Responsibilities can be vast, and it is important to select someone that is trustworthy and capable of doing the job. Someone with business or investment experience is recommended.

Responsibilities of an Executor Include:
· Making funeral arrangements.
· Preparing a final tax return.
· Distributing assets to beneficiaries, as designated by a will or, if there is no will, by state law.
· Paying debts.
· Terminating leases and credit cards.
· Informing banks and government agencies of the death.
· Helping to resolve conflicts between surviving loved ones over the estate.
· Deciding whether or not probate proceedings are necessary.
· Filing a will—if there is one—in probate court.
· Establish an estate bank account.

Continue reading "Selecting The Right Executor For Your Estate " »

For parents, writing a will and designating a legal guardian for their child or children is one way to ensure that their children will be taken care of in the event that they become orphans.

Usually, when one parent dies the surviving parent assumes full custody of any children. If both parents die, however, or if the surviving parent is unable to be legally responsible for the children, a guardian will have to legally assume the role.

A guardian will be legally accountable for taking care of a child’s physical and emotional well-being until the child turns 18. This includes providing for the child’s education, shelter, food, clothing, and health care. This is a huge responsibility, so it is important to make sure that the person appointed wants to and is able to handle the responsibility. A person appointed in a will to be a child’s guardian is not legally obligated to take on the role. That is why it is a good idea to appoint an alternate guardian. Co-guardians may also be appointed to share the responsibility of guardianship.

If parents do not name a guardian, a probate court judge will have to appoint one for their children, and the parents would have had no say in the matter:

A probate guardian usually has a number of responsibilities- depending on the kind of guardianship they hold:

Continue reading "If Parents Die Without A Will, A Probate Court Will Appoint Guardian For Underage Children" »

Although the estate planning messes left behind by famous celebrities are the ones that make the headlines, legal battles over the estates of noncelebrity decedents is not that uncommon.

A recent news article in the Detroit News offers a number ideas of matters to consider when you are planning your estate (Remember, however, that each person’s estate is unique. It is important that you speak with an estate planning lawyer about the particulars of your estate so that he or she can advise you, as well as help you select the best estate planning tools for your needs):

- If you decide to make a will or trust, make sure that you name all of your beneficiaries and are clear about who gets which of your assets.
- Remember to appoint an executor or trustee to manage and distribute your assets after you are gone. It is important that you choose an executor or a trustee that you know you can trust and who is capable of doing the job.

Continue reading "Sparing Surviving Loved Ones From An Estate Planning Nightmare" »

Pearl I. Westmoreland, 79, has been sentenced to spend over nine years in person for exploiting an elderly person. Westmoreland was also found guilty of aggravated white-collar crime and money laundering. In addition to 110 months in prison, she has been ordered to make a restitution of over $218,000 to the victim’s estate. She also must reimburse the state of Florida for prosecution and investigation costs.

Westmoreland is accused of stealing from her elderly victim and using his assets for her personal use. The victim was a nursing home resident who used to live in a trailer park belonging to Westmoreland. He signed a power of attorney document with the expectation that she would take care of him.

After he signed over his power of attorney, Westmoreland transferred $200,000 that belonged to him into her accounts. She understated the assets when she filed an application for Medicaid benefits for him, defrauding Florida’s Medicaid program of over $61,000.

Continue reading "Woman Who Had Power Of Attorney Is Sentenced To More Than Nine Years In Prison For Elderly Abuse" »

A probate judge has rejected a last-minute motion to dismiss the Rosa Parks will contest case. The civil rights icon’s 13 nieces and nephews are contesting her 1998 will. They claim that Elaine Steele, her caregiver and longtime companion, unduly influenced Parks when she was making her will.

Rosa Parks passed away on October 2005. She left nearly all of her assets to Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, a nonprofit organization that she founded in 1987 with Steele. The organization inspires young people to pursue an education. Steele, an institute officer, was granted power of attorney for Parks, the same year that Parks signed her will.

According to Parks’ nieces and nephews, they believe that Steele got Parks (who was suffering from dementia) to sign the will, which basically left them powerless to decide how their aunt’s likeness would be used. They were also cut off from receiving any profits earned from the licensing of her likeness and name. Her nieces and nephews say that placing their aunt’s image in the wrong hands could ruin her legacy. According to their attorneys, Steele has been unwilling to answer any questions about the estate or account for the institute’s activities.

While Parks’ estate is not necessary worth millions, the marketing rights to her image and likeness could be worth millions of dollars over the next several decades. Since she passed away, her likeness has already been used in Apple Computer and Chevrolet advertisements. Jury selection is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

Continue reading "Battle Contesting Rosa Parks’ Will To Continue In Probate Court" »

Darcy R. MacLachlan, a man who enjoyed listening to the Berkeley Springs High School Band in West Virginia, has left the musical group $116,000. According to Glen R. Stotler, the executor of MacLachlan’s estate, half of his estate was designated for the band, while the other half is to be placed in a trust for the American Legion No. 60, located in Berkeley Springs, to be used for youth programs.

MacLachlan grew up listening to the band practicing in a field located across from his house.

Beneficiaries:
A beneficiary is the individual or organization who a decedent leaves property to in his or her will. Anyone can be a beneficiary, except for the person who makes the will, any person who may have been responsible for the death of the deceased person, and any unincorporated group that is not able to receive or hold property. In some jurisdictions, anyone who acts as a witness to the will being signed becomes disqualified to be a beneficiary.

A person or organization that is a beneficiary may receive specific property items, such as money, houses, or jewelry, from the decedent’s estate. Someone may also be designated to receive anything that remains from an estate after the executor distributes the estate’s gifts to its beneficiaries and pays off the estates expenses and debts.

Continue reading "Man Who Loved Listening To High School Band Leaves $116,000 Endowment From His Estate" »

A man charged with embezzling over $90,000 from his aunt says the charges against him are false. Pastor Gene W. Amason of Church Alive in Magee, Mississippi says he will not resign from the church that he cofounded with his wife and that his congregation supports him 100%.

Amason was arrested last month at his church. He has been charged with three counts of embezzlement—a $91,258.67 total. Amason claims that the agency never interviewed him before he was arrested. He was released from jail on a $60,000 bond.

The pastor says that his aunt, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in an assisted living facility, had given him power of attorney, but that last year, she started accusing him of stealing her money. Another relative was then given power of attorney for his aunt.

When a person (known as the principal) bestows another person with the power of attorney, they are giving that person the authority to act as their agent, known as their attorney-in-fact. Depending on the type of power of attorney that is bestowed, an attorney-in-fact may be able to make decisions regarding the principal’s heath—known as the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care—or their finances, called the Durable Power of Attorney for Finances.

Continue reading "Pastor Says Charges of Embezzlement, While Serving As Power of Attorney for His Aunt, Are False " »

Tomi Rae Hynie, James Brown’s partner when he died, says she is the surviving spouse of the deceased singer and therefore legally entitled to a percentage of his estate. She also wants to be allowed to reenter his mansion on Beech Island, South Carolina, that she was barred from entering after his death so she can get back her personal possession, as well as the possessions of James Brown, Jr., her son with Brown. Hynie filed her petition in Aiken County probate court.

Although Hynie claims she was legally married to Brown, attorneys for Brown’s estate say that her marriage to Brown was not legally binding because she was married to someone else at the time of their wedding ceremony. Although she ended that marriage, she and Brown never remarried to legally formalize their commitment. Hynie and James Brown, Jr. were not named as beneficiaries in Brown’s will, which divides the Godfather of Soul’s personal possessions among his six older children.

Hynie is contesting the will, claiming that it is not valid because she was not included as a beneficiary. She is also contesting the validity of a trust set up by Brown, which holds the soul singer’s primary assets, such as his 60-acre home in South Carolina and his music rights.

James Brown passed away last year on Christmas Day in Atlanta, Georgia. His family is undecided as to where to bury him, and his body is in a gold casket at a private location.

In a separate petition, James Brown’s six older children would like a probate court to replace the trustees of Brown’s trust. They are accusing the trustees of mismanaging their father’s assets.

Continue reading "Woman Who Claims To Be James Brown’s Wife Is Contesting Will And Suing For Half Of His Estate" »

In California, Beth Fairbanks appeared in court on Wednesday to testify against her mother’s conservator. Beth is the daughter of Elizabeth Fairbanks. Elizabeth died last May while at a hospice.

Beth claims that conservator Melodie Scott did not properly fulfill her fiduciary duties as her mother’s conservator. She is accusing Scott of nearly dissolving her mother’s savings, worth $239,000, within the first four years of managing Elizabeth Fairbanks’s estate, was faulty in her bookkeeping, and withheld medical care from Elizabeth when she fell out of bed in 2005 and when she died from pneumonia last year. Elizabeth, then 80, had been staying at Braswell’s Ivy Retreat in Mentone.

Wednesday’s hearing took place because at an October 13 hearing in San Bernardino last October, Beth had raised an objection to the final accounting made on her mother’s estate. She also refuses to believe that her mother ever agreed to the living will that Scott had signed in 2002, which stated that Elizabeth Fairbanks didn’t want any “heroic measures if death is imminent.”

Scott is denying the accusations.

By law, attorneys and conservators are paid from the conservatee’s estate, but only after a judge has approved the accounting. Court records show that when Scott began managing Elizabeth Fairbanks’s estate in 2002, the balance of her savings legitimately went down to $27,000. Also according to court records, Scott moved Elizabeth to different 24-hour care facilities in 2002 when her health improved for awhile. Scott also managed to reduce Elizabeth’s monthly expenses.

Continue reading "California Woman Claims Her Late Mother’s Conservator Withheld Medical Care And Kept Faulty Books" »