For more than 26 years, a probate battle has raged over the estate of wealthy Connecticut businessman Francis “Hi Ho” D'Addario.  Before D'Addario died in 1986, he prepared a will that distributed his estate, valued as high as $162 million, to his wife and five children.  Between lawsuits and probate laws that fail to protect against abuse, 26 years later the D'Addario will is still pending before a probate court.  Even worse, when the case was unsealed last fall, it was found to be insolvent.  But where did $162 million go?  Estate of Denial ponders this question: On a rainy and foggy March night in 1986, a small plane crashed outside of Chicago, killing F. Francis “Hi Ho” D’Addario, one of the most prolific and

JD Supra reported on a big win for same sex couples as it relates to the estate tax.  A recent New York judge held that same sex couples who reside in states that recognize same sex marriage may take advantage of the estate tax marital deduction.  According to JD Supra: Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones granted a summary judgement in an estate tax case that, according to law firm Duane Morris “created a precedent that is likely to positively affect same-sex married couples for years to come.” The case involved a same-sex couple (Thea Spyer and Edith Windsor) who were legally married in Canada and recognized in New York because “New York affords legal recognition to civil marriages that are lawful in

After Joe Paterno's death, his estate was admitted to probate.  Typically, documents filed in a court proceeding are public record.  If a Will was filed as part of a probate case, that too would normally be public record.  However, Joe Paterno's family requested that his Will was sealed, which the court later did.  If someone had a Will but not a Trust, I can understand why they might want to do this.  Joe Paterno had a sizable estate and perhaps the family didn't want the world to know about his plans for distribution.  Recently, Paterno's Will was unsealed.  Turns out, Joe had already planned for this eventuality by creating a Trust.  Paterno's Will was a typical “pour over” Will, meaning that any asset that he

 Britney Spears is ready to terminate her conservatorship.  She has been under the conservatorship of her father since shortly after her well publicized mental breakdown.  Britney appears to have flourished under the conservatorship, going back on tour, getting engaged, and recently becoming a judge on a hit television show.  The conservatorship has also allowed team Britney to bar adverse parties from deposing her in a number of various lawsuits.  However, as Estate of Denial reports, not everyone agrees that the conservatorship should end: Britney Spears is ready to ”regain control of her life”. The ‘X Factor’ judge is reportedly ready for her father Jamie Spears’ conservatorship over her – meaning he is in charge of her personal and professional affairs – to come to an

It's no secret that when a wealthy celebrity dies, former lovers, “relatives” and other con men come out of the wood work to try to claim a part of the estate.  However, the recent suit the estate of Michael Jackson got hit with might just take the cake.  Estate of Denial reports: Michael Jackson owes a convicted criminal $1 BILLION for exploiting personal details about her life in his music — this according to a bizarre and, dare we say, bogus lawsuit. Kimberly Griggs filed the case in San Diego — claiming she and Jackson had an intimate relationship beginning in 1979, which she says he chronicled in his albums “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous,” and his greatest hits album … “Number Ones.” Griggs

CNBC:  “If you're a wealthy American who's planning to hire an estate or trust attorney later this year, here's a thought: Good luck. You're going to need it. That's because the transit of Venus of estate planning is passing through, and by the New Year it is likely to be gone. It's the lifetime gift-tax exemption of $5.12 million, paired with a similar estate-tax exemption. And it means that through the rest of this year, parents can pass along assets valued up to that amount to their heirs – maybe a house, maybe a stock portfolio, maybe part of the family business – without paying a single penny to Uncle Sam.”

Examiner.com:  “A traditional estate planning directive like a simple will or a trust with outright distributions doesn't work well for a person with special needs that is now, or may be in the future, receiving government benefits. In fact, it may cause that individual to be ineligible for benefits, and that could be disastrous. Planning for a person with special needs requires knowledge of the various benefit programs, their rules and restrictions and the planning directives that work best to preserve benefits. The outright receipt of a gift or inheritance, either intentionally or accidentally, can jeopardize benefits. Well meaning family members and some well meaning professionals can (and unfortunately have) caused a friend or family member with special needs to lose their benefits.”

Wall Street Journal: “Baby boomers: Get ready for a double whammy. For years now, there's been a lot of talk about boomers getting tremendous windfalls as their parents pass on. Many boomers, in fact, have been lagging behind in their savings, betting on—hoping for—big bequests, especially since many of them suffered big losses in 2008. But for a growing number of boomers, things aren't going according to plan. The postwar generation is living longer—and many are spending their savings along the way. And, of course, many of them also took a hit in 2008. The result is that, as a group, boomers likely won't be getting as much of an inheritance as they hoped. Even worse, far from receiving a bequest, a growing number are

Nolo.com:  “Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community often face financial and legal hurdles that many straight couples may have never even considered – such as the ability to participate in medical decisions for a sick spouse, or the concern that a partner or spouse's retirement plan or Social Security benefits would evaporate if their partner dies. These are just two of the things LGBT couples must consider when planning financially, so it's important that members of the LGBT community – and those who support them – understand these and other issues they may face, and how to approach them. The inability to have a relationship recognized by their state can take a financial toll on LGBT families, so retirement and legacy planning

Monterey Herald:  “It may be surprising, but not many people enjoy talking about death and dying. Fewer still relish the thought of planning for their death and the disposition of their worldly possessions. We plan vacations. We plan bar mitzvahs. If we find out we need surgery, we make a plan. Here is some news: No one gets out of here alive and, as we know, we can't take it — our possessions — with us. If this is not news, then why is it that less than 30 percent of people do any estate planning? Worse yet, unlike vacations, bar mitzvahs and non-emergency surgery, most of us have no idea if death will call this week, next year or in 30 years. At a

Estate of Denial:  “Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who can no longer practice law, announced his support Thursday for a ballot measure to change Arizona’s judicial selection process. Thomas, disbarred in April, said his backing of Proposition 115 is just the beginning of his fight to reform government. At a news conference on the state Senate lawn, Thomas announced the formation of a campaign committee, Citizens for Clean Courts, to support the proposed constitutional amendment. Among other things, the measure would give the governor a larger role in selecting state and county judges. Joining him were family members of elderly Arizonans whose estates have been depleted by probate and fiduciary fees under Maricopa County Probate Court. Scottsdale resident Patti Gomes said court-appointed lawyers and

Estate of Denial:  “For nearly a year, Farmington Hills attorney Steven G. Cohen has publicly hammered Wayne County Probate Judge Freddie Burton Jr. over his handling of the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. But Burton has finally fired back. In a two-page order Monday, Burton dismissed Cohen’s recently filed lawsuit against Burton and two probate lawyers Burton put in charge of the estate. Cohen had accused of them of conspiring with Burton to loot Parks’ estate through excessive and unnecessary legal fees. Burton also dismissed Cohen’s request for a default judgment against Burton and the two lawyers — John Chase Jr. and Melvin Jefferson Jr. — and as well as Cohen’s request for a subpoena to depose all three of them for the

 JD Supra:  “Beneficiary designations are forms that are routinely completed for life insurance policies, retirement accounts and even some bank and investment accounts. The forms say who will receive the asset upon the asset owner’s death. When a beneficiary designation is in place, it generally controls the disposition of the asset it is associated with, regardless of what one’s will or other estate planning document says. As part of a periodic review of your estate plan, it is vitally important to review all of your beneficiary designations. This is particularly important when facing major life events such as divorce, the death of a beneficiary, birth of a child, or the marriage of a beneficiary to a less-than-desirable spouse. While Pennsylvania law does provide some protection

Your Smart Money Moves:  “It’s interesting that as parents age, especially when they get 70, they start thinking about their own mortality. It’s hard to know what to tell your kids. I’m a parent today. As parents they have kids that get older, they start to think about which of their kids they think are responsible and which aren’t especially when it comes to money. Many parents are nervous to tell their kids about how much money they have or what’s happening with the family finances because they either don’t want to bother their kids or they’re worried that their kids may change their lives based on how much they know their future inheritance will be. However, there are a lot of parents that don’t

Probate Lawyer Blog:  “We've written extensively about the efforts by Eliza Presley to prove that she is half-sister to Elvis Presley and daughter to Vernon Presley, based on DNA and other evidence. Much of this same evidence also supports Eliza's claim that Elvis Presley is actually alive. You can get caught up to speed starting here, if you haven't followed this case before. It's been more than a year since we last wrote that Eliza's case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. This meant that the court in which she filed her lawsuit was not able to hear the case; rather, the case had to go to a different court. Because of this and other legal hurdles, Eliza has never had her “day in court” to

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the heirs of Robert Spann, a Paradise Valley resident, may keep the $500,000 cash found in the walls of his home years after he died.  Spann died in 2001.  Before selling his home 7 years later, Spann's daughters found cash, bonds, stocks and gold hidden in ammunition cans inside the walls of the home. The couple who purchased the home tried to claim the cash after a worker found it in the walls during a remodel.  The Court of Appeals ruled that since the money and property was only mislaid and not abandoned, it still belonged to Spann's estate.

Estate of Denial:  “A Nashville judge has appointed a lawyer to investigate what’s going on with actress Reese Witherspoon’s father who is accused of bigamy and possibly has dementia, according to documents released in a sealed court case. Earlier this month, Witherspoon’s mother, Betty Witherspoon, said her husband of 42 years married another woman even though he remained wed to her. A hearing in that case, which was scheduled for Thursday, has been indefinitely postponed. In the meantime, documents released from another Nashville court indicate that John Witherspoon was placed in a conservatorship at the request of the Academy Award-winning actress and her brother.”

Estate of Denial:  “In documents filed in Federal Court on Friday, Aiken attorney and former James Brown trustee Robert Buchanan alleged that Brown’s companion Tommie Rae Hynie joined Brown’s son Terry and grandson Forlando in a conspiracy to destroy James Brown’s estate plan. The allegations were filed in a counterclaim related to a five-year-old lawsuit, originally brought by Brown’s grandson Forlando against Buchanan and Newberry attorney Adele Pope. Buchanan and Pope served as co-trustees of the Brown will and trust from November 2007 to May 2009. Only six weeks after they were court appointed, in Jan. of 2008, Forlando filed suit against them, asserting that Buchanan and Pope would not follow James Brown’s noble plan to dedicate his entire music empire to education. In the

Wicked Local Dedham:  “Graduation season is as proud a time for grandparents as it is for parents. Grandparents, especially this year, can take special pride by helping their grandchildren pay for college. And by “gifting” grandchildren money for college, they can get a gift in return. In addition to the satisfaction of helping their children and grandchildren, they can also qualify for a significant tax break. Helping your grandchildren pay for their college education may be the best gift you can give them. As the price of college continues to increase, more students and parents are borrowing to pay the cost. They’ll do what it takes to pay for college, as a college education is required for practically any well-paying job today. But the higher