Arizona Wills & Trusts Blog

Web Sites Deal with Digital Assets after We Die

San Franciso Chronicle: “Karin Prangley, an estate-planning attorney in Chicago, became an expert on post-mortem online assets after experiencing first-hand such complications. When her father-in-law had a stroke in 2008, his building supplies business lost between $10,000 and $15,000 because packages continued to arrive at his warehouse and no one had any idea where they were supposed to go. His address book and e-mails were all locked behind password-protected accounts and, eventually, Prangley and other relatives had no choice but to reconstruct her father-in-law's list of contacts on their own. . . . So what happens to our digital identity when we die? Odds are it will remain trapped in the Internet without someone investing quite some time and effort.”

On the Net2011-05-18T16:25:17-07:00February 2nd, 2010|Estate Planning|

Lawsuits Filed in Maricopa County Alleging Lawyers & Fiduciaries Guilty of “Equity Stipping” Elderly

This story in the Arizona Republic is about three recently filed lawsuits in which the plaintiffs allege that lawyers and fiduciaries who had a duty to protect their elderly clients instead are alleged to have done the opposite.

“The old lady who lost all her money while being ‘protected' by Maricopa County's probate court is now pleading her case to another court — and she isn't the only one. ‘Obviously, it (the probate system) isn't doing what it's intended to do, it isn't protecting vulnerable adults,' said attorney Grant Goodman, who filed the lawsuits after reading about 88-year-old Marie Long, who went from having $1.3 million to nothing in four years. ‘It's actually allowing these predators to strip these estates bare under the cloth of a judicial rubber stamp.' . . .

“According to probate court records, Church's law firms have collected $343,000 from Marie's trust since 2005, when the widow suffered a stroke and came under the protection of the court. Sun Valley, meanwhile, has collected $413,000 in guardian and companion care fees while seven other attorneys have scooped up another $86,000. As a result of all this “protection”, Marie is now in the poorhouse and will need taxpayer support.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:57-08:00February 2nd, 2010|Estate Fights|

Feng Shui Master Denied Nina Wang Fortune in Hong Kong

BBC News: “A court in Hong Kong has thrown out a feng shui master's claim to the multi-billion dollar estate of Asia's richest woman, Nina Wang. Tony Chan, who said he was Nina Wang's lover, had argued she left him her fortune in a 2006 will. But a high court judge said the will was a fake and a 2002 will was valid which left the estate to a charitable trust run by Wang's family. Nina Wang's Chinachem was worth $4.2bn (£2.1bn) when she died in 2007.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:57-08:00February 2nd, 2010|Estate Fights|

Get Them Jamming On Estate Planning

Forbes: “Putting affairs in order before it's too late is important. Celebrity stories can help spring clients into action. As professionals, one of the challenges that we have is motivating our clients to do their estate planning. You can educate clients about the proper estate planning and how it can help them, their families and their estate tax returns. The fact of the matter remains, however, that many clients will have excuses to push their legal planning to the back burner. Whatever the reasons, procrastination is common when it comes to clients doing the proper estate planning . . . . “

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:58-08:00February 1st, 2010|Estate Planning|

Dennis Hopper’s Dramatic Hollywood Ending

The Independent: “As he fights prostate cancer, a vicious battle is already being waged for the millions the actor earned from films such as Easy Rider. Then again, says Guy Adams, this is a hellraiser who was never likely to go quietly. . . . Hopper is once more involved in a dramatic Hollywood ending. Unfortunately, this one involves the messy final chapter of his tumultuous life. The 73-year-old method actor, who is fighting prostate cancer that is widely reported to be terminal, has been caught up in an ugly legal battle with his fifth wife Victoria Duffy, to whom he's been happily married for 14 years.”

On the Net2011-05-17T14:11:42-07:00February 1st, 2010|Estate Fights|

Family Feud in Houston Courts: Sister vs. Sister Over Mom’s Estate

KTRK TV 13: “A real-life family feud is playing itself out in Houston's courts. There are accusations of missing cash and gold, and at the center of it all is one sister accused of stealing from her mother, who has dementia. When Louise Staunton, 94, and her husband were making their fortune in Michigan and raising a big family, they probably never thought it would end up in a fight among their daughters. “This is the last thing she needs in the twilight of her years,' said attorney James Plummer. One of whom is now in jail.”

For more see a followup story by KTRK TV 13 called “Where'd the gold go?“

On the Net2011-05-17T14:14:31-07:00January 31st, 2010|Estate Fights|

Billionaire’s Widow Targets Mall Giant in Counterclaim

IndyStar.com: “Bren Simon [wife of deceased billionair Melvin Simon] has filed a counterclaim against the company her late husband co-founded, charging Simon Property Group with breach of agreement for refusing to give her stock or cash for her partnership holdings. She also contends that her stepson, the Indianapolis-based company's chairman and CEO, David Simon, is behind the denial. The counterclaim ratchets up the stakes in a growing legal battle over the $1 billion-plus estate of Melvin Simon, who died in September at 82.”

On the Net2017-10-07T11:19:26-07:00January 30th, 2010|Estate Fights|

Tax Secrets: Don’t Fall Victim to the Estate Tax Monster

naplesnews.com: “If your net worth is high enough to be subject to the evil estate tax, chances are you worked your tail off all or most of your adult life to accumulate your wealth. But draw your last breath and the estate tax monster wants to devour about half your wealth. Not a pretty picture. It’s sad Worse yet is the complete failure of almost all professional advisors to take you, your family and your business out of the horrible estate tax picture. Die, and your estate pays; but fortunately, you – with the right tax planning – don’t have to lose any of your wealth to the estate tax monster. Do you have enough wealth to be clobbered by the estate tax? Then read every word of this article; you’ll learn how to keep your wealth.”

On the Net2017-10-07T11:19:26-07:00January 29th, 2010|Estate Planning|

Casey Johnson and Ruth Lilly: A Tale of Two Heiresses, Tax Loopholes, and Tequila

Daily Finance: “At first blush, Casey Johnson and Ruth Lilly, who died within days of each other around the new year, could hardly have been more different. Johnson . . ., who died at 30, was a party animal who lived her life in the public eye, most recently as the fiancée of D-list celebrity Tila Tequila. Lilly, 94, made her biggest waves not with clubbing but philanthropy — most famously with her $200 million donation in 2002 to the Poetry Foundation, a bequest so eye-popping that the controversy surrounding it hasn't yet died down. But scratch the surface, and similarities emerge. Johnson and Lilly were both heiresses to major corporate fortunes: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY). Both had massive personal wealth tied up in trusts they couldn't access directly. And both fortunes illustrate a yearlong Congress-induced quirk that could greatly benefit the heirs to anyone who dies this year, cost the U.S. billions of tax revenue, and drive estate-planning lawyers crazy.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:58-08:00January 29th, 2010|Estate Planning|

The Wars over the Final Wishes of Bill Davidson & Mel Simon

The Probate Lawyer Blog: “William Davidson and Melvin Simon had a lot in common. Both were billionaires and both were Jewish. Simon built his fortune through the country's biggest shopping mall company, Simon Property Group, and Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.3 billion. Davidson led Guardian Industries Corp., one of the world's largest glass suppliers, and had a fortune recently tabbed at $4.5 billion. They also each owned NBA franchises in the midwest. Davidson owned the Detroit Pistons (yeah!), while Simon co-owned the rival Indiana Pacers (boo!) with his brother, Herbert Simon. Both men died last year, with Davidson passing away at age 86 in March and Simon passing in October, at age 82. And both were survived by spouses as well as children from prior marriages. And, in both instances, the spouse and the children from the prior marriage did not see eye to eye. Because of that, both the Davidson Estate and Simon Estate are mired in lawsuits about the true wishes of the beloved billionaires.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:58-08:00January 29th, 2010|Estate Fights|

An Ill Father, a Life-or-Death Decision

New York Times: “I am utterly spent by the time my father lands in the emergency room, shortly after 1 a.m. on a cold January night. We have been through the drill so many times that when the nursing home calls to tell me the ambulance just left, I do not even bother to phone my siblings, who live in other states.”

“Does your father have a living will?” I freeze. No emergency room doctor has asked me this before. I answer, evenly, yes. “Do you have durable power of attorney?” Yes. Visibly relieved, he looks me in the eye and gently but pointedly asks: “Does your father want us to employ extreme measures” — he pauses one heartbeat for emphasis — “knowing that he is not likely to improve?”

On the Net2011-05-18T16:30:15-07:00January 28th, 2010|Estate Planning|

88 Year Old Destitute Phoenix Woman Had $1.3 Million in 2005 Seeks Repayment of Money from Lawyers & Others

Arizona Republic: “An 88-year-old lady left destitute, a big chunk of her life savings sucked dry by people who were supposed to protect her, may yet get some of her money back. Brian Theut, the guardian ad litem appointed to look out for Marie Long, has asked a judge to order Phoenix attorney Brenda Church to return half of the $110,000 that her law firms collected from Marie's trust between 2005 and 2008. Church was the attorney for Marie's niece, Genevieve Olen, who oversaw Marie's money until late last year, when there wasn't anything left to oversee. Meanwhile, Church has filed paperwork seeking court approval of another $233,000, money she (or rather her law firm, Frazer, Ryan, Goldberg & Arnold) collected from Marie's dwindling account in 2009.”

See “Court Blasts K&L Gates Team's Huge Fee and ‘Unnecessary Lawyering‘” where 18 attorneys and paralegals ran up a bill of $800,000 representing an estate valued at $1.2 million. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said:

In the present case, a total of eighteen attorneys and paralegals were representing Folan, a remarkable number especially when one takes into account the motion judge's view that the theories advanced by the contestants were not “overly complex.” Even a cursory review of the billing records suggests that among all these attorneys there was duplication of effort, and a fair amount of billing for the time of two or more attorneys who were attending the same hearing. … Moreover, at least some of the pretrial litigation activity, especially a number of Folan's […]

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:58-08:00January 28th, 2010|Estate Fights|

Web Sites Let Online Lives Outlast the Dearly Departed

Washington Post: “Heather Pierce lives in Glover Park, but much of her life floats in the cloud. Her e-mail is stored in that vast digital space, bouncing between Yahoo server farms. Her bank statements reside there, too, along with her mortgage payments, credit card files, movie rental account, library book list, home videos and hundreds of photos — on Shutterfly, Facebook and her blog. She has only a few hard-copy photos of her 17-month-old daughter. If Pierce's house caught fire, what would she dash in to save? Not much, probably. . . . Pierce, 38, recently paid $29.99 to sign up for a year's access to yet another account in the cloud — one that stores all her passwords and log-in information and, when the worst happens, will be accessible to whomever she designates as digital executor.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:58-08:00January 27th, 2010|Estate Planning|

Do You Need Estate Planning?

NoozHawk: “Asking whether you need estate planning is a much bigger question than asking whether your estate will be taxed after you die because it’s small enough to be exempt from the estate tax law. Although the value of your estate is one of the first questions you must answer before proceeding, it’s more important to decide who will receive the assets you have and when. Who should be responsible for taking care of your minor children, or disabled loved ones, if you become unable to do so”You need to know who should manage those assets if you can’t, both during your lifetime and after your death.

On the Net2017-10-07T11:19:26-07:00January 27th, 2010|Estate Planning|

Jet Set: Will Your Estate Survive the Kids?

Financial Planning: “When it comes to estate planning, wealthy families don’t worry whether there will be enough money for the kids but whether the kids will be responsible enough to handle the money. Playing a role in preparing heirs is a key way for advisors to distinguish their businesses, be more visible among centers of influence, get client referrals and maintain heirs as clients. Each year over 7,000 estates worth more than $20 million transition from one generation to the next, but while estate planners are 98% effective at preparing these assets to be passed on, that preparation goes to waste in 70% of the cases. (In some 20% to 25% of wealthy families, the heirs end up suing each other).

On the Net2016-12-13T20:34:01-08:00January 26th, 2010|Estate Planning|

Mall Giant’s Complaint Targets Widow of Melvin Simon

IndyStar: “Now the company that shopping-mall tycoon Melvin Simon built is becoming legally entangled in the family feud over the late billionaire's will. Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the world's largest publicly traded retail estate company, filed a complaint Monday in Hamilton Superior Court against Simon's widow, Bren Simon. She is seeking to convert about 6.5 million shares of ‘partnership share units' in the family trust into common stock or cash. The amount of stock or cash was not specified. The company, in its complaint, said the shares cannot be converted because they are tied up in a legal challenge to Melvin Simon's will by Deborah Simon, a daughter from a previous marriage.”

On the Net2017-10-07T11:19:26-07:00January 26th, 2010|Estate Fights|

Michael Jackson Executors Sorting Through Requests for Money

The Probate Lawyer Blog: “It's been seven months since the King of Pop died suddenly at the age of 50, and fights surrounding his estate seem like they may last for many years to come. Creditors are coming out of the woodwork, with new ones surfacing on a weekly basis. The latest, a management company, joins a series of business, medical and spiritual advisers and others who insist they are owed money, totaling more than $20 million, already. That total will certainly climb. The estate co-executors, John Branca and John McClain, have to sort through the requests for money and try to determine the legitimate ones from the ones that are, well, more fiction than fact. It's common when someone wealthy and eccentric passes to have all sorts of people saying they are entitled to money.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:34:01-08:00January 25th, 2010|Estate Fights|

Lynn Farash, Matthew Aroesty Accused of Diverting $12M of Farash Fortune

Rocnow: “The daughter and a grand-nephew of real estate magnate Max Farash improperly diverted more than $12 million from the company he built and trusts in his name and that of his late wife, two lawsuits filed in state Supreme Court this week charge. The allegations against Lynn Farash and Matthew Aroesty were laid out in complaints brought Tuesday by the Farash Corp. and the guardian of Max Farash in one case, and Canandaigua National Bank, the trustee of Marian Farash’s trust, in the other. The lawsuits are the latest outgrowth of a legal battle over the guardianship and wills of Max and Marian Farash since both were declared mentally incapacitated in April 2007. Max, 96, currently resides in a Webster nursing home. Marian died in July 2007. Lynn Farash, 62, is the couple’s only child.”

On the Net2011-05-17T14:41:45-07:00January 25th, 2010|Estate Fights|

Charity Seeks $4.8M from Ex-Pistons Owner’s Estate

The Washington Post has a story about a New York charity suing the estate of Bill Davidson, the former owner of the NBA's Detroit Pistons basketball team. The Areivim Philanthropic Group claims the estate owes $4.8 million of a $5 million gift Mr. Davidson promised when he help found the charity.

On the Net2017-10-07T11:19:26-07:00January 25th, 2010|Estate Fights|