The Probate Lawyer Blog:  “When Joe Jackson sued for the death of his son Michael Jackson, Katherine Jackson initially said she wanted nothing to do with it.  Now Michael's mother, who is also the guardian of his children, has started her own lawsuit against the concert promotion company that, she claims, pushed Michael to his death.”

The Probate Lawyer Blog:  “Even though Michael Jackson's father was not included as a beneficiary in his will or trust, it hasn't stopped Joe Jackson from trying to intercede in the legal proceedings surrounding the estate.”

Bloomberg:  “Frank McCourt’s claim to be the sole owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers was challenged today by his estranged wife in a divorce trial.”

Laurie Roberts, an Arizona Republic columnist, has written a series of articles about how an 88 year old woman named Marie Long went from having $1,3 million in 2005 to having nothing.  Most of her money went to attorneys and care givers with the approval of the Maricopa County Probate Court.  See Laurie's previous posts on this subject:

• From wealth to welfare: how much court “protection” can one old lady afford? (October 21, 2009)
• It costs $19.50 to get directions? Really? (December 2, 2009)  See the Republic's correction to this story.
• Woman, 88, who lost savings may get some back (January 23, 2010)
• Old lady goes to federal court (and now she has company) (January 29 , 2010)
• Judge: probate attorneys were justified in taking $473,000 from old lady (March 19, 2010)
• Review of Probate Court ordered (March 26, 2010)
• Probate court asked to sanction attorneys in Marie Long case (April 10, 2010)
• Guardian balked at aiding widow while draining trust (April 21, 2010)
• Cost of this probate protection: a quarter of a million dollars (May 11, 2010)
• Probate judge violates ethics code (May 17, 2010)
• Probate judge's e-mail raises eyebrows (May 18, 2010)
• Judge orders Ellis and probate attorneys to his courtroom (May 21, 2010)
• Look at judge's actions may get widow some money back (May 22, 2010)
• Maricopa County Judge Ellis to Superior Court: Bite Me (June 4, 2010)
• Why did a retired probate commissioner hang […]
  

Gilbert Ortega was an Arizona self-made millionaire who died in 2003 and left his large estate to his family.  The family is in court fighting over their inheritance.  Arizona Republic story says  “a bitter family legal battle over the estate, at one time estimated at $40 million, threatens the turquoise and silver empire. The dispute involves a lawsuit and countersuit between the Ortega siblings, their mother, Linda Ortega, and David Stocking, an accountant for the family business.”

The Probate Lawyer Blog:  “It's been a relatively-quiet couple of months in the Gary Coleman estate, after the two weeks of craziness that followed his sudden death on May 28, 2010.  It looks like that's about to change.”

The Probate Lawyer Blog has a two part article about Dr. Albert Barnes and his art collection valued at $25 – $30 billion.  He died in 1951 after creating a foundation to care for and display his art collection.  Dr. Barnes tried to control the foundation from the grave to the nth degree, but his control ultimately lead to the his collection being used in ways that he would never have allowed.  Part 1 and part 2 are very interesting reads.  The Probate Lawyer also recommends a recent documentary now on DVD about Dr. Barnes and his art collection called “The Art of the Steal.”

Herald Tribune:  “The life of Bobby Fischer was one strange odyssey . . . .  His death is proving no less fascinating . . . . an almost surreal scene earlier this month, when officials gathered . . . to exhume his body for a DNA sample to determine whether he was the father of a 9-year-old girl.”

ABC News:  “Michael Jackson was involved in a startling number of lawsuits throughout his career, and now his estate is attracting enormous legal interest.”

Investment News has a slide show in which it discusses the estate problems of John Wayne, Anna Nicole Smith, Jimi Hendrix, Farrah Fawcett and the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Arizona Republic:  “Attorneys for an 88-year-old widow left penniless by her trip through Maricopa County's probate court are asking that the elderly lady's money be returned until a new trial is held – one presided over by a judge who doesn't play favorites.  In their 70-page motion, attorneys for Marie Long lay out a pattern of treatment in which Commissioner Lindsay Ellis sided with and even lauded the attorneys and fiduciaries who wound up with all of the widow's money while ignoring requests from the attorneys who were trying to protect her assets as they dwindled to nothing.”

Wall St. Journal:  “Her name is Conchita, a thin, spa-loving, diamond-draped heiress, and she's at the center of one of America's nastiest estate battles.  She is also a dog—a chihuahua who was the favorite of the late Miami heiress Gail Posner, a daughter of the corporate takeover artist Victor Posner.”

The Probate Lawyer Blog:  “The craziness surrounding the Gary Coleman estate, a mere two weeks after he passed, continues to grow.  We now have not one — but two — new wills that recently surfaced.”

Wall St. Journal:  “Days after New York attorney Arthur Kramer died unexpectedly at age 81, members of his family seated in a lawyer's office were told that in his final years, he had taken out $56.2 million in life insurance.  There was a catch: They weren't the beneficiaries. . . . The case set off a legal firestorm involving five courts, three insurance companies and investors . . . .”

If lawsuits had slogans, . . . “this one's would be ‘Dad was a crook—and could we please have the money?'”

World Net Daily:  “In a complex case that has drawn the attention of the family of Terri Schiavo, a veteran's wife claims a Catholic hospital has tried to end her husband's life by starving him to death, placing him under a ‘do-not-resuscitate' order and refusing to allow him to return home.  Gary Harvey, 60, a Vietnam-era veteran in Horseheads, N.Y., fell down a flight of stairs on Jan. 21, 2006 and suffered a traumatic brain injury that put him in a vegetative state. Gary, an only child who is estranged from his two adult children, did not have a living will.”

The Probate Lawyer Blog:  “Gary Coleman died just over a week ago, on May 28, 2010. And in that week, there have already been enough surprises to spark a whole series of “Whatcha talkin 'bout Willis!”‘s.”  The Probate Lawyer Blog discusses the strange going-ons involving Gary's ex-wife who is at odds with his parents.  The Gary Coleman case is a prime example of problems caused within a family when a person does not up-date his or her estate plan.

See “Gary Coleman Named Dion Mial Executor of His Estate” and “Gary Coleman's Death Now a Battle of the Wills.”