Bonus Edition: Behind the Astor News
Indictment makes a mystery man out of a respected lawyer -- who could act as a key witness in the criminal trial. ...
Get Me to the Church on Time
The Kinney case out of Minnesota offers a good review of the general requirements for a valid prenuptial agreement. ...
Some States More Appealing Than Others
Winning or losing the case is just the first half of the story...
IRS Adds Insult to Injury
When dad squanders your trust fund, don't assume the feds or courts will make it right...
Negative Energy Haunts the House of Ken Lay
Disgraced former Enron CEO Kenneth L. Lay is dead and cremated, but prosecutors are still pursuing his assets ...
Sunshine State Welcomes Deadbeats
Florida apparently is a haven even for those who deliberately dodge existing creditors...
Three Hots in a Cot
Can a trustee withhold distributions because a beneficiary is incarcerated? Should states follow Connecticut's lead and force prisoners to pony up for the cost of keeping them?...
That Do-It-Yourself Spirit in Big Sky Country
In a surprising decision from the Montana Supreme Court, we find that landscape isn't the only thing that's wide open in that jurisdiction. Consider, for example, the case of Stanton v. Wells Fargo Bank Mont. N.A., 2007 MT 22 (Jan. 30, 2007)....
Who's in Charge?
In the context of an invalid appointment of a successor trustee, the Oregon appellate court in Allen Trust Co. v. Cowlitz Bank, 152 P.3d 974 (Or. Ct. App. 2007) recently grappled with the question of what it means to be a "trustee de facto" -- and what kinds of fees and attorney expenses such a trustee might demand. ...
Pernicious, Perfidious, Insidious = Tortious
Although other states have increasingly recognized the tort of intentional interference with an inheritance, New Jersey has been slow to do so. Many practitioners prefer to bring a tort action rather than a straight undue influence claim because of the availability of punitive damages, often in the form of attorneys' fees....
