John Langbein on new Connecticut probate reform
The Yale law professor, a longtime advocate of probate-court reform, says the Nutmeg State’s recent legislation falls well short of what’s needed; he’s particularly critical of lawmakers’ decision to...
View ArticleBrooklyn: “Disbarred Attorney Pleads Guilty to Guardian Account Thefts”
“A former Brooklyn, N.Y., lawyer has pleaded guilty to fleecing millions of dollars from guardianship accounts he oversaw for incapacitated seniors and children. … at least 16 court examiners who...
View ArticleK&L Gates blasted for high fees, “unnecessary lawyering”
Massachusetts’s highest court thought it a bit much that fees and costs would eat up $800,000 from an estate valued at $1.2 million, or two-thirds of the value at stake. [Robert Ambrogi, Legal Blog...
View ArticleFebruary 6 roundup
Wronged wife loses suit under California “Drug Dealer Liability Act” (DDLA) against mistress who supplied crack cocaine to husband [OnPoint News] “D.C. Circuit to Former Judge in Pants Lawsuit: Follow...
View ArticleProbate poser in Arizona
Marie Long, now 88, was “worth $1.3 million when she [suffered a stroke and] came under the protection of Maricopa County’s probate court in 2005. Today, she’s destitute and depends on taxpayers for...
View ArticleOctober 9 roundup
Update: “Tax Panel Rejects Lawyer’s Bid to Deduct Spending for Sex” [NYLJ, William Barrett/Forbes, earlier] And: “Musings on laws affecting adult entertainment, alcoholic beverages and other ‘vice’...
View ArticleConnecticut: court-appointed probate lawyers seek immunity
The Connecticut Supreme Court is being asked to rule that lawyers and conservators appointed by probate judges are immune from being sued by those they represent. The case arose “because of the abuse...
View ArticleDraining of disabled and elderly persons’ estates
The San Jose Mercury-News has an investigative series. Among the highlights: “At some point, this endless wasting of Danny Reed’s trust assets must stop,” said Judge Franklin Bondonno, throwing out...
View ArticleOur wayward bench and bar
Please don’t do these [in some cases alleged] things: Calif.: “Judge accused of stealing elderly neighbor’s $1.6M life savings resigns from bench” [ABA Journal] Stan Chesley joins a rogue’s gallery of...
View ArticleApril 17 roundup
“The Consortium has hired Arnold & Porter, and they can threaten whomever they want, the facts be damned.” [Popehat] Former Social Security administrators: NPR’s just imagining things, pay no...
View Article“‘No, you’re still deceased,’ judge tells dead man”
Donald Eugene Miller, Jr., formerly of Arcadia, Ohio, is having trouble trying to convince the law that he really is alive. [Lowering the Bar] Tweet Tags: wills and trusts “‘No, you’re still deceased,’...
View Article“What Is Michael Jackson’s Name Worth?”
“Estate Says $2,105, IRS Says $434,000,000.” [TaxProf] Tweet Tags: celebrities, taxes, wills and trusts “What Is Michael Jackson’s Name Worth?” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost...
View ArticleA way to reduce will contests?
Margaret Ryznar at PrawfsBlawg: …in France, there are almost no will contests brought on the grounds of a lack of capacity, fraud, or undue influence. In the United States, on the other hand, 3% and 5%...
View ArticleWSJ on court-appointed guardians
For many readers it will be behind a WSJ paywall, but try to catch up with the alarming account by Arian Campo-Flores and Ashby Jones of chronic problems in the system of legal guardians for adults,...
View ArticleMay 18 roundup
Do behavioral economists acknowledge policymakers’ own foibles? Not often it seems [Niclas Berggren via Bryan Caplan] China, not unlike our own attorney general-environmentalist alliance, is cracking...
View ArticleMay 31 roundup
“Heir hunters” chase missing relatives entitled to inherit unclaimed fortunes, for a share of the recovery. Some relatives might not even be relatives [James Fanelli, New York Daily News first, second...
View ArticleBanking and finance roundup
“Unintended Consequences of Military Lending Act Hurt Some Families” [R.J. Lehmann] Tenth Circuit: Fed must provide all depository institutiona access to the clearing system, whether they serve...
View ArticleThe New Yorker on guardianship abuse
“That weekend, she called her parents several times. She also called two hospitals to see if they had been in an accident. She called their landlord, too, and he agreed to visit the house. He reported...
View Article“The Dead Man Who Sued to Make Himself Alive”
As of 2014, Donald E. Miller, Jr. was still alive according to the federal government, except in the state of Ohio, where he was legally dead. [Dan Lewis, Now I Know] Tags: wills and trusts “The Dead...
View Article“Guardians from Hell”
More, this time from Michigan, on how guardianship in the wrong hands can turn into a “completely legal, utterly grotesque system for undermining the rights of the elderly,” cutting out kids and...
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