The MacArthur Foundation awarded a grant to former University of Wisconsin law professor Thomas Wilson Mitchell. Professor Mitchell is the driving force behind the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act of 2010. This Uniform Act has been introduced in Nebraska, but no action has yet been taken.
The problem is that some people die without a will and then the real estate is not probated. Heirs then end up as tenants in common. In some cases, a stranger will purchase an undivided interest in the real estate and force a partition sale. Not good!
Another solution is a quiet title action. I had to file one in Saunders County and there were ...
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Deceased piano teacher gives $7.5 million to the City of Ralston
LaDonna R. Johnson was a long-time resident of the City of Ralston and taught piano lessons. The City of Ralston plans to use the money to improve Ralston and connect its downtown with the Ralston Arena. This would expand its tax base.
Because Nebraska is one of only six states with an inheritance tax, I can report that Mrs. Johnson's estate totaled $35 million and of that sum, $18 million was Berkshire-Hathaway stock. In the coming years, there will be many Omaha estates like this.
The inheritance tax was $1.7 million.
Source: Omaha World-Herald, December 19, 2019 ...
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Aretha Franklin estate
According to a recent news story the probate court in Michigan has ordered experts to examine the purported handwritten will of the late Queen of Soul. It supposedly was found under a seat cushion in her house.
The thing about an artist's estate is that there can be significant income after the artist dies. Think Michael Jackson. Or John Lennon. Or Tom Clancy. Aretha had a large estate and all of this controversy and litigation could easily have been avoided if she had just consulted a lawyer.
My point is that a properly drafted will or a revocable living trust is something that every person with property should have. My firm opinion ...
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