The will of Beverly Freiden stated that real property at 18th and Jackson Street in Omaha "may either be sold or retained by my personal representatives as they shall determine."
The estate was informally closed in the probate court and no Personal Representative's deed was issued. Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 30-24,104(a) states that "unless a contrary intention is indicated by will, the distributable assets of a decedent's estate's shall be distributed in kind to the extent possible."
The Nebraska Supreme Court held that the real estate remained in the estate of Beverly Freiden. Normally a deed is required to convey real estate, but the ...
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Dead hand control or complying with the wishes of the settlor
Frequently there is tension between the intent of the person who created the trust (the settlor), the beneficiaries and the trustee. A recent Nebraska case is a good example of this.
Jack Fenske was an "old school" bachelor farmer in Madison County. He considered owning agricultural land as a sign of success. While he valued education, he appreciated the value of farm work even more.
One year before he died in 1998, he wrote his will. His attorney had been urging him to do so and the attorney testified that it might have been written and executed in one day. His two great nieces were to receive income for their lives but the principal ...
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“A windfall that borders on the obscene”
Those are the words of Nebraska Supreme Court judge William Cassel dissenting in the case of Wisner v. Vandelay Investments. The case result was that the estate of a 90 plus widow ended up losing real estate worth over a million dollars due to unpaid real estate taxes of $50,000.
Gladys Wisner owned 480 acres of Lincoln County, Nebraska real estate. In 2009 Gladys moved into a retirement community. In 2010, the real estate taxes became delinquent. In 2011, the county sold a tax certificate for the property. It yields interest at the rate of 14 percent. Because of that high rate, Nebraska has a very active market in these financial ...
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