William and Meredith Zutavern had four children: Shawn, Shayne, Kelly and Maria. They owned 22,000 acres of Sandhills real estate where they had a cattle ranch.
William created a revocable trust in 2008. He died in 2011. Meredith was the successor trustee. At the time of William's death, two trusts were created. One trust (the Family Trust) would be funded in the maximum tax free amount under the federal estate tax. The other trust was solely for the benefit of his wife and was her property absolutely. The Family Trust would pay Meredith income for her life.
Although not exactly clear from the opinion, the real estate and cattle were ...
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Pay your sisters!
Dad's will provided that his wife would have a life estate in 200 acres of Buffalo County, Nebraska real estate. Smart move as that meant that the full value of the real estate was not in her estate for Medicaid purposes. In fact, the Unicameral closed this loophole in 2017 but there are still ways for mom to qualify for Medicaid without becoming impoverished.
Dad's will also provided that his son had a remainder interest in the real estate subject to paying 40% of the appraised value to his sisters. There was an equitable lien on the real estate too if the brother didn't pay his sisters. After Dad died and his will probated, a Deed of ...
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Property Law Professor Awarded “Genius” Grant
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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