"AGAIN, the policy of all laws has made some forms necessary in the wording of last wills and testaments, and more with regard to their attestation. An ignorance in these must always be of dangerous consequence, to such as by choice or necessity compile their own testaments without any technical assistance. Those who have attended the courts of justice are the best witnesses of the confusion and distresses that are hereby occasioned in families; and of the difficulties that arise in discerning the true meaning."
Source: Blackstone’s Commentaries, Introduction (1758) ...
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Red Willow County family war
Joan Jane Barger died testate (with a will) in January 2012. In August 2019, the litigation finally ended. She had five children and one child was not a beneficiary under her will. Joan's will also had a no contest provision stating essentially that if any beneficiary contested her will, then they would take nothing.
The omitted child, William, did contest the will and asserted that one of his brothers had asserted undue influence on their mother in drafting her final will. Some of Joan's children who did take under the will helped pay for the will contest filed by William, but they were not plaintiffs in the case.
It was held that the ...
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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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