The woman convinced party-boy Proskauer partner Harry Goldsmith to marry her as he lay dying of pancreatic cancer — then brought a team of lawyers to his deathbed to rewrite his will, spurned spouse Debra Karlstein claims in a Manhattan Surrogate’s Court lawsuit. If there ever was a real-life tale of a wicked stepmother, this […]

How important [is it] to preserve one’s original estate planning documents? Where should one keep these documents? If you’ve gone to all the hard work of preparing your will and establishing an estate plan, the last thing you want to do is lose the documents. Before a will can be submitted to probate, the original […]

In unions of those who marry twice, about 65 percent include children from prior marriages, according to the National Stepfamily Resource Center. That can complicate the transfer of brokerage accounts, real estate and personal possessions. Throw in resentments over divorces and rifts between stepchildren and step-parents, and the situation is ripe for legal battles. If […]

In general, the concept of testamentary freedom makes a person free to dispose of their property as they see fit when they die. However some decisions may be held to be against public policy and that freedom may be limited. Here are some of the key controversial estate planning decisions that may garner limitations and […]

Every decision you make, whether personal, financial, or legal, should be designed to maximize your control over your decisions – and your assets. Don’t give up control; you will never be glad you did. One part of estate planning is determining who will control your assets when you are gone. But what about when you […]

I have four sisters and brothers, and three have taken out loans against their share of any inheritance — significant loans, like in the $75,000 range. Dad has been tracking these loans and has provided in his will a formula for adjusting the split accordingly. However, he recently decided that these loans are to be […]

It’s a high-stakes multi-million-dollar sibling rivalry that reads like a Hollywood movie script and is playing out in a federal courtroom in Covington. And an end to the nearly 20-year drama may be just six months away, as a judge set a trial date for early May 2015 in the case that pits brothers against […]

The children of late billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife are accusing their father of misspending a family trust fund–one worth $210 million–to keep his newspaper printing. The executor of their father’s state vowed to fight the children in court and called their allegations “outrageous, frivolous and contrary to the terms of the trust.” Trusts can be […]

My father-in-law left land to my mother-in-law, stating that it goes to the kids. A conflict has erupted. Now she wants to sell it so the kids will quit fighting. My mother-in-law is saying she wants the checks made to the kids separately. Would it be better tax-wise for her to just sell it and […]

Disinheriting a child can be a difficult choice for parents. However, if this is the intended choice, there are do’s and don’ts when disinheriting. Are you thinking about disinheriting an heir from your estate? Make sure you know what you are doing before tackling this sensitive subject. Although it is always a painful decision, some parents […]