A resource for lawyers and the public in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for information on will contests, trust disputes, guardianships, conservatorships, elder exploitation, fiduciary duty claims, and other probate litigation disputes.
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I had the pleasure of presenting at a seminar for NH lawyers this week entitled “Probate: Everything You Need to Know” and spoke about probate litigation issues, including will and trust contests and POA accounting, constructive trust, pretermitted heir, and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Here are my NH Probate Litigation Seminar PP Slides Feb. […]
Congratulations to Roy McCandless on his big win for the trustee in Randall v. Mahan, a case in which Judge Gary R. Cassavechia acting as Judicial Referee carefully analyzes reliance on counsel as a defense to breach of fiduciary duty claims. The Order is important reading for counsel representing trustees or beneficiaries. Circuit Judge Michael L. Alfano adopted […]
I am very pleased to share that I have been elected a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), “a national organization of approximately 2,500 lawyers elected to membership by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence, and experience as trust and estate counselors…. ‘Fellows,’ are the best […]
Rarely, has the NH Supreme Court had a case with the potential to disrupt trust law and practice as In re Teresa Craig Living Trust recently transferred as an interlocutory appeal without ruling by Judge King of the NH Trust Docket. Craig presents the issue of whether the pretermitted heir statute, RSA 551:10, applies to trusts. The claimants […]
There is an epidemic of sophisticated exploitation of our elderly. According to the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA): One in nine seniors reported being abused, neglected or exploited in the past twelve months; the rate of financial exploitation is extremely high, with 1 in 20 older adults indicating some form of perceived financial mistreatment occurring […]
An important, unresolved issue in New Hampshire trust law is whether the allocation of fault among responsible parties required in civil cases under Debenedetto v. CLD, 153 N.H. 793 (2006), applies to breach of duty claims against trustees. While I have raised the issue when representing a defendant trustee, the Court has not ruled on […]
Kevin W. Rethore of DLA Piper and I will be presenting on trust litigation at the 2017 New Hampshire Trust Conference sponsored by New Hampshire Trust Council. The Council is a leader in efforts to develop and maintain New Hampshire’s advantage as a situs for trusts and is active both in our legislature and courts […]
A case recently heard by the Norfolk County, Massachusetts Superior Court serves as a reminder of the importance of paying attention to statutes of limitation and requirements for service of process, especially in cases involving estates. Under Massachusetts law, a personal representative does not need to acknowledge any claim by a creditor of the decedent […]
We recently handled a matter involving a variety of claims pertaining to special needs trusts and a guardianship established for the benefit of an individual who became incapacitated after a tragic car accident. The Court was presented with a myriad of issues stemming from the conduct of the trustee and professional guardian and her controversial […]
On March 20, 2017 an interesting and as yet unpublished decanting ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court arose in the context of the divorce of Paul Ferri and Nancy Powell-Ferri pending before the Connecticut courts stating that not only could trustees of a trust under attack from a dissident spouse decant into a new […]
