Probate & Trust Litigation

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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Stompor: Latest Trust Docket Burden of Proof Decision

Congratulations! to Roy McCandless for his big win in Stompor v. Stompor (2016) and thanks to Roy for sharing a copy of the decision. (Please forward yours!)  Weighing in at 60 pages, Stompor is the latest installment of impressive scholarship by Judge Cassavechia and once again highlights the need for publication of important NH Probate Court decisions.

The case rounds out the Court’s views on the critical issue of burden of proof shifting in trust contests and as in Estate of Geraldine Webber (2015) and In re Alice Stedman (2015) the Court had counsel brief the issue.   When my post-trial Webber involvement ends, I will supplement with some posts on my thoughts of the synthesis of these decisions on the burden of proof and other issues.

(Note: Ralph Holmes is currently retired from McLane Middleton. For information on this or other probate litigation issues, please contact Alexandra Cote at alexandra.cote@mclane.com.)