Can a Copy of a Missing Will be Admitted to Probate?
AUGUST 15, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 30 You’ve signed your will. We’ve given you the original in a fancy envelope, and a copy showing your signatures. What should you do with it? For most people, most of the time, it is sufficient to just keep the original will in a convenient place at home. What […]
Woman’s Holographic Will Effective Despite State Law
JANUARY 18, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 3 It might seem odd that interstate problems in probate proceedings arise. After all, we have had 50 states and a handful of other jurisdictions gathered together in the United States for a half-century, and nearly that many for most of the two centuries before that. Shouldn’t differences in […]
Beneficiaries Permitted to Modify Trust Terms by Agreement
OCTOBER 19, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 38 Not every client we speak with wants to set up a trust for generations of descendants, but some do. The notion of allowing assets to grow for two or three (or more) generations can be attractive. It is difficult, of course, to imagine what one’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren […]
‘Til The Cows Come Home—A Parental Exploitation Story
APRIL 14, 2008 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 42 We see the same sad story time and again. Sometimes there are small variations, but it almost always starts the same way. Aging parents (or other relatives) need assistance with their finances and their care. As those needs increase, family members begin — often with the very best […]
Ward Should Be Allowed To Express Wishes, Hire Counsel
APRIL 11, 2005 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 41 When the legal system takes over decision-making and care of an incapacitated adult, there is a struggle between competing goals. It is important to provide adequate protection and supervision, but it is also important to maintain the ward’s personal autonomy and self-determination. It is often difficult to decide […]
Bank Liable for Exploitation By Branch Manager and Assistant
MAY 10, 2004 VOLUME 11, NUMBER 45 Carmen DiCesare, age 82, may have been a little confused when he visited the local branch of Prudential Savings Bank in south Philadelphia that day in August, 2000. By the time he left the bank he had made major changes in his estate plan, and the bank’s branch […]
