Leona Helmsley’s dog, Trouble, isn’t the only pet with an inheritance problem. According to a news report, four-legged trust-funders are becoming increasingly common, and so are the legal battles surrounding their money. The New York Daily News says “pet trusts”–legal arrangements that set money aside for a pet’s care and designate a trustee to fulfill Keep Reading…
They’re called SLAPP suits. The punchy acronym stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation. They are legal pre-emptive strikes designed to put terror in the hearts of those with nosy questions, suspicions of wrongdoing or the urge to stir their fellow citizens to action. Their targets range from journalists to whistle-blowers to ordinary citizens engaged Keep Reading…
Is going on the offensive the best defense in a white-collar trial? That question was on display in the past week when John Dowd, a lawyer for Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, came out firing as he grilled a star government witness in the insider-trading case against his client. At times nearly shouting, Mr. Dowd Keep Reading…
Jacek Smigelski, a New Britain solo who has been repeatedly disciplined for unethical conduct, was suspended from the practice of law this month by New Britain Superior Court Judge Patty Jenks Pittman. His client fund accounts are being secured by Hartford lawyer Bozena Wysocki, of Brignole, Bush & Lewis, who was appointed trustee, with instructions Keep Reading…
Congratulations to Laurie Roberts of The Arizona Republic for being named a winner in the annual Scripps Howard Awards which honor the year’s best work in the communications industry and journalism education. Roberts was named winner of the Commentary category in the competition sponsored by the Scripps Howard Foundation. Per a released statement: Laurie Roberts Keep Reading…
Estate of Denial® provides news, analysis and commentary on abusive practices occurring in probate courts and via probate instruments (wills, trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney). We provide original perspective to educate the public regarding this growing threat to both individual freedoms and property rights.An estate lawyer accused of a “wrongful scheme” to steer money to himself from the estates of the late June M. Farrington and her surviving brother will pay back $410,000 as part of a settlement. Estate lawyer Stephen M. Newman also resigned as executor and trustee of all of the estates and trusts he set Keep Reading…
Shannon Price failed to prove that she and Gary Coleman had a common-law marriage after their 2009 divorce. Fourth District Judge James R. Taylor ruled Monday that while Price had lived in the former “Diff’rent Strokes” star’s home after their marriage ended, the relationship failed to meet the state’s standard for a common-law marriage. “There Keep Reading…
Police Detective Jason Takacs has two thick files filled with paperwork supporting charges that a local deli owner bilked three elderly siblings of more than $200,000. Takacs credits cooperation among police, People’s United Bank, the Fairfield Probate Court and a forensic accountant from the chief state’s attorney’s office with the Thursday arrest of Carmella Jamshidian, Keep Reading…
Here’s more big government “smoke and mirrors” from the state of Texas. In watching media postings across the country, it’s highly trendy to decry the need to protect the elderly and the vulnerable. It makes people feel good to think “someone” is out there with an eye on things. Problem comes in that those “someones” Keep Reading…
Two of Don Barden’s siblings have alleged “gross irregularities” in the handling of the late casino mogul’s estate, including a potentially phony trust agreement. “It quite simply appears to be a fraud,” Farmington Hills attorney Steven Cohen charged in court papers last month. He represents Helen Robinson and Douglas Barden, who are challenging the validity Keep Reading…
