There are few more frightening glimpses of probate court gone wrong than the story told in a new memo from the chief disciplinary counsel for the state committee that investigates complaints about lawyers. An elderly, dying woman’s valuable estate is hijacked and her will violated in what seems like a nightmare that just couldn’t happen. Keep Reading…
The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to amend the state guardianship law to require disclosure of any criminal record by individuals seeking to become conservators. The bill was prompted by the case of Jewell Tinnon, 82, of Nashville, who was placed in a conservatorship after a request by two of her grandchildren. Her story was featured in Keep Reading…
What better way to see the gamut of domestic despair, distrust, estrangement, recrimination, spite, and the bounty of the lawyer honey pot, than through families tearing at each other in courtrooms. Wills, succession and family provisions provide the landscape for some of the spellbinding human dramas that unfold in the equity courts. There’s nothing quite Keep Reading…
MOBILE, Alabama — The Alabama State Bar has determined that there is insufficient evidence to discipline lawyer Richard Horne, whom a local insurance agent had accused of ethical lapses related to a will that a jury determined was a fake. A one-page letter from the general counsel’s office of the State Bar informed the complainant, David Keep Reading…
What a wonderful end to a terrible story. The five-year court battle over the estate of socialite/philanthropist Brooke Astor has been settled. It appears the good guys won – Astor’s grandson, children and friends got the justice they sought and the accused “bad guys” – Astor’s son and daughter-in-law – had their inheritance cut by 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.Detroit— The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development and its co-founder, Elaine Steele, filed court action late Tuesday accusing a Wayne County probate judge and two court-appointed lawyers of conspiracy in the long-standing battle over the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Steele’s attorney, Steven G. Cohen, added he also has filed Keep Reading…
Lee Bailey’s eurweb.com (Electronic Urban Report) has once again picked up Sue Summer’s latest article from The Newberry Observer on the questionable actions surrounding administration of James Brown’s estate. The article is introduced as follows: For those who’ve been keeping track of the James Brown probate case, or if you’re simply interested in know where Keep Reading…
Forget women! Hell hath no fury like a lawyer scorned – or at least that would seem the case as per this latest Danny Tate posting at Impeachrandykennedy’s Blog. A conservatorship (guardianship) can strip a person of their individual liberty and property rights. While Nashville musician Danny Tate admits his struggle with alcohol and drug Keep Reading…
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…
