Premortem validation may be a useful tool for any testator or settlor who suspects her will or trust will be challenged after her death. By implementing the premortem validation procedures, the testator or settlor can ensure a contest action will be brought while she is alive to defend her capacity and likely deter a meritless challenge.
When the Probate Code Study Commission convened for its first meeting Aug. 12, it marked the return of a process meant to help Indiana legislators understand the often complex and intertwined issues regarding wills, estates, trusts, guardianships and other probate matters.
Estate planning clients, typically those nearing or beyond retirement, often ask what kind of information they should share during life with the beneficiaries of their estate. If one child will be treated differently than others, how should they address it, if at all? Should they disclose the fact that an inheritance is likely?
The family of a man who took his own life in the Howard County Jail in Kokomo is suing local police, alleging his death was avoidable.
The suspended Greenwood lawyer accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from disabled and special-needs clients is again facing a warrant for his arrest, this time for failing to appear as ordered at a hearing in one of the multiple felony theft cases he faces.
An estate that secured more than $100,000 in settlements following a deadly car crash couldn’t convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that summary judgment should not have been granted to the deceased’s parents’ insurer.
Calling a trial court’s dismissal of a relative’s petition to contest a will “draconian,” the Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday reinstated the petition and sent the case back to Lake County to be heard in the superior rather than circuit court.
The estate of a murdered teenage boy could not convince the Indiana Supreme Court that his school was negligent for his death. Instead, justices found the estate’s claims to be barred under contributory negligence law.
The ex-wife of a man who died in June 2018 will be permitted to enter into probate court a document she contends is her ex-husband’s will, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday, reversing a trial court order that determined the man had died without leaving a will.
The Monroe Circuit Court’s latest orders in a real estate dispute dating to 2002 were largely affirmed Friday, but the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to release proceeds of a land sale that it had been retaining.
An appellate panel has ordered a new trial in a negligence case arising after a propane tank explosion killed two people in Clinton County. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that admission of a verbatim hearsay opinion read into evidence by a defense expert witness was prejudicial to the deceased couple’s estate.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the denial of a woman’s request for a neutral third party to replace her brother-in-law as the personal representative and trustee of her father’s estate.
A suspended lawyer already accused in three counties of stealing money from ex-clients’ special needs trusts has been charged in Indianapolis with allegedly stealing from another victim. The latest charges against Kenneth Shane Service include a count of racketeering.
The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the removal of a father as the special administrator of his deceased son’s estate, writing that trial courts should hold hearings on special administrator appointments to avoid confusion caused by a “race to the courthouse.”
Have you reviewed your clients’ estate plans since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act”) took effect? Among its myriad changes, the Tax Act drastically increased the federal estate tax exemption.
When giving gifts to children, we think about birthdays and achievements, but we rarely question whether those gifts are taxable or reportable. Even if only using a portion of your lifetime exemption, be sure gifts to children are reported when necessary.
Indiana embarks on a bold new planning strategy on July 1. As of that date, individuals will be able to avail themselves of “legacy trusts” as an additional method by which they can lawfully protect assets against creditors.
Off-the-shelf DNA test kits and online genealogical searches are connecting previously unknown extended family members and sometimes alerting children their dad is actually not their biological father. Could a claim to an estate be far behind?
After three years of collaboration and research, efforts to create more options of independence for Hoosiers who face the confines of a guardianship have come to fruition. Those new options include legal recognition of supported decision making.
A disagreement between two siblings has been squashed now that an appellate court has sided with a woman who was granted last-minute possession of her mother’s estate just days before her death, canceling a former transfer on death deed shared with her brother.