Long-serving Allen Superior Court magistrate to retire
Houk is presently the longest serving active judicial officer in Allen County
Probate
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‘Supercharged’: Lewis Wagner combination designed to bolster firm’s probate practice
Attorneys at Hewitt Law & Mediation have combined with Lewis Wagner, effective March 1.
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‘It all starts with the family’
With a pending move to a new courthouse, Marion County Courts are launching a new family division that aims to follow a one family, one judge model.
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Articles
Courts and the Judiciary not meeting in 2023 as legislative study committees get underway
Indiana lawmakers are returning to the Statehouse this month to begin meeting in their interim study committees, but one group that won’t be gathering is the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary.
McCarty: Estate planning and social media after a death
Have you advised your clients about what will happen to their Twitter or Instagram accounts after they die?
Retzner and Nichols: Disposing of tangible personal property in an estate plan
To make administration go smoothly, it is still important to consider disposing of tangible personal property as part of the overall estate plan and not simply “gloss over” those provisions.
Dible: A new ballgame: Trust decanting under the 2022 statute
For uncounted numbers of older irrevocable trusts that do not grant a limited amendment power to anyone, there is only one trust modification tool that does not require either probate court approval or the consent of beneficiaries: trust decanting.
Bill extending adult guardians’ disposition authority signed into law
Adult guardians will soon be part of the statutory scheme for making decisions about disposition of a deceased ward after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill extending their authority.
Bill giving adult guardians authority over final dispositions advances, but with concerns
A bill that would give adult guardians a say in the final disposition of their wards is headed to the full Senate, but a narrow vote in committee likely means the legislation will see further amendments.
Supreme Court amends trial procedure rules
Amendments have been made to Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure regarding child paternity cases, as well as e-filing processes and procedures for filing probate and guardianship cases, according to an order from the Indiana Supreme Court.
Indiana courts’ minimum senior judge service days doubled for 2021
The minimum number of court senior judge service days for the upcoming year has been doubled from 15 to 30, and courts are encouraged to use senior judges to assist during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Indiana Supreme Court announced in a Wednesday order.
Creating a ‘dynasty’: Probate proposal could amend Indiana Rule Against Perpetuities in trust laws
Currently, assets in an Indiana legacy trust must vest within 90 years, covering a few generations of heirs. But a proposal before the Probate Code Study Commission would quadruple that time to 360 years, allowing for the creation of Hoosier “dynasty trusts” for the first time.
COA ruling gives Dead Man’s Statute longer reach
Under the Indiana Dead Man’s Statute, the deceased can tell no tales, but a recent decision by the state’s Court of Appeals has created uncertainty over when the survivors can speak, particularly where it concerns trusts.
Ex-judge, assistant accused of estate fraud, will tampering face escalating claims
The stakes have been raised in a lawsuit against a former northern Indiana judge and an employee of his law office accused of swindling the estate of a deceased client whose will bequeathed more than $700,000 to local charities — money the charities say they never received.
Legal malpractice claim was far beyond statute of limitations, 7th Circuit affirms
A woman who filed a legal malpractice claim in a matter that began more than 20 years ago failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that her complaint over the distribution of a trust was timely.
COA again reverses for ex-wife in dispute over late husband’s will
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel has again reversed for a woman who claimed her ex-husband did not die intestate, holding that a probate court did not engage in the proper analysis to determine whether she rebutted whether the man destroyed his will with the intent to revoke it.
Moore & Sweet: A guide to will and trust validation in Indiana
We return to the scenario presented in a previous article, “Premortem validation could help avert will, estate contests” (Indiana Lawyer, Oct. 16, 2019). Recall that the mother (“mom”) changed her will six months before her death, giving the entire estate to her caregiver-daughter (“daughter”) and leaving nothing for her out-of-town son (“son”). Since Indiana has not yet enacted pre-mortem validation statutes for wills or trusts, daughter and son must argue the validity of the final will in court after mom has passed. This article discusses how the scenario (and a similar one dealing with a revocable trust) might play out under current Indiana law.
Life and death decisions: Pandemic increases focus on estate planning, health care advance directives
The coronavirus pandemic seems to be the push many people needed. Most clients, estate planning lawyers say, tend to put off preparing their documents, usually believing that they still have time. But with the continuance of the COVID-19 pandemic and the daily coverage of case counts and death tolls, attitudes have changed.
Longtime KDDK partner John E. Hegeman dies
Longtime partner John E. Hegeman of Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn in Evansville died Friday at Walnut Creek Center, the firm announced Saturday.
Findings not made to dispense with biological father’s adoption consent
The Indiana Court of Appeals has remanded a granted adoption petition after finding a trial court failed to make findings that would allow for the children’s biological father’s consent to be dispensed with.
Reconstituted probate code commission goes to work
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.
Appeals court reverses ‘draconian’ dismissal of will challenge
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.