Lawyers help vulnerable man overcome exploitation
Looking down at a page filled with words he couldn’t comprehend, Paul Mason was urged to sign on the dotted line. He had no idea he was signing away life as he knew it.
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Suspended special needs trust lawyer faces more theft accusations
A suspended Greenwood lawyer criminally charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former special needs trust clients around Indiana has been accused in new civil lawsuits of draining another $108,600 from several more trust funds. The additional alleged misappropriations by Kenneth Shane Service drive the alleged missing funds to more than $318,600.
Hendricks Judge Freese faces discipline charges
A Hendricks County judge and former leader of the Indiana Judges Association is facing disciplinary charges stemming from allegations that he appointed a friend as trustee of an estate case, then failed to take prompt action upon learning that the man was not fulfilling his duties and was possibly stealing from the trust.
Justices: Mineral-rich property transfers improper in trust case
A bitter dispute between stepsiblings — including a woman who was written out of her inheritance of mineral-rich property — has resulted in the Indiana Supreme Court ruling that a decades-old transfer of the land to her stepbrother was improper.
Siblings’ trust agreement enforced in probate splits COA
The termination and division of a multi-generational trust containing more than 422 acres of land was affirmed Thursday by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which split on the question of whether a probate court could adjudicate a separate agreement between two heirs.
Multi-jurisdictional estate planning requires research, collaboration
Every year like clockwork, when the leaves change and the temperature drops, thousands of Indiana residents flee the bitter Hoosier winter in favor of a warmer southern climate. Most often, these snowbirds find themselves wintering in Florida, and many decide to permanently relocate to the Sunshine State. While this decision to relocate is beneficial to […]
Lawyer accused of theft from disabled held without bond amid new charges
A suspended Indiana lawyer accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from disabled and special needs clients was held without bond Tuesday in the Johnson County Jail after authorities in at least two counties had issued warrants for his arrest. Kenneth Shane Service was arrested Monday and is likely to remain behind bars until he’s transported to await court dates in three Indiana counties where he currently faces felony theft charges.
COA reversal: Total settlement must fund special-needs trust
The Indiana Court of Appeals found a trial court exceeded its authority and made errors of law when it ordered only $1 million into a special needs trust after a settlement of more than $17 million.
Special needs trust lawyer faces another theft charge
A suspended Indianapolis attorney who specialized in establishing special needs trusts before he was accused of stealing from those clients is facing felony theft charges in another Indiana county. Kenneth S. Service, 45, was charged last month with Class D felony theft in Delaware County, where he is accused of stealing $23,622 from a former client, authorities said Thursday.
COA: Personal rep in estate case has no claim to survivor damages
After a man who filed a wrongful death suit for his wife died intestate and without heirs while the suit was pending, the Court of Appeals concluded the estate’s personal representative could not claim survivor damages.
COA reopens estate after improper probate closing
The St. Joseph Probate Court must reopen an estate that led to years-long litigation between two siblings after the court failed to follow proper statutory procedure when closing the estate, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
New law allows for electronic signing of wills, trusts, powers of attorney
Though the law has a reputation for being resistant to change, new legislation that will take effect this summer is designed to give estate planning attorneys the opportunity to embrace technology when advising clients about probate documents while allowing more traditional lawyers to conduct business as usual.
COA upholds summary judgment in dispute over trust
The only surviving son of a Huntington County woman is not entitled to his mother’s house because she did not properly amend her trust to gift it to him, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Attorney suspended 6 months for work with California firm
The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended a Carmel attorney from the practice of law for six months after finding he engaged in an improper business relationship with an out-of-state corporation.
COA: Divorcing husband has no claim on wife’s trust
An Indiana trial court correctly determined that a woman’s interests in discretionary family trusts are too remote and speculative to be included in the marital pot as part of her dissolution proceedings, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
COA affirms wife’s interests in family trusts are ‘speculative’
An Indiana trial court correctly determined that a woman’s interests in discretionary family trusts are too remote and speculative to be included in the marital pot as part of her dissolution proceedings, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Attorney fees affirmed in adult guardianship dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed an award of attorney fees in a guardianship dispute that involved expert witnesses who testified as to the testamentary capacity of a man diagnosed with dementia.
Law restores will challenges as separate actions
An unintended change in law that temporarily required will challenges to be filed within the probate case was reversed under a bill that took effect July 1 and tweaked several provisions of Indiana’s Probate Code.
Boldt: Stretching the benefits of your traditional IRA
For a client who holds the bulk of their net worth in an IRA, an Inheritance Trust can be an effective estate planning tool.
Probate bar proposes legislation to permit electronic signatures on wills
In an increasingly digital world, the legal ritual of a person signing a last will and testament before two witnesses who attest to the signer’s capacity may be evolving. Lawmakers next year will consider a proposal to allow electronic signatures on wills and other trust and estate documents.