A resource for lawyers and the public in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for information on will contests, trust disputes, guardianships, conservatorships, elder exploitation, fiduciary duty claims, and other probate litigation disputes.
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This case does not make any new law, but illustrates a number of important principles for fiduciary breach claims against trustees. The case arose from a trust established by Richard Hallett administered following his death by his widow and attorney serving as trustees. Upon his death, family and QTIP sub-trusts were to be funded. As detailed […]
Financial exploitation of the elderly is a common theme in our work. Entitled “Exploitation of the Elderly Can Begin with Modest Gifts,” here is an article by yours truly in the Union Leader’s Know the Law series (link works after Continue Reading). (Note: Ralph Holmes is currently retired from McLane Middleton. For information on this […]
(Note: Ralph Holmes is currently retired from McLane Middleton. For information on this or other probate litigation issues, please contact Alexandra Cote at alexandra.cote@mclane.com.)
In decisions establishing new law in New Hampshire for the discipline of professional guardians, Judge Gary Cassavechia, acting as Judicial Referee, and Judge Edwin Kelly, as Administrative Judge for the Circuit Court, reviewed conduct by Jeannette Marino, a prominent NH professional guardian since 2006, in two of her guardianships with Judge Cassavechia recommending a two-year […]
In Heyn v. Director of Medicaid, the Massachusetts Appeals Court in an April 15, 2016 decision considered whether provisions in a self-settled trust rendered it a “countable asset” for Medicaid eligibility. The trust mandated distributions of income to the settlor and authorized the trustee to sell assets for fair value and “to determine, in accordance with reasonable accounting principles […]
Although the NH Supreme Court’s decision in Brooks v. Allen does not establish new law, it is important precedent for the resolution of property division disputes between domestic partners. Renee Brooks and Steven Allen had lived as a family for twenty years and had a son. They owned jointly property in Northwood and Allen was the sole […]
Thanks to Charles Ranson who served as an expert witness in the dispute over the fees of the Trustees of the Robert Rauschenberg Revocable Trust for his post on the Court’s decision. On the death of Robert Rauschenberg on May 12, 2008, the Trust was funded with assets of $605 million. In 2012, the Trustees distributed to the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation […]
Both the NH and MA Probate Courts are vested with exclusive jurisdiction over the composition of their probate estates. What happens when this grant of exclusive jurisdiction is in conflict with the rights of a foreign court to decide title to property claimed by a NH or MA probate estate? We represent the Trustee of a California trust […]
