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 order is offered for educational purposes only. References to law and rules may not be current or accurate. Counsel must evaluate whether the order has utility in a given case. (Note: Ralph Holmes is currently retired from McLane Middleton. For information on this or other probate litigation issues, please contact Alexandra Cote at […]
This order is offered for educational purposes only. References to law and rules may not be current or accurate. Counsel must evaluate whether the order has utility in a given case. (Note: Ralph Holmes is currently retired from McLane Middleton. For information on this or other probate litigation issues, please contact Alexandra Cote at […]
In a careful and thorough consideration of the evidence, the NH Trust Docket ruled that NH does not have jurisdiction to probate the estate of John Chakalos and consequently the pending “slayer rule” action against his grandson Nathan Carman must be dismissed. The decision is a major victory for Nathan and his legal team as […]
This order is offered for educational purposes only. References to law and rules may not be current or accurate. Counsel must evaluate whether the order has utility in a given case. (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 settling an estate/trust dispute, parties generally want their settlement agreement to, not only resolve the issues in contention, but also protect against the initiation of future litigation among the parties. Settlement agreements almost always include broad mutual releases of claims and sometimes also set forth contractual promises that no further litigation will be initiated, […]
This order is offered for educational purposes only. References to law and rules may not be current or accurate. Counsel must evaluate whether the order has utility in a given case. (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.) […]
While much has been written in the press about the sensational allegations in Santilli v. Carman, nothing has been written to my knowledge about the interesting issues of probate law it presents. As the case progresses, Alexandra Cote and I will post on some of these issues. In Santilli, which is before the NH Trust […]
This order is offered for educational purposes only. References to law and rules may not be current or accurate. Counsel must evaluate whether the order has utility in a given case. (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.) […]
When settling a parent’s estate, the divvying up of the the tangible items often bedevils family members with children arguing about who gets the Thanksgiving soup tureen, a wedding ring, or the power tools. Items that could be bought at yard sales for pennies can have immense sentimental value and be the source of unending […]
When clients tell a partner of mine that they want to leave their beloved vacation home to their children, he half-jokingly responds, “Why would you do that to them?” and then explains that, all too often, family disputes develop over grievances about uneven use, contributions to maintenance, tax, insurance and other expenses, and other property […]
