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.
Counsel, please send us your court orders and pleadings of potential interest to the bar. We will link any posting to your website and give you full credit. Please tell us how we can improve this site to better serve you, other lawyers, and the public.
In a case briefed and argued by Alexandra Cote of our office, the NH Supreme Court confirmed the jurisdiction of the Probate Court over real estate titled in the name of a decedent at the time of death, even though the law provides that title passes to heirs or legatees upon death by operation of […]
The MA and NH Trust Codes offer trustees important opportunities to reduce the statutes of limitations/repose (SOL) for actions to contest trust validity. For a revocable trust that becomes irrevocable at death, the default limitations/repose period for contesting trust validity is one year in MA and three years in NH, both running from the settlor’s […]
In In re Guardianship of D.E., the NH Supreme Court clarified important issues relative to the nature and scope of a guardian’s power to make an end-of-life decision and the standard of review of such a decision by the Probate Court. The Court held that a guardian, if granted the power to make an end-of-life […]
In In re J.P., a case tried and argued on appeal by my colleague Jacqueline Leary, the NH Supreme Court provided important guidance on the construction of our adoption statute, which provides that notice of an adoption petition must be given to, among others: A person who is … providing financial support to [the birth mother] […]
As a member of the New Lawyers’ Committee of the New Hampshire Bar Association, I had the opportunity to revise the Probate section of the Committee’s publication “Traps for the Unwary”. Aptly titled, the publication attempts to identify some of the “traps” into which both new and experienced lawyers may fall. This seventh edition of […]
Many museums, hospitals, private schools, colleges, summer camps, and other non-profits were already facing economic challenges before the pandemic and now confront even greater financial stress. Some may not survive. When a non-profit is no longer able to carry out its charitable mission, difficult legal issues can arise with regard to the disposition of its […]
In preparing our NH Deadlines Page, I was struck by the significant inconsistency between our probate statutes and Trust Code relative to the limitations periods for claims against a decedent and offer the following comments in anticipation that this conflict will be of concern to counsel and lead to litigation. Probate Scheme For Creditor Claims […]
We are delighted to announce our NH Estate & Trust Deadlines page, which counsel will want to bookmark. The fear of missing deadlines is among the most anxiety provoking aspects of this job and this should be a big help in alleviating that stress. We have culled NH statutes and Probate Rules to highlight the […]
Big thanks to Attorney Lisa Bellanti for calling to our attention the appeal she and Nadine Catalfimo have before the NH Supreme Court of the Probate Court’s Order in Estate of Marie G. Dow in which the Court held that a will’s choice of MA law requires that MA law governs a child’s pretermitted heir […]
We are very pleased to announce that we will be speaking on probate litigation issues at an upcoming seminar Estate Administration From Start to Finish sponsored by the National Business Institute. The program will be offered twice: April 28 in Portsmouth at which Alexandra will present and April 30 in Manchester at which Andrea will present. […]
