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.
At our request, NH Probate Court Justice Mark Weaver has certified for interlocutory appeal an important standing issue of first impression and the NH Supreme Court has now accepted the appeal. In In re Estate of Mesiti, the son of the testator filed claims to contest the validity of his father’s last will and testament on […]
My view, often expressed to clients and in presentations, is that capacity is the key issue in most undue influence cases. Unless the testator suffered significant diminished capacity at the time the will was signed, a contest of the plan on grounds of undue influence is unlikely to succeed. A finding of undue influence requires […]
INTRODUCTION Litigation contesting the validity of wills and trusts on grounds of alleged incapacity and/or undue influence has been on the rise for many reasons, including “the growing number of Americans who are living through the age of risk for dementing illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s Disease,” Sparr, Assessing Competency To Make A Will, Am. J. […]
I had the pleasure of presenting at the MCLE 18th Annual New England Estate Planning (and More) Conference on January 5. I presented on “Capacity Evidence in Will and Trust Contests.” Here is a link to my written materials and a link to my slides.
Congratulations! to Roy McCandless for his big win in Stompor v. Stompor (2016) and thanks to Roy for sharing a copy of the decision. (Please forward yours!) Weighing in at 60 pages, Stompor is the latest installment of impressive scholarship by Judge Cassavechia and once again highlights the need for publication of important NH Probate Court decisions. The […]
