Taxation & Estate Planning

More Probate Litigation -- Because of the Recession?

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

Is it the bad economy, or something else? It seems like I've had a lot of clients walk through my door of late, presenting the same scenario:

-Parent died

-One sibling "took over" the probate (either because they were named in the Will as executor, or just because they took the initiative)

-That sibling isn't doing his or her job

By "isn't doing his or her job," I mean that the sibling is not carrying out the fiduciary duties associated with administering an estate. Things like:

1. Failing to give the other beneficiaries an inventory of the decedent's property.

2. Failing to give updates about the status of the estate (is property being sold? are bills being paid?).

3. Self-dealing ("$1 for the estate, $1 for me").

This Detroit Free Press article presents a similar Michigan case that's a cautionary tale. In that case, the parent is still living, but suffering from dementia. She put two of her daughters as co-owners on her bank accounts, to help her pay her bills. But the daughters allegedly looted the estate for almost $800,000.

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on February 10, 2010 (boomark / email).