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Man regains control of $10M in trust assets in mediation
John Doe, a 79-year-old successful businessman, and his wife Jane Doe executed a series of trusts in 2009 including John’s revocable living trust. The terms of John’s living trust allowed him to control the distribution of all income and principal from the trust during his lifetime. John and his daughter, Mary Doe, served […]
Trusts & Estates – Evidence – Rule 601(c) – Waiver – Summary Judgment
Weeks v. Jackson. Because an executor did not seek to elicit evidence of oral communications between the defendants and decedent, and therefore did not waive the protection afforded by N.C. R. Evid. 601(c), the trial court properly granted the executor's motions to strike the defendants' affidavit and granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
Trusts & Estates – Attorney’s Fees – Clerk’s Order – Appeals – Delays
Strickland v. Strickland. The petitioner-attorney requested a significantly higher fee than the clerk of court had ever seen, the attorney did not accept the clerk's offer of a hearing regarding the fees, and the attorney waited more than three weeks to fulfill the clerk's request for a detailed affidavit of attorney's fees. Even though the attorney requested fees of $14,513, the superior[...]
Trusts & Estates – Estate for Years – Vested Remainder – Rule 59(a)
Buchanan v. Buchanan. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0858, 13 pp.) (Donna S. Stroud, J.). Appealed from Cabarrus County Superior Court (W. Erwin Spainhour, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The trial court correctly interpreted the decedent’s will as creating an estate for years in the subject property for the benefit of the defendant, who would care for the […]
Trusts & Estates – Will Caveat – Inter Vivos Property Transfer – Undue Influence
In re Estate of Seagraves. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0792, 31 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from Cabarrus County Superior Court (Paul C. Ridgeway & Michael E. Beale, JJ.) N.C. App. Holding: Where the defendant admitted that a fiduciary relationship existed between him and the testator at the time the testator transferred to him a 3.2-acre […]
Trusts & Estates – Will – Propounder & Caveator – Discovery Sanctions – Rule 37 – Factual Question
In re Estate of Johnson. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0666, 14 pp.) (Donna S. Stroud, J.) Appealed from Sampson County Superior Court. (W. Allen Cobb Jr., J.) N.C. App. Holding: The propounder of a will who repeatedly disobeyed court orders to comply with a caveator’s discovery requests was properly sanctioned under Rule 37 when the trial […]
Trusts & Estates – Wills – Life Estate Defeasible – Dwelling – Business & Lease – Precatory Language
Nelson v. Bennett. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0547, 21 pp.) (Sam Ervin IV, J.) (Robert N. Hunter Jr., J., concurring in part & dissenting in part) Appealed from Chatham County Superior Court. (Allen Baddour, J.) N.C. App. Holding: When a testatrix granted a life estate in her home to appellant Lynda Frejlach saying, “At her death […]
Trusts & Estates – Will & Codicil – Caveat – Civil Practice – Discovery – Sanctions
In re Will of Aiken. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-16-0529, 20 pp.) (Robert N. Hunter Jr., J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court. (Linwood Foust, Forrest D. Bridges, Robert P. Johnston & Yvonne Mims Evans, JJ.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Caveators’ father was stabbed to death more than 25 years before the execution of their paternal […]
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