Overlawyered » wills and trusts

Connecticut: court-appointed probate lawyers seek immunity

Walter Olson — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:10:16 +0000

The Connecticut Supreme Court is being asked to rule that lawyers and conservators appointed by probate judges are immune from being sued by those they represent. The case arose “because of the abuse that Daniel Gross, an elderly New York man, suffered during 2005 and 2006 at the hands of a Waterbury probate court after he became sick while visiting his daughter.” Gross was placed in a nursing home on conservator’s orders, a decision eventually reversed by a court. [Rick Green, Hartford Courant]

Tags: Connecticut, legal malpractice, wills and trusts

Connecticut: court-appointed probate lawyers seek immunity is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 9 roundup

Walter Olson — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:14:42 +0000

Update: “Tax Panel Rejects Lawyer’s Bid to Deduct Spending for Sex” [NYLJ, William Barrett/Forbes, earlier] And: “Musings on laws affecting adult entertainment, alcoholic beverages and other ‘vice’ industries” [Meeting the Sin Laws blog]
Mississippi: judge jails lawyer for not saying Pledge of Allegiance [Freeland]
More on much-written-about Israeli “rape by fraud” case [Volokh, more, earlier here and here]
“Tribune bankruptcy talks complicated by emergence of pugnacious hedge fund” [Romenesko; earlier on involvement of hedge funds in bankruptcies]
More disturbing tales from Connecticut probate court [Rick Green, Hartford Courant, earlier]
Marc Williams of the Defense Research Institute responds to Ted Frank’s criticism of many defense lawyers [PoL]
Advice for Australians: to fix your litigation system, look to Germany’s success [Ackland, Sydney Morning Herald]
Rep. John Hall (D-N.Y.) & ’70s band Orleans threaten suit against GOP remix ["Orleans Reunion Tour"]

Tags: Australia, bankruptcy, Connecticut, defense lawyers, Germany, Mississippi, music and musicians, strippers and exotic dancers, taxes, U.S. House of Representatives, wills and trusts

October 9 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Probate poser in Arizona

Walter Olson — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:20:15 +0000

Marie Long, now 88, was “worth $1.3 million when she [suffered a stroke and] came under the protection of Maricopa County’s probate court in 2005. Today, she’s destitute and depends on taxpayers for support.” Where’d the money go? [Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic and more via ABA Journal] But see: A different view of the affair [Phoenix New Times via ABA Journal]

Tags: Arizona, Phoenix, wills and trusts

Probate poser in Arizona is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 6 roundup

Walter Olson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:33:34 +0000

Wronged wife loses suit under California “Drug Dealer Liability Act” (DDLA) against mistress who supplied crack cocaine to husband [OnPoint News]
“D.C. Circuit to Former Judge in Pants Lawsuit: Follow the Rules” [NLJ, more, earlier]
“Law firm demands retailer destroy all copies of Olivia Munn comic, retailer refuses” [BoingBoing, HeavyInk, earlier on TJIC]
Can’t find jury for tobacco trial: “Lawyers excused a woman who said people have no right to sue over diseases that are disclosed on the warning label of a package.” [Russell Jackson, Chamber-backed W.V. Record]
Despite widespread misconception to the contrary, editing comments generally does not open blogger to liability over what remains [Citizen Media Law]
To heck with HIPAA, introduce your patients to each other if you think they’ll get along [Musings of a Dinosaur]
Devoted daughter vs. RSPCA: epic will contest in Britain over family farm bequest [Times Online]
Woman found guilty after planting dead rat in meal at upscale restaurant [Appleton Post-Crescent via Lowering the Bar and Obscure Store]

Tags: alienation of affection, bloggers and the law, finger in the chili, HIPAA, illegal drugs, jury selection, Roy Pearson, wills and trusts

February 6 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

K&L Gates blasted for high fees, “unnecessary lawyering”

Walter Olson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:25:32 +0000

Massachusetts’s highest court thought it a bit much that fees and costs would eat up $800,000 from an estate valued at $1.2 million, or two-thirds of the value at stake. [Robert Ambrogi, Legal Blog Watch; Above the Law]

Incidentally, Robert Ambrogi is hanging up his keyboard after an impressive four-year tenure at Law.com’s Legal Blog Watch, but he’ll continue to maintain his other sites. He has kind words for this site as one to “follow religiously”, too.

Tags: accolades, feeing frenzy, legal blogs, Massachusetts, wills and trusts

K&L Gates blasted for high fees, “unnecessary lawyering” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Brooklyn: “Disbarred Attorney Pleads Guilty to Guardian Account Thefts”

Walter Olson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:08:12 +0000

“A former Brooklyn, N.Y., lawyer has pleaded guilty to fleecing millions of dollars from guardianship accounts he oversaw for incapacitated seniors and children. … at least 16 court examiners who oversaw Rondos [Steven T. Rondos] had signed off on his reports without detecting any red flags.” [NYLJ]

Tags: ethics, NYC, wills and trusts

Brooklyn: “Disbarred Attorney Pleads Guilty to Guardian Account Thefts” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

John Langbein on new Connecticut probate reform

Walter Olson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:16:52 +0000

The Yale law professor, a longtime advocate of probate-court reform, says the Nutmeg State’s recent legislation falls well short of what’s needed; he’s particularly critical of lawmakers’ decision to let probate judges go on carrying on their own law practices on the side. [Hartford Courant via Estate of Denial]

Tags: Connecticut, judicial system, wills and trusts

John Langbein on new Connecticut probate reform is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

A legal scramble over Michael Jackson’s estate?

Walter Olson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:22:22 +0000

The headline at Business Insider puts it more rudely than that. Business Week notes that “The singer faced a near-constant drumbeat of legal troubles in life. He’ll likely cue up plenty of them in death as well.” More: WSJ Law Blog; Eric Turkewitz with an early analysis of the medical and pharmacist liability possibilities.

Tags: music and musicians, wills and trusts

A legal scramble over Michael Jackson’s estate? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Connecticut passes probate court reform

Walter Olson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:44:39 +0000

Gov. Jodi Rell has signed legislation reorganizing the long-criticized system, which handles child custody matters and conservatorships as well as wills and estates; Hartford Courant columnist Rick Green had made the cause a crusade with horror stories. More: Connecticut Law Tribune (cross-posted from Point of Law).

Tags: child custody, Connecticut, wills and trusts

Connecticut passes probate court reform is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Millionaire’s mistress battles his kin over estate”

Ted Frank — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:50:54 +0000

Family disputes between a wife and the mistress over a will are probably one of the few times when the “not about the money” saying really is true. But after a two-week trial and two trips to the Georgia Supreme Court, it’s hard to imagine that attorneys aren’t going to get the majority of the $6 million at stake in the five-year battle over Harvey Strother’s will. A penalty clause calling for the disinheritance of anyone who challenged the will appears to have been successfully challenged by the wife’s family. (AP/Washington Post, Apr. 13; Talia Mollett, “Millionaire’s will trial begins today”, Marietta Daily Journal, Jul. 15; Tom Opdyke, “Life’s final chapter to play out in court”, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jul. 13; Melican v. Parker, 283 Ga. 253 (2008)).

Tags: family law, Georgia, Jarndyce redux, wills and trusts

“Millionaire’s mistress battles his kin over estate” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system