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Tag: Probate

Bad Apple in Bunch

How to Prevent Family from Contesting Your Will

June 25, 2020
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Are your family members likely to fight each other over the things you leave behind? Regardless of your answer to that question, let me just say that, you really never know how family will act, especially when money is involved.  And, even if you have a Will, there is always someone who wants to challenge things because they want more; or they want someone else to get less; or they want someone to get nothing at all. So, what can you do to prevent your heirs from fighting over your Will? You can put special language in your Will to…

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Probate Court

Judge Ignores Daughter & Father; Appoints Outside Conservator

June 24, 2020
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Susan Evans goes to court to become guardian and conservator for her father, James Belew.  Even though Susan has a fully executed power of attorney for her father, the court ignores it.  As it turns out, after dementia set-in on James, the step-mother got a power of attorney signed. So, instead of appointing either Susan or the step-mother to be the conservator, the judge first appoints a “temporary” conservator and a guardian-ad-litem until a full hearing can be held. The father tells the guardian-ad-litem he has chosen his daughter and wishes for her to be the conservator, but the court…

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Which One

Electronic Directives vs. Print Versions

June 23, 2020
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Should you have an electronic or printed copy of your documents? Electronic versions of your health care Advance Directives sounds like a more reliable way to store your documents, right? Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Although having information stored online may seem more convenient and easily accessible than carrying around a paper copy, there are quite a few issues that make this method less reliable than it initially seems. One of the major problems with electronic documents is that doctor’s offices and emergency rooms often use different record systems, making it impossible for emergency room staff to access…

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Brian Wiggins

Attorney Steals $2.1 Million from Probate Estate

June 17, 2020
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On March 4, 2020, Brian Wiggins, a lawyer from Xenia, Ohio, was arrested and indicted on 55 criminal counts involving stealing about $2.1 million from a probate estate trust.  The owner of the estate died in 2018 and left an estate valued at more than $3 million.  The money was intended to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital and Smile Train charities. Wiggins, 36, is accused of buying houses, cars, boats, jewelry, gambling at casinos in Las Vegas, paying for a family member’s cosmetic surgery, and paying his child support, according to David Hayes, Greene County Chief trial counsel. The February 27,…

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Elder Financial Abuse

Your Own Kids Take from You – $3.8 Million Taken

June 16, 2020
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Court Orders Woman to Return $3.8 Million to Mother’s Estate Gina Gilbert of Etowah County (Alabama) was ordered to return more than $3.8 million to her mother’s estate as a result of a court case decided in September 2019 in Etowah County Circuit Court. Gina, having being named a co-conservator of her mother’s estate, has been found to have failed to property account for the funds and assets under her control.  Circuit Judge George Day Jr. ruled that Gina “breached her fiduciary duty to her mother’s Conservatorship estate. While Gina was co-conservator, she also assumed control over custodial accounts for…

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