Wills and Trusts

Subscribing witnesses have duty to be satisfied of testator sanity before they subscribe will. Contest; testamentary capacity; unsound mind.

Although will generally requires two attesting witnesses, document may be validated with clear and convincing evidence that decedent intended document to be his will. Notary public.

When federal and state statutes conflict, federal statute preempts state requirements. Employee benefit plan; Employee Retirement Income Security Act; pension; ERISA; preemption; slayer rule.

By statute omitted child who has been left without adequate provision for her proper maintenance, education, or advancement in life may claim provision from her parents estate. Preterrmitted heir.

If trustees of charity commit breach of trust, donor or his heirs have standing to enforce conditions placed on use of charitable donations. Charitable bequest.

Bean v. Ford, equitable adoption, de facto adoption.

Dougherty v. Rubenstein, monomania, must specifically relate to the questionable disposition.

Uchtorff v. Hanson, a remainder is contingent only if its existence depends on some dubious circumstance.

In re Martin B; If the governing instrument is silent, posthumous children conceived through in vitro fertilization with the consent of the parent are treated as part of their father's family for all purposes; en ventre sa mere.

Breeden v. Stone; An insane delusion invalidates a will only if the delusion materially affected the disposition in the will.

Estate of Gonzalez; Preprinted language in blank will forms may be used to establish the context of handwritten words.

Linthicum v. Rudi; Beneficiaries of a revocable living trust have no standing to challenge amendments to the trust, but may challenge the settlor's capacity through the guardianship statutes; inter vivos trust.

In re Estate of Kurrelmeyer; The scope of a power of attorney is determined by the principal's intent when the power was created; fiduciary duty.

Gray v. Gray; A child born after the execution of a will may not claim a share of the estate if the will left substantially all of the estate to the surviving parent, and the testator had another child when the will was drafted who was omitted from the will.

In re Riddell; Equitable deviation allows the court to modify the administrative or distributive provisions of a trust if circumstances not anticipated by the settlor mean that modification or deviation will further the purposes of the trust.

Howard v. Howard; A trustee owes a duty to the remainder beneficiaries as well as to the income beneficiary, but those duties must be carried out in light of any preference expressed in the trust instrument.

Estate of Stevenson; estate administrator; contingency fee agreement; greedy lawyers.

Nunnenman v. Estate of Grubbs; change a will; change benficiary; designate beneficiary.

Estate of Borghi; Separate property or community property.

Estate of Ellis; charitable giving; give to charity instead of family.

Rudnick v. Rudnick; litigious beneficiaries; attorney fees.

In re Estate of Burden; children born in and out of wedlock may share equally in the estate if the parent held out the child as his own.

Allard v. Pacific National Bank; A trustee must inform trust beneficiaries of all material facts for non-routine transactions that significantly affect the trust estate and the interests of the beneficiaries before the transactions take place.

Cook v. Equitable Life Assurance Society; changing a beneficiary designation by will alone is ineffectual, but strict compliance with life insurance policy will not be required if the insured has done all within his powers

In re Estate of Cole; When construing contradictory provisions of a will, a court may consider direct evidence of a testator's intentions.

In re Estate of Reid; to overcome the presumption of undue influence, the proponent of a will must show good faith, grantor's full knowledge, and the grantor's independent consent and action.

In re Gibbs' Estate; Where details of identification are involved, courts should receive evidence tending to show that a mistake has been made. Will. Legatee misake. Reformation.

Keith v. Lulofs; Reciprocal wills do not create irrevocable contracts unless there is clear and satisfactory evidence to establish an agreement between the testators. Mirror mage wills.

Nunnenman v. Estate of Grubbs; a change in beneficiary can be accomplished in a will so long as the language of the will is sufficient to identify the account involved and an intent to change the beneficiary. designate beneficiary.

Timmons v. Ingrahm; in determining the intent of the settlor, a technical term in a trust instrument will be accorded its legal definition, unless it is obvious that the settlor used the term in a different sense. Ordinary legal meaning.

Gallagher v. Lambert; A minority shareholder in a close corporation who agrees to the repurchase of his shares upon termination of employment acquires no right against at-will discharge.

In re Kemp and Beatley, Inc.; minority shareholders may dissolve a close corporation to redress oppressive actions arising from the award of de facto dividends to all but minority shareholders.

Paul v. China MediaExpressHoldings, Inc.; shareholder may inspect the books and records of a corporation to investigate fraud and mismanagement, and the ability of the board to act independently and in good faith.

Elf Atochem North America, Inc. v. Jaffari; a limited liability company (LLC) is bound by the operating agreement signed by some members and that defines the LLC's governance and operation, even if the LLC itself did not sign.

Boland v. Boland Trane Associates, Inc.; Although an SLC's substantive decisions are presumed reasonable, there is no presumption that the SLC was independent, acted in good faith, or followed reasonable procedures.

Elf Atochem North America, Inc. v. Jaffari; a limited liability company is bound by the operating agreement signed by some members and that defines the LLC's governance and operation, even if the LLC itself did not sign.

Freedman v. Adams; when the underlying shareholder claim is invalid, so is the shareholder's claim for attorneys' fees.

In re eBay, Inc. Shareholders Litigation; The fiduciary duty of loyalty requires directors and officers to offer investment opportunities derived from corporate business to the corporation before acting on them individually. Self dealing.

Jordan v. Duff & Phelps, Inc.; If a closely held company withholds from an employee-stockholder material information about possible increases in stock value in breach of its fiduciary duty, the employee-stockholder may be entitled to damages.

Meyer v. Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission; the type of business entity chosen may affect the types of business that can be conducted by the entity if it affect the licenses the entity may obtain.

Shocking Technologies, Inc. v. Kosowsky; a director acting in subjective good faith may nevertheless breach his duty of loyalty.

Sugarland Ind., Inc. v. Thomas; when services provided by shareholders and their counsel result in a financial benefit to the corporation, they are entitled to a fair fee. Common fund method. Lodestart method.