12 Dec, 2024 Top 10 Legal Malpractice Defenses As Claims Tick Up By Richard Zielinski Jennifer Mikels Attorneys Richard Zielinski and Jennifer Mikels, writing for Law360, detail ten key defenses law firms can use to effectively combat...
11 Dec, 2024 Corporate Transparency Act— Nationwide Injunction Update and Key Considerations By Mark Christopher Vaishali Goyal Gary Ronan On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction halting enforcement of the...
18 Nov, 2024 Prenuptial Agreement Held to Be Valid Waiver Of Spouse’s Statutory Right of Election By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Generally, under New York EPTL 5-1.1-A, if a decedent is survived by a spouse, a right of election is given to the surviving spouse to...
13 Nov, 2024 The CTA Filing Deadline is Approaching. Is Your BOIR Filed Yet? By Vaishali Goyal Gary Ronan The clock is ticking—just 49 days remain until the one-year filing deadline for the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)! Entities...
15 May, 2024 Surrogate’s Court Orders DNA Testing to Verify Claim to Be Decedent’s Biological Child By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Can a person claiming to be the decedent’s biological child out of wedlock obtain a court order directing DNA testing of the decedent’s...
15 May, 2024 SJC Finds Words of Survivorship Sufficient to Avoid Anti-Lapse Statute By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Does the phrase “if they survive me” demonstrate a testator’s intent to avoid the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (“MUPC”) anti-lapse...
04 Mar, 2024 Following Formalities of Will Execution And Availability of Attorney Testimony Defeats Undue Influence Claims By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less While undue influence claims are commonly asserted in probate proceedings, especially with the increased prevalence of dementia and...
07 Feb, 2024 The Impact of the Corporate Transparency Act on Estate Planning By Mark Christopher Vaishali Goyal For over a decade, the world’s developed nations, through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), have worked to set international...
11 Jan, 2024 Supreme Court Tax Case Reveals Two Issues in Estate Protection By Michelle Porter Emily Berlin An estate tax case before the US Supreme Court underscores the importance of stock-purchase agreements and life insurance arrangements,...
08 Jan, 2024 How I Made Partner: Be ‘A Good Firm Citizen in Addition to a Good Lawyer,’ Says Jennifer Mikels of Goulston & Storrs By Jennifer Mikels How did she make partner? Jennifer Mikels discusses her trajectory to Goulston & Storrs director with Law.com. Learn more about her...
20 Dec, 2023 SJC Finds Severance of Joint Tenancy and Affirms Judgment of Civil Contempt[1] By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Where joint tenants with rights of survivorship reached an agreement requiring one of the joint tenants to remove his personal belongings...
11 Dec, 2023 New York Courts Consider “In Terrorem” Clauses with Mixed Results By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Two recent decisions illustrate the continued mixed reception that “in terrorem” clauses in wills or trusts, also known as “no-contest”...
01 Nov, 2023 Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter - November 2023 By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan Nora McMurphy +2 more... Show less This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New...
01 Nov, 2023 Beneficiary Has a Right to an Accounting Despite the Trustee's Return of Funds By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less Kaylie v. Kaylie, 2023 WL 6395345 (1st Dep’t October 3, 2023) Can the beneficiary of a trust require a trustee to provide an accounting...
01 Nov, 2023 Conformed Copy of Will Not Admitted to Probate By Charles Jacob III Molly Quinn Jennifer Mikels Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less In Matter of Estate of Slezak, 218 A.D.3d 946 (3rd Dep't July 13, 2023) Where a conformed copy of a will was located where the decedent...
01 Nov, 2023 Voluntary Personal Representative Is a "Prior Appointment" For Purposes of the Limitation Period for Commencing Formal Probate By Charles Jacob III Jennifer Mikels Molly Quinn Gary Ronan +1 more... Show less In The Matter of the Estate of Patricia Ann Slavin, 492 Mass. 551 (2023) Does the position of voluntary personal representative under G....