Arthur Mondella was the high living, third generation owner of a Brooklyn maraschino cherry family business. When his business was being investigated for illegally dumping cherry juice onto the streets, investigators found a large marijuana grow room. He then locked himself in his private bathroom and shot himself.
Maraschino Marijuana
- Tuesday, 17 November 2015 22:18
Money Play
- Monday, 02 November 2015 21:31
on New Year’s Eve in 2009. The estranged couple was in the midst of divorce when Shele Covlin was found dead in a bathtub. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled. Ms. Covlin reportedly feared for her safety and had an appointment with an attorney to change her will the next day according to court filings. Since her death, her husband, an unemployed backgammon expert, has been blocked from receiving any of her $1.0 million estate. She changed the beneficiaries of her $1.6 million insurance policy to her children the month before she died.
There are a litany of estate planning issues, but let’s focus on the major ones:
1. Changing a will and other documents during a divorce proceeding is always advisable if not prohibited by agreements between the parties or the domestic relations court.
2. Simply changing a will can allow the other spouse to inherit up to one third of the probate estate if the spouse elects to take the elective share provided by statute. Transferring the assets to a trust would be a more effective means of disinheriting a divorcing spouse.
3. If convicted of murder, the husband will lose all benefits to his deceased wife’s estate under NY’s Slayer Statute.
4. Am I the only one who doubts that Shele Covlin had an appointment on New Year’s Day to change her estate plan? The day after perhaps, but not on New Year’s Day.
D List Actress, A List Will Contest
- Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:14
Meadow Williams is an actress of whom you have never heard and who appeared in movies you never saw. She was married to Gerald Kessler, founder of Natural Organics natural supplements company, for four years prior to his death earlier this year. He was 31 years older than her. In 2013, he changed his will to leave all of his $800 million estate to her while excluding his 2 children and 5 grandchildren. His children and grandchildren have contested the will on various grounds, including fraud, undue influence, lack of mental capacity, and the fact that Ms. Williams’ divorce from a prior husband was never finalized even though it was filed in 1994.
Several points:
1. The fact that Ms. Williams might not have been officially divorced should not be a factor in whether Kessler’s will was valid – he could leave her money whether they were married or not. The estate tax implications vary, but the bequest remains the same.
2. Still, 20 years to finalize a divorce?
3. If Ms. Williams did convince her husband to leave her all of his estate, she might have over-reached. She could have lived comfortably on any single digit fraction of his estate while still leaving money for his children.
4. Ironic that that the children of a fortune based on natural supplements allege fraud in a will contest.
Cuckoo Estate Planning
- Monday, 07 September 2015 20:34
A Manhattan millionaire left $100K to a pet trust for her 32 cockatiels. She requested that the birds continue to live in the aviary in her $4 million East Hampton property; that they be fed Avi-Cakes (which cost $115 for a 20 lb bag), carrots, water, and popcorn; and that the building be cleaned each Monday and Thursday. She was far less meticulous with the rest of $5.3 million estate which she initially left to her step-son in a 2006 will. She later tried to revise that will by crossing out his name and writing in the name of her sister who is now claiming the remaining $5.2 million.
Several points, some of them previously made:
1. Certainly this woman missed the forest for the trees – she focused on a picayune aspect of her estate while ignoring the proper disposition of the bulk of her estate.
2. Handwritten changes on a validly executed will are ineffective and will likely lead to her step-son inheriting the $5.2 million (at least under Ohio law)
3. As mentioned previously, I retain the original documents for my clients to preempt this type of attempted change/spoliation of wills.
4. This type of myopic focus on pets while ignoring one’s relatives is more commonly seen in cat owners rather than bird owners.
DIY = Disaster Is Yours
- Monday, 31 August 2015 20:35
A Minnesota woman signed a will in 2006 naming her grandson and a former employee as equal beneficiaries of her estate. She tried to revoke the will in 2008 and leave her entire estate to her grandson by writing and initialing several changes on a photocopy of the will. In 2010, she downloaded a DIY will from a website and hand wrote her intent to leave her entire estate to her grandson, but she did not have it properly witnessed. She died in 2013 and all 3 wills were presented for probate. The local probate court held that the 2006 will was still in effect because the 2008 notes on a photocopy did not validly revoke the prior will and that the 2010 downloaded form was not validly executed.
Several quick points:
1. In Ohio, a will can be revoked with a statement of revocation or physical destruction (i.e. shredding or tearing) of the prior will.
2. I generally retain the original wills of my clients to prevent them from trying to alter their wills by writing on them.
3. I will once again quote the mechanic from the ’70’s Fram oil filter commercial (because I am from Greenville, Ohio and we had a Fram oil filter plant in my long ago youth): “You can pay me now or pay me later.” I would have billed her $600 to implement her wishes. Instead, her estate spent thousands and her wishes were not followed because she did not follow the simple formalities for signing a will. The now long ago former employee is forever grateful for her short sighted thriftiness.
Contact Info
Address
Law Office Of Jay Brinker
1 E. Fourth Street - Suite 900
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone
(513) 665-4888