Free Trusts & Estates case summaries from Justia.
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Trusts & Estates Opinions | Solberg v. McKennett | Court: North Dakota Supreme Court Citation: 2021 ND 44 Opinion Date: March 24, 2021 Judge: Gerald W. VandeWalle Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Trusts & Estates | Glenn Solberg appealed a district court judgment dismissing his complaint against Richard McKennett. This action was related to Solberg’s litigation involving the Estate of Lyle Nelson. Lyle Nelson was married to Solberg’s mother Lillian (Solberg) Nelson, who died in 2003. Lyle died in 2012, and McKennett was the attorney for the personal representative of Lyle's estate. In June 2013, Solberg filed a petition for allowance of claim against Lyle's estate, asserting that under his mother’s 1985 will and 1997 codicil he was entitled to 100 mineral acres and had an option to purchase certain property. The district court dismissed Solberg’s claim, concluding the 100 mineral acres and the option property were never held by the estate, and were never under the control of or owned by Lyle Nelson. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of Solberg’s claim. In April 2020, Solberg sued McKennett for fraud and injury to person. Solberg alleged McKennett committed fraud by misleading him during the probate of Lyle Nelson’s estate and by dismissing his claim against Nelson’s estate. Solberg requested $400,000 in damages. McKennett moved to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming Solberg’s complaint did not specify the circumstances constituting fraud, and on statute of limitations grounds. The district court concluded Solberg's claims were time-barred because Solberg was aware of McKennett's alleged wrongdoing before April 2014. The North Dakota Supreme Court concurred Solberg's claims against McKennett were time barred, thus the district court did not err in granting McKennett's motion to dismiss. | | In the Matter of the Estate of Chester | Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court Citation: 2021 OK 12 Opinion Date: March 23, 2021 Judge: Yvonne Kauger Areas of Law: Trusts & Estates | The decedent, Buddy Chester, wrote a holographic will leaving everything to his grandson, Brandon Strouder Chester. The will neglected to mention the decedent's son, Steven Chester and daughter, Lisa Martin. The son requested that the trial court determine that he was a pretermitted heir under the will. After a hearing, the trial court determined that the face of the holographic will showed intent to omit the son as a beneficiary, and that the omission was not accidental. The son appealed, and the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed. The Oklahoma Supreme Court granted certiorari, and held that the testator's son was a pretermitted heir under his father's holographic will. "Testators have the freedom to dispose of their estate as they wish. Nevertheless, even in the case of a holographic will, which requires less formalities and no particular form, a testator must comply with the law regarding pretermitted heirs. The will neglected to list either of his two children or acknowledge their existence, thus rendering them pretermitted heirs. There are no ambiguities on the face of the will. Therefore, extrinsic evidence may not be used to determine the testator's intent concerning why he neglected to mention his children." | |
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