Two Courts in Search of a RemedyTwo Courts in Search of a Remedy
If you’ve served as a professional in the area of trusts and estates for any significant period of time, you’ll find the New Jersey appellate court’s Jan. 31 decision in Stephenson v. Speigle1 somewhat remarkable. The appellate court upheld a decision to rescind and reallocate a transfer on death, even though there was no ambiguity in the documentation, and even though the chancery court judge admittedly could only make assumptions about the decedent's intended result. Reach for this decision fast the next time you discover that a deceased client has made an estate-planning blunder that doesn’t involve an ambiguity.
The Cast of Characters
In honor of the appellate court's reference to Luigi Pirandello’s play, “Six Character in Search o...
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