A Billion Dollar Will Contest Looms in China

One of China's wealthiest men recently passed away at the age of 93. He left behind a will that gave almost all of his assets to charity. His sons are contesting the will.

Hong Kong real estate magnate Yu Pengnian passed away with a fortune believed to be worth US$1.55 billion. Throughout his life, Pengnian gave generously to charity. He created a will that would continue that charitable giving.

All of his assets, except for the contents of two safes given to his grandsons, were directed by will to go to a charitable foundation. His two sons were left nothing in the will. Those sons have filed will caveats with the probate court overseeing the will, which is essentially filing the same thing as a notice of intent to challenge the will.

Ejinsight reported this story in "Heirs gird for court battle over late billionaire's fortune."

It is possible that we will see many similar will contests all over the world in the coming decades as a recent trend has seen the extremely wealthy pledge to leave at least half of their estates to charitable causes. With billions of dollars at stake, it should come as no surprise that the families of these wealthy philanthropists might not always be pleased with giving so much away to charity.

By giving all of his money to charity and leaving nothing for his sons, Yu Pengnian might have made an avoidable mistake. It might have been better to leave something of value to his sons and include a no-contest clause in the will.

Even if there is a no-contest clause in Pengnian's will, which is unknown, it would not have stopped the sons from contesting the will as they receive nothing from it now. On the other hand, if they succeed in challenging the validity of the will, then they will each receive half of the assets of the estate.

If you have questions about Charitable Gift Planning in Orange County, please visit our website at www.OCElderLaw.com or contact one of our attorneys for a private consultation.  We can be reached at 714-525-4600.

Reference: Ejinsight (Dec. 10, 2015) "Heirs gird for court battle over late billionaire's fortune."

Death, There's an App for That Too

When iPhones first came on the market Apple marketed them with the line "There's an app for that." The idea was that there was an app for anything you could possibly want to do. However, there was not, at the time, an app to plan for your own demise. Now there is.

We all know that someday we will pass away. Yet, most people do not plan for that to happen.

Most people do not have funeral plans. They do not have estate plans. They do not even discuss with anyone what they would like to happen after they pass away.

The makers of the new app Cake are betting that if they make planning easy to do from a mobile device that more people will make plans.

The app asks users a series of questions about what they want to happen after they pass away. By paying $99 a year, users' answers to those questions will be given to a personal consultant who will assist friends and family with fulfilling the wishes of app users after those users pass away.

Inverse reported on this new app in "Death Planning App Cake Will Let You Swipe Right on Funeral Decisions."

This app might be a good first step to get people thinking about and planning for what will happen after they pass away. However, that is all that it is: a first step.

Proper planning requires a proper estate plan.

That is not something that can be done by answering a series of standard questions and giving the answers to a personal assistant. It requires the ongoing advice and expertise of an estate planning attorney who can create the necessary legal documents and make sure that changes are made to those documents when appropriate.

If you are interested in the Cake app, make sure that you use it as a first step and not a final one in your planning.  For more information on Estate Planning call OC Elder Law at 714-525-4600, or visit our website at www.OCElderLaw.com for more information

Reference: Inverse (Dec. 3, 2015) "Death Planning App Cake Will Let You Swipe Right on Funeral Decisions."

Another Reason to Avoid Probate

Judges are supposed to be impartial and not allow any personal issues to get in the way with the fair administration of justice. One probate judge in Maine illustrates that is not always what actually happens.

York County Probate Judge Robert M.A. Nadeau wanted a substantial raise. In Maine the salaries of elected probate judges are set by the local county commissioners. Judge Nadeau was working two days a week for an annual salary of $48,499.

He requested that he be given a three-day workweek for a salary of $90,000 or a four-day workweek for a salary of $120,000.

The county commission refused his request but did give him a raise to $54,206 and kept his schedule at two days per week.

This did not please the judge.

He almost immediately changed his schedule from working Wednesdays and Thursdays to working Mondays and Fridays so he could receive more paid holidays off. He also blocked out large portions of his time during those workdays for duties that did not include hearing cases.

The result was that probate cases in his court nearly ground to a halt.

At the same time, Judge Nadeau is facing possible disciplinary action by the state’s supreme court for other possible improper behavior. This is not the first time that Judge Nadeau has been charged with acting improperly.

You can read more about this in the Portland Press Herald’s original story “Judge denied big pay raise retaliated by causing backlog, York County officials say.”

This is obviously an extreme case. Most judges do not engage in this type of petty retaliation for not getting their way. However, it is important to note that all judges are human beings who do bring their own personal issues with them, even though they try to suppress those issues when ruling on a case before them.

Usually, you can avoid this problem for your estate by creating an estate plan that avoids probate entirely. Why take the risk that your estate will get the wrong judge when you can easily avoid it?

For more information on how to avoid probate in California, call OC Elder Law at 714-525-4600, or visit our website at www.OCElderLaw.com.

Reference: Portland Press Herald (Nov. 9, 2015) “Judge denied big pay raise retaliated by causing backlog, York County officials say.”

Attorney Charged With Theft in Louisiana Estate Case

A feud that began with a bitter child custody battle might have led to one of the attorneys in the case being charged with falsifying a will and theft.

Louisiana attorney Michael Cox represented Michael Davisson in a custody battle against Davisson's ex-wife and her new husband Chris Broussard. The case resulted in Davisson losing and the ex-wife receiving sole custody of Davisson's only child, Jordan Davisson.

According to Cox, Michael Davisson despised Broussard so much that he became estranged from his son and cut the son out of his will to make sure that Broussard got nothing from him. When Davisson was terminally ill, he gave power of attorney to Cox's wife. A will was also created that left Davisson's entire estate to Cox and his wife.

Authorities allege, however, that Cox and his wife were actually using the power of attorney to steal from Davisson while he was in the hospital.

Davisson might have grown wise to this scheme before he passed away. Cox and his wife sold Davisson's two homes for cash. After learning of this, Davisson called Chris Broussard, the man Cox claims Davisson hated, for help as Broussard is also an attorney. KTBS reported on this story in ""I truly do hate him." Sole heir speaks out on arrest of attorney, wife in theft case."

The judge in the case threw out the will and nullified the sale of the homes. One reason for doing so was that Cox notarized all the documents and he is not a notary. Cox and his wife have been criminally charged. If convicted, Cox will undoubtedly face discipline from the state Bar.

If you have questions about a durable power of attorney or securing your assets for the future, please call OC Elder Law for an in depth analysis on your estate, and how to protect it. Our Estate Planning Attorneys can be reached at 714-525-4600 Monday through Friday, or visit our website at www.OCElderLaw.com.

Reference: KTBS (Nov. 25, 2015) ""I truly do hate him." Sole heir speaks out on arrest of attorney, wife in theft case."

Estate Planning Options for Your Pets

Increasingly people are making provisions in their estate plans for their pets. If you would like to do the same, then you have a few options for how to do it.

In the past people gave little thought to what might happen to their pets after they passed away. It certainly was not common to provide ways for pets to continue receiving care in estate plans.

Today, however, pets are increasingly being viewed as important family members that need to be provided for in estate plans along with human relatives.

Time recently published an article on this phenomenon entitled "How to Make Sure Your Pet Is Cared for When You Die."

The article mentions three ways to provide for a pet in your estate plan:

·        Will Beneficiary – In your will you can name someone to inherit your pet and leave them money to care for the animal. This can be a little problematic as there is no way to guarantee that the person will use the funds to care for your pet, so only do this if you are certain the person will love your pet as much as you do.

·        Will Trust – You can create a trust in your will and leave funds for the trust to care for your pet. In every state except Minnesota this will create a trust. A probate court will designate a trustee and caretaker for your pet to see that your pet is cared for.

·        Traditional Trust – You can create a trust and fund it with the assets necessary for your pet's care. It is common to appoint as trustee the person who will also be the pet's caregiver, but it is not necessary.

If you would like more information about providing for your pet after you pass away, speak with an estate planning attorney about the above options.

Reference: Time (Nov. 18, 2015) "How to Make Sure Your Pet Is Cared for When You Die."