Adams & Edens, P.A. | Mississippi Probation Litigation Law Blog » Probate Lawyer

Estate Planning – For What?

Jake Adams — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:26:28 +0000

Estate planners and probate lawyers are anxiously awaiting Congress’s next move with regard to the estate tax. As many folks know, there is no estate tax in 2010. Heirs to billion dollar fortunes are making out like bandits if their benefactor dies in 2010 – kind of weird thing to read, isn’t it? But it’s true. Famous New York Yankees owner and billionaire George Steinbrenner died this year, and there have been others. One thought that’s been bandied about is that Congress could make the new estate tax retroactive to 2010. If this doesn’t put a rush on a probate I don’t know what will. Here’s a good update on the estate tax, where it stands now, and where it could go. Keep your local estate planner’s number handy. You may need it soon.

Estate Tax Update

Jake Adams — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:59:33 +0000

For those of you out there wondering just what is going on with the estate tax right now, here’s a good article by Kathy Kristof with a synopsis of what’s happening with the tax and what you might expect in the future. With these fluctuations in the estate tax, now is the time to plan your estate. If you already have a will, visit an attorney and review it to make sure your estate is protected for 2011!

Probating a Lost Foreign Will

Jake Adams — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:04:44 +0000

The Mississippi Court of Appeals recently found that Section 91-7-33 Miss. Code Ann. does not bar the initial proving of a lost foreign will in Mississippi where the will disposes of property in Mississippi. See In the Matter of the Estate of Artis High, Deceased: Arbella High Watt v. Gracie Cobb, Joe High and David High No. 2008-CA-00799-COA.

The Court of Appeals reversed a Chancery Court decision which held that where the testator was domiciled in another state, and the will was a lost will, the will could not be probated in Mississippi until it was first probated in the state of domicile.

The Court of Appeals emphasized that part of Section 91-7-33 which provides that the original “may be proven,” and aptly pointed out that the statute does not include mandatory language such as the word “must.”

Ademption by Extinction

Jake Adams — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:04:16 +0000

A Will cannot bequeath property that the Testator does not possess. For example, if a Father decides to leave a house to his daughter by specific bequest in his Will, but then sells the house to someone else prior to his death, the bequest of the house to his daughter as contained in the Will is of no effect. This is what is known as Ademption by Extinction. See Welch v. Welch, 113 So. 197 (1927); Estate of Matthews, 791 So.2d 213, 218 (2001); Reddit v. Redditt, 820 So.2d 782 (Miss.Ct.App. 2002).

Ademption is a good reason to regularly review your Will and other estate planning documents, in order to ensure your plan will still be effective at your death. I usually recommend clients review their estate planning documents at least once a year.

Estates in the News

Jake Adams — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:47:04 +0000

A couple estates have been in the news recently.

Mississippi native Steve McNair’s wife recently filed an inventory in his estate. According to the inventory, the estate’s estimated value is $19.6 million. I’m curious how much legal fees have been incurred by McNair’s failure to leave a Will. An inventory is often waived in a Will. Since McNair died intestate (without a will) his administrator, in this case his wife, was required to provide an inventory to the court. In an estate the size of McNair’s, this was probably costly, or at the very least time consuming.

Also in the news is the battle among Martin Luther King, Jr.’s heirs. I’ll bet Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the great men in our country’s history, never dreamed his family would fight over his estate one day. This is yet another example of the importance planning your estate. Who says probate isn’t interesting?