Posts Tagged ‘Probate’

Estates in the News

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

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?

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Deceased Mayor Melton Died Intestate

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Deceased former Jackson mayor Frank Melton couldn’t stay out of court the last few years of his life and he left the door wide open to stay in Court even after his death since, according to this article in the Clarion Ledger, he did not have a Last Will & Testament. For a man of Melton’s wealth, dying intestate (without a Will), was really inexcusable, especially with his seemingly complex family situation. Melton lived in Jackson, and his wife lived in Texas.

Melton’s estate is being probated in Texas, even though he claimed to be a resident of Mississippi, lived in Mississippi, and died in Mississippi. Had the estate been probated in Mississippi, his children would have stood to inherit a third of his estate, but according to Chris Joyner’s article, Melton’s wife stands to inherit more by probating the Will in Texas. In some situations, a mess like this would lead to a contested estate. In this case it has not. Yet.

A Last Will & Testament could have clarified the jurisdiction issue by a declaration of residency. It could also have settled any questions regarding the distribution of Melton’s assets among his heirs.

How would Melton want his estate dispersed? In all likelihood, no one will ever know, because he died without a Will.

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Good Bookkeeping Essential for Executors and Personal Representatives

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

While it is a common practice in the drafting of wills for the testator to waive accounting and inventory in the probate of the estate, that does not mean the other beneficiaries lose the right to object to the mismanagement of the Estate. In Estate of Thomas: Thomas v. Thoms et al., No. 2008-CA-00462-COA, the will contained a similar waiver of accounting. However, when the executor filed his Petition to Close Estate and Discharge Executor, his siblings objected, alleging maladministration of the Estate. The Court ordered the Executor to file an inventory and accounting. Following a trial on the matter and a lengthy review of the accounting  the Court surcharged the Executor $267,477.41, representing the amount of expenditures for which the chancellor could not determine the purpose of the expense. In its findings, the Court gave a detailed account for those expenses listed in the accounting for which the Executor had established a legitimate estate purpose. However, there were other expenses for which the Executor’s records did not contain a purpose for the expense:

The Court will not make further assumptions about the purpose of the remaining checks written on the Estate’s checking account given the complete incomprehensibility of the so-called accounting and the amount of time and the number of opportunities  had to prepare an accounting.

The Chancery Court further stated:

The Court has painstakingly gone through the so-called accounting filed by the Executor and the copies of the more than 1,200 checks written by the Executor on the Estate’s checking account, most of which contain nothing whatsoever on the “memo line.” The Court is asked by [John] to approve his so-called accounting, but to do so would be to approve the unknown; what was the money spent for and where did it come from. The Court cannot approve such an accounting.

The Court of Appeals of Mississippi upheld the chancellor’s decision. Executors and probate attorneys should take note. Even in seemingly simple probates, it is important to keep detailed records regarding expenses. Use that memo line!

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