On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its opinion in Kindred Nursing Centers, L.P. v. Clark. This case addressed the issue of whether an agent acting pursuant to a power of attorney could bind an estate to an arbitration agreement.
The facts of the case were simple. Beverly and Janis, family members of Joe and Olive respectively, each held their family member’s respective power of attorney. Joe and Olive moved into a nursing home operated by Kindred Nursing Centers, L.P. (“Kindred”). Beverly and Janis used their family members’ powers of attorney to sign an arbitration agreement, on behalf of Joe and Olive. Arbitration is the process by which parties use a third-party person (rather than a court) to decide their claims. The agreements at issue in the case stated that Joe and Olive agreed to arbitrate all claims arising from their stay at the nursing home (rather than file a lawsuit). Joe and Olive later died.
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As trust decanting becomes increasingly popular, we can expect to see more disputes and litigation regarding trust decanting. This blog post examines some of the main issues that will likely arise in those disputes.
How can a person remove a trustee of a trust? Depending on the language of the trust, there could be several ways. This blog post summarizes some of the options, and provides an overview of things to consider when a person wants to remove a trustee.
Back in the summer I wrote a 
The vast majority of people have no idea that Virginia law recognizes oral contracts to make a will. As a result, people often miss out on asserting a claim to an inheritance because they didn’t know that they had one to begin with. This blog post provides an overview of Virginia law on this issue. I’ll follow-up this blog post with another one in the coming weeks about practical tips for how people can optimize their chances of winning on a claim for an oral contract to make a will.
There are a handful of states that allow a person to probate a will (and challengers to contest the validity of a will) before the testator (the person enacting the will) dies. In recent years, there has been a trend to expand the practice to more states. I had an interesting discussion about this issue at the recent 
You’ve found the right partner; you’ve found the right ring; and your fiancee accepted. Now imagine your fiancee unexpectedly breaks off the engagement. You are devastated. Your friends tell you there are plenty of fish in the sea. You’ve returned her favorite CDs and she’s returned your college sweatshirt. But who keeps the engagement ring?
With the end of 2016 upon us, now is a fitting time to look back at some of the top estate disputes from this past year. 2016 was a typical year in that, unsurprisingly, people continued to die and families continued to fight over estates.
The Virginia General Assembly overhauled Virginia’s elective share statute this past year, and one of the big results will likely be an increase in litigation.
