The vexatious litigant is a problem that civil litigation attorneys very likely encounter at least once during their careers. It is a well-accepted precept that courts exist, in part, for citizens to seek redress for their claimed civil wrongs. But can a person abuse the privilege? The Supreme Court of Virginia held that a person can indeed abuse that privilege, in its June 8, 2017 opinion in Dora L. Adkins v. CP/IPERS Arlington Hotel LLC, Record No. 160685.
While not a typical case involving an appeal on the merits, the Adkins decision was written upon a petition for a rehearing and a rule to show cause. A petition for rehearing is a litigant’s request that a court, after already having ruled on a matter, give the losing litigant another opportunity to argue his or her position. A rule to show cause is a court order which commands a person to appear before the court and provide good cause as to why that person should not be held in contempt of court (and potentially fined and/or imprisoned). A rule to show cause is typically issued when a party misbehaves in the presence of the court, ignores a subpoena, or otherwise interferes with the administration of justice.
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On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its opinion in 
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.
