Tag Archives: inheritance disputes
UPDATE: Can an Intended (and Disappointed) Beneficiary Still Sue a Will’s Drafter?: The General Assembly of Virginia Enacts a Statutory Fix to the Thorsen Decision
Back in the summer I wrote a post discussing the impacts of the Thorsen decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia. In Thorsen, a testator wanted to leave her estate to a charity if her daughter did not survive her. The lawyer erred in drafting the will. When the testator died several years later (with her daughter having predeceased her), the testator’s property went to other people, contrary to her intentions. The charity, the intended beneficiary, sued the lawyer, asserting breach of contract for legal services. Thorsen was notable in that it held that Virginia common law permits intended third …
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Top Four Estate Disputes from 2016
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 following are some of the major estate disputes that graced the headlines this past year. Note that this is just a sample of some of the major ones; there were several rather prominent ones this past year that I’m unable to write about, whether because I or my colleagues at LeClairRyan represented parties in …
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