Morristown Estate Litigation Blog

A few months ago, this column addressed the massive financial award granted in the Max Hopper estate case. This was the highest amount awarded in an estate litigation case for the year 2017 and the ninth highest estate litigation payout granted in United States history. The defendant in the case continued to fight the matter, and it seems that a financial settlement has finally been reached between all parties. How is this relevant to New Jersey residents? It shows that estate litigation can take time but has its benefits.

In Nov. 2017, a jury awarded the children of Max Hopper -- a former American Airlines executive and creator of the company's reservation system -- $8 billion after JP Morgan Chase allegedly messed up the distribution of his estate -- valued at $19 million. JP Morgan was hired to handle the estate after Mr. Hopper died without a will in place. The bank has and still does deny any wrongdoing and has refused to accept such a huge payout.

Glen Campbell, the country music star who is a legend in his own right, died in Aug. 2017. He left behind a massive estate, valued at around $50 million. His wife is said to be at least one of the beneficiaries of the estate, while three people -- the singer's children from a previous marriage -- were not included in his will. This has led to estate litigation and claims that Campbell's wife is to blame for their lack of inheritance. Such claims are fairly common, whether one is closing out an estate in New Jersey or elsewhere.

According to a recent report, a few of Glen Campbell's children have filed claims in court stating that their stepmother refused to let them visit their ailing father. She, on the other hand, has fought back, saying that the three children in question never extended a hand to help or offered to visit in their dad's final years of life. Mrs. Campbell took care of her husband at home until his disease progressed so much that he needed full-time nursing care. He died in a nursing home.

Undue influence is a real phenomenon in New Jersey and nationwide. It involves the exertion of pressure -- subtle or direct -- over an elderly person, which is intended to take advantage of the person's weakness, infirmity or other vulnerabilities, to improperly usurp the person's free will and make him or her give part or all the estate to the one exerting the undue influence. This may include attempted manipulation of the estate planning process for improper financial gain.

This happens more often to elderly persons who are isolated or intensely lonely, sometimes due to the loss of a spouse. Some predators even scan the death notices and evaluate certain cases for intercession. Sometimes, the influencer may instead be a family member, a financial advisor or a casual friend who intensifies the relationship with the ulterior intention of overpowering the individual's free will to obtain a position as a recipient of money or property, while the target is alive and as the main or sole beneficiary of the estate upon death.

The ability to take guardianship of an adult has been made possible for good reason. Unfortunately, those seeking guardianships are not always doing so for the best interests of the individuals of whom they are placed in charge. When this happens, it may be possible to fight the validity of the guardianship in court. A New Jersey-based attorney who has experience handling contested guardianships may prove extremely helpful in doing this.

Guardians have a duty of care to the individuals they are called to take care of. Unfortunately, too many people are using the legal system to take advantage of older Americans. There are numerous stories of older adults who have been hurt or who have taken ill, losing their freedom due to people they don't even know seeking and obtaining guardianship over them while they are in the process of getting treatment.