New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

The Idaho Supreme Court recently affirmed a court’s award of damages for unjust enrichment. The case, Turcott v. Estate of Clarence D. Bates, concerned a woman and her husband who spent a substantial amount of time and money making improvements for the woman’s father with the assumption that the woman would inherit half of the father’s estate.

The father, however, changed his will and decided to leave nothing to his daughter. As a result, the daughter filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for the work that she performed. The district court subsequently determined that there was not any implied in fact contract between the woman and her father. The court, however, awarded damages under a theory of unjust enrichment.

This article takes a brief look at unjust enrichment claims in New York state as well as the various defenses that can be raised in response to these claims.

When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, she was not believed to have had any type of estate plan. Months after her death, however, several handwritten wills were located in the late singer’s home.

While some people think that handwritten wills are never valid, this is simply not true. Instead, handwritten wills play a unique role in the estate planning process.

This article takes a look at the role that handwritten documents can play in the estate planning process as well as the limited situations in which these documents are allowed.

Many people fail to engage in any type of estate planning. Statistics compiled by AARP suggests that approximately 60% of Americans lack a will or any type of estate planning.

Of the people who do decide to create plans for what happens in case they die or become incapacitated, many rely on only a will to determine how their assets will be divided.

In many cases, however, people benefit from the creation from other estate planning tools including trust, which have the potential to serve a number of unique purposes.

As time passes, an increasing number of people are finding out that they have digital assets as part of their estate plan. No matter if it’s audible content, digital documents, or social media page, however, it is often critical to appoint someone who can properly look over these assets in case something happens to you.

As a result, this article reviews some of the important steps that you should follow when selecting a person who will manage your digital assets.

# 1 – Understand the Importance of an Asset Guardian

The Indiana Supreme Court recently upheld the removal of a father as the administrator of his deceased son’s estate. The son was killed in an accident in July 2007 when the vehicle that he was traveling in was struck by a bus.

The man’s surviving daughter was subsequently placed under the guardianship of her aunt. Several days after the accident, the deceased man’s father petitioned the state’s Superior Court to appoint him as a special administrator of his son’s estate for pursuing wrongful death compensation.

One day after petitioning for an appointment, the mother of the the deceased man’s other child petitioned for appointment as special administrator and her petition was also granted, which led to the woman commencing a wrongful death action in Marion County.

Each year, thousands of Americans rely on assisted reproductive technology to have children. While this advancement in the medical industry has allowed people who would have otherwise been unable to have children do so, it is not without its complications.

One of the frequently overlooked areas impacted by artificial reproductive technology is estate planning. This article takes a brief look at the role of assisted reproductive technology and how it impacts end of life decisions.

# 1 – Artificial Reproductive Technology Is Playing a Powerful Role