DNA paternity testing produced by plaintiff is a “birth record” under Va. Code § 64.1-5.1(4)(i) and plaintiff is “excepted” from the proof of paternity requirements of Code § 64.1-5.1(4) in order to claim an interest in her deceased birth father’s ...

Tagged with: Judge David B. Carson Roanoke Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts

A trial court erred in dismissing portions of a complaint filed by decedent’s great-grandchildren against decedent’s neighbors and her sister, alleging certain substantial inter vivos financial transfers were the result of undue influence by defendants who allegedly were in confidential ...

Tagged with: Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. Supreme Court of Virginia Wills & Trusts

The sole surviving child of a decorated Marine Corps officer who died at 91 loses her challenge to a 2008 Amended Trust that named decedent’s close companion, a widow who lived in the same retirement community for retired officers, as ...

Tagged with: Judge T.S. Ellis III U.S. District Court - Eastern District Wills & Trusts

Clients creating a trust face an important decision: Who should be in charge? While many clients might be inclined to pick a family member, that individual may lack the knowledge and expertise to manage a trust. A corporate trustee can ...

Tagged with: Wills & Trusts

Although husband could not personally sign the notice of elective share of his wife’s estate, due to his incapacity, the notice, signed and acknowledged by husband’s attorney-in-fact, constitutes a valid claim under Va. Code § 64.1-13, and the Fairfax Circuit ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Smith Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts

Although decedent’s ex-wife had been a named beneficiary on an IRA he established in 2000, their 2005 property settlement agreement allowed assets to be transferred into each party’s separate IRA and husband later transferred his assets into a second and ...

Tagged with: U.S. District Court - Western District Wills & Trusts

During Prohibition, a land trust made perfect sense. The unusual form of property ownership allows one or more owners to place their property in trust, with a trustee managing day-to-day operations. The twist: The true owners, whose identity remains confidential, ...

Tagged with: Alexandria Circuit Court Million-Dollar Defense Verdicts Real Estate Wills & Trusts

The revocable living trust is a very useful and popular estate planning tool, recommended by most estate planning attorneys across the U.S. and used as the central estate planning document by millions of Americans. The primary benefit of the revocable ...

Tagged with: Elder Law Wills & Trusts

In this suit involving competing claims to life insurance proceeds, a Norfolk Circuit Court holds that decedent’s widow, who was replaced by decedent’s daughter as his guardian and conservator, could be removed by the daughter as a beneficiary on decedent’s ...

Tagged with: Judge Mary Jane Hall Norfolk Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts

A Rappahannock County Circuit Court grants a widow’s motion for partial summary judgment recognizing her right to all testator husband’s personal property and real estate “currently” in the testator’s name, interpreted as property owned at the time of the testator’s ...

Tagged with: Judge Thomas D. Horne Rappahannock County Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts Wills & Trusts