From the category archives:

Interesting Cases

More fireworks for the Gary Coleman Estate

June 9, 2010

The Probate Lawyer Blog posed the question a few days ago:  Will there be a fight over Gary Coleman’s estate?  It looks like we have an answer — a resounding “Yes!”.
And it all centers around Gary Coleman’s final wishes.  The 1999 will has been released.  You can download Gary Coleman’s Will (courtesy of TMZ).
It’s very [...]

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Michigan Bar Journal Review of Trial & Heirs

June 8, 2010

The State Bar of Michigan’s montly journal has recently reviewed our book, Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!.  Here are some of the highlights:

After reading Trial & Heirs, I am convinced that I need an estate plan. It’s time to get serious about, you know, death.  Danielle and Andrew Mayoras, Michigan estate-planning attorneys who are married [...]

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Will there be a fight over Gary Coleman’s estate?

June 6, 2010

Gary Coleman died just over a week ago, on May 28, 2010.  And in that week, there have already been enough surprises to spark a whole series of “Whatcha talkin ’bout Willis!”’s. 
First came the question of how Gary Coleman died at the age of 42.  According to the 911 tapes, Shannon Price (who called herself his wife) summoned emergency personnel [...]

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Michael Jackson living trust revealed

June 3, 2010

With so much exposure and scrutiny on everything that’s happened to Michael Jackson’s estate since he died, it should probably come as no surprise that his living trust has been leaked to the media and made public.  Wills are public documents and available for everyone to read (once they are filed with the probate court [...]

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Dennis Hopper’s wife to continue fight into probate court

May 30, 2010

The recent legal battles between the ailing Dennis Hopper and his wife in divorce court have been well-documented.  Here are the Probate Lawyer Blog’s articles covering the case, including the Top Ten most hurtful allegations lobbed back and forth (a serious must-read!). 
Now that Hopper has passed on due to his prostate cancer, on May 29th, at age [...]

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Judge rules that Feng Shui Master forged Nina Wang’s will

February 8, 2010

The Nina Wang case captivated Asia in much the same way the Brooke Astor case made headlines in New York last year.  Only, instead of questions surrounding whether a multi-millionaire’s will was invalid, the Nina Wang case involved whether Tony Chan Chun-chuen forged the will of Asia’s richest woman, to the tune of about thirteen billion [...]

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The wars over the final wishes of Bill Davidson & Mel Simon

February 8, 2010

William Davidson and Melvin Simon had a lot in common.  Both were billionaires and both were Jewish.  Simon built his fortune through the country’s biggest shopping mall company, Simon Property Group, and Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.3 billion.  Davidson led Guardian Industries Corp., one of the world’s largest glass suppliers, and had a fortune recently tabbed at $4.5 billion.
They [...]

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Michael Jackson executors sorting through requests for money

January 24, 2010

It’s been seven months since the King of Pop died suddenly at the age of 50, and fights surrounding his estate seem like they may last for many years to come. Creditors are coming out of the woodwork, with new ones surfacing on a weekly basis. The latest, a management company, joins a [...]

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Bo Schembechler’s Son Sues His Stepmom Over Trust

November 17, 2009

Glenn E. “Bo” Schembechler, Jr., is one of the most respected names in the history of college football.  And, no, I’m not saying that just because I graduated from the University of Michigan (twice).  He built one of the most successful football programs around, and it excelled for decades.
Coach Bo died of heart disease on November [...]

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Katherine Jackson’s Shocking Change Of Heart

November 12, 2009

The Michael Jackson Estate has been the subject of regular court hearings as Katherine Jackson battled for control over the last several months.  She routinely objected to the decisions of the co-executors John Branca and John McClain.  Recently, she hired a new attorney with the promise of taking the case in a new direction, as I [...]

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