After Eliza Presley shared her DNA evidence with me, as well as the story about how she got it, I spent some time digging around to see what else was out there to corroborate or contradict her story.  Eliza’s claim is that she’s the daughter of Vernon Presley, the father of Elvis.  But she bases her claim, in part, on evidence from a man who Eliza believes actually IS Elvis Presley, still alive.  Eliza says she never suspected Elvis might be alive when she began her journey.

Rather, according to Eliza, she only wanted to find out who her father was.  Eliza was 13 when she learned that she was adopted as a baby.  Several years later, Eliza met her birth mother, who gave Eliza the name of a man who was supposedly her father.  But when Eliza contacted him, he was adamant he wasn’t her father and didn’t even know her mother in 1961.  Eliza had to look elsewhere. 

Later in life, she and her husband at the time had been shocked, when seeing pictures of Elvis as a young child, how much he looked like their three-year-old son, Andrew.  Eliza knew that her birth mother had lived across the street from Elvis at Graceland when he bought it in 1957-58 and had been friends with his family [see picture of Elvis and Eliza's birth mother and aunt]. 

Eliza’s husband even suggested that Elvis may have been the father, because she shared a family resemblance … not to mention the fact that Eliza was the only one of four children given up for adoption. 

So Eliza had wondered for some time if she could be the daughter of Elvis.  But she never bought into the whole “Elvis is alive” movement when she started her search.

People who believe that Elvis did not die on August 16, 1977 like to point to a book published in 2001 and written by a board-certified psychiatrist named Dr. Donald Hinton.  He wrote it with a mysterious co-author named “Jesse.”  Dr. Hinton claimed Jesse was actually Elvis, having faked his death with the help of his manger, Colonel Tom Parker.  Jesse, by the way, was the name of Elvis’ identical twin brother who was stillborn.

According to Dr. Hinton, Jesse had to get away from the life of Elvis for several reasons, primarily because of his poor health and due to threats against him and his family.  Col. Parker agreed to help because he could earn lots of money from doing so, Dr. Hinton said.  Indeed, Elvis has been at or near the top of Forbes’ list of the highest earning dead celebrities for years.

Dr. Hinton said he treated Jesse for nearly six years for pain management due to his arthritic condition and other medical problems.  He claimed that Jesse opened up to him and told him of his true identity.  His book included many handwritten letters by Jesse and said it was Jesse’s way of re-introducing himself to the world.

There were a few problems with Dr. Hinton’s story.  One was that he promised in the book that Elvis/Jesse would reveal himself to the world in 2002.  Obviously, that never happened. 

Another was that the book led to an investigations of Dr. Hinton for mail fraud, by the Missouri Attorney General’s office, as well as by the DEA and Missouri Healing Arts Board for illegally prescribing medications to Jesse.  Dr. Hinton actually lost his ability to prescribe medicine and was placed on 5 months probation by the medical board.

But the Dr. Hinton investigation did lead to an interesting place.  When Dr. Hinton came under attack, his patient, Jesse, wrote a letter to the Attorney General supporting Dr. Hinton and refuting the mail fraud claims.  He included the following in his letter: 

Sir, I don’t know if you believe in my continued existence or not, but if I continue to expose myself like I did in the book, I will be eliminated very easily.  Pure and simple as that.

The Attorney General’s office had the letter analyzed by a special type of handwriting expert, Shirley Mason, who was a certified graphologist.  Graphology is commonly used by the FBI and throughout Europe, but is not universally accepted. 

Mason worked for the Kansas City Bureau of Investigations for many years, successfully using graphology as evidence in criminal court cases.  Shirley Mason reported that she compared the Jesse letter to past letters written by Elvis.  So what did she have to say about it?

Not only did they match, Mason wrote, but she would testify in court, under oath, that Elvis “has to be ALIVE.”  She felt the handwriting was “UNMISTAKABLE”.  The attorney general’s office cleared Dr. Hinton of all charges.

Here’s a website by Linda Hood-Sigmon, who is a friend of Jesse, showing copies of the Jesse letter and the Mason report. 

Hood-Sigmon is one of the biggest proponents of the “Elvis is alive” theory and has a great deal of evidence on her website.  She points to this picture of Jesse and says it was taken on a visit to Lisa Marie Presley so he could see his grandchildren.  She states that the controversial photograph marks the first time Jesse met his grandson, Benjamin Storm, in 1994. 

But Hood-Sigmon and others who say Elvis is alive do have many vocal critics.  Here’s an example of a recent article written by one who tries to debunk some of the evidence that Elvis didn’t really die.  But, he doesn’t address any DNA evidence in his article or the Mason report.  Instead, he summarily concludes that “one side has no facts and no evidence” and as such, there shouldn’t even be a debate.

Others see it differently.  In fact, because of Dr. Hinton’s book, a  television reporter in Cleveland, Suzanne Stratford, began investigating.

She interviewed Dr. Hinton on camera and analyzed the evidence, including the Mason report, a picture taken 6 months after the funeral of what looked like Elvis peering through a screen door (and certified by Kodak), and the fact Elvis’ tombstone lists his middle name as “Aaron” when official records show his true middle name to be “Aron”.  [See the pictures below on this point].  Stratford also reported that Dr. Hinton had passed a lie detector test they had administered.

And there’s more.  Stratford reported she was contacted by Jesse.  She asked for, and received, a sample of Jesse’s DNA, in 2002, so it could be tested.  FOX 8 News did in fact test the DNA sample against known “control” samples of Elvis, including a 1975 liver biopsy sample and tissue from his autopsy.  The problem was that they didn’t match.

But again, another interesting turn.  Not only did the “Jesse” sample not match the other two samples, but they didn’t match each other.  In other words, Elvis’ autopsy tissue did not match the liver tissue from 1975. 

So where did the autopsy sample come from?  Does this mean that Elvis’ autopsy was faked?  Maybe.  Stratford also interviewed cousins of Elvis who said that the body at the funeral looked like it was made out of wax, rather than being real.

But, of course, there’s only one person alive (other than Jesse, of course) who can definitively prove or disprove that Jesse is Elvis … Elvis’ daughter.  FOX 8 News contacted Lisa Marie Presley’s representatives and asked for a sample of her DNA to find out the truth.  She declined.

The FOX 8 News video stories are available on YouTube.  Here’s the one from 2008 that summarizes all of Stratford’s investigation up until the Eliza Presley case.  Her previous investigation stalled in 2004, until Eliza Presley contacted her 2008.  Apparently, an Elvis collector, David Collins, repeatedly told Eliza to get in touch with Stratford when Eliza had contacted him as part of her search to learn if Elvis was her father.

At first, Eliza didn’t contact Stratford, still thinking that Elvis couldn’t actually be alive.  But, then she did reach out to Stratford, hoping to test her DNA against other Elvis samples FOX 8 News had.

In 2008 Stratford interviewed Eliza Presley as part of her ongoing investigation.  FOX 8 News sent the 2002 sample it had received from Jesse to a lab so that it could be tested against Eliza’s DNA evidence.

And the results were . . . 

(To be continued . . . )

[This is the second of a four-part series covering the Eliza Presley case.]

By Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of “Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!” and husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys. As educators across the United States through speaking engagements, print, broadcast, and social media, Danielle and Andrew consistently draw rave reviews and are in high demand. Email them at contact @ trialandheirs.com.

Review of “Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!” by Motion Magazine, part of LegalNews.com:

Anna Nicole Smith, Ray Charles, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger …  what do they all have in common?

They were all celebrities, they’re no longer among the living, and they all can teach us a lesson.

At least according to husband and wife legacy expert attorneys Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, authors of “Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!” The book dishes out drama using celebrity cases to highlight the importance of proper estate planning.

The Mayorases compiled and researched these high-profile celebrity cases with Danielle, who specializes in estate planning education, taking on the title of “Queen of Heirs” while Andrew used his probate litigation experience as “King of Trials.”

Satisfying readers’ voyeuristic side with the engaging stories of celebrity heir in-fighting isn’t the book’s only draw.

Featured on The Rachael Ray Show, WGN Chicago, and Forbes.com, “Trial & Heirs” can be utilized by those seeking to spark the dreaded family discussion about planning for a loved one’s passing.

“We have tips to avoid family fights and we have ideas to spark family discussion,” Danielle says of the book. “So not only is it a good tool for the general public, but the goal was to give professionals a vehicle to start conversations with their clients…they can talk about Princess Di and Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix…really start the conversation.”

And while the book provides readers with titillating true tales of celebrity courtroom cattiness at its very best, it also details how problems can be avoided. In addition, definitions of legal terminology commonly used in estate planning are placed strategically throughout the book.

“I think there’s a sensationalism in our culture where there’s this celebrity stardom everybody wants to read about,” Danielle says.“We wanted to take that sensationalistic or tabloid aspect to kind of fool people. They might be reading it for the tabloid aspect but they don’t realize initially that they’re getting taught and they’re learning.”

But what can these celebrity stories teach the everyday person?

“Celebrities’ families are fighting about the same issues,” Andrew points out. “My clients fight about the exact same issues that are in the book.

“Simple common mistakes the celebrities make are the same mistakes we see everyday people making,” he adds. “Different dollar figures, but the concepts apply to everybody.”

The response to “Trial & Heirs,” which came out in November, has been amazing, according to the authors.

“We’ve had attorneys from around the country contact us and say, ‘I want to buy these in bulk and provide them to my clients,’” Danielle explains. “It’s a great tool for attorneys to be able to turn over – especially if they have a stubborn client and maybe the client has a situation like one of the celebrities in the book – to say, ‘By the way, take a look at this case.’”

According to Andrew, “One of the principal themes we keep saying in the book is ‘Don’t do it yourself…You need a good attorney.’

“The book has tips to find a good attorney and things to talk about with your attorney,” he says. “It’s really a call to action for people to find and work with a good attorney because too many people try to do it themselves and that’s what leads to a lot of the celebrity mishaps that we cover in the book.”

Tabloid stories and their juicy details aside, the book provides insight into the oftentimes taboo world of estate planning.

“It’s a way to get people to open their eyes and think about these things and have family discussions,” Andrew says. “A lot of these family fights can be prevented if people are proactive and they can avoid a lot of the heartache.”

By Christine L. Mobley

You can read the article here. 

By Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of “Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!” and husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys. As educators across the United States through speaking engagements, print, broadcast, and social media, Danielle and Andrew consistently draw rave reviews and are in high demand. Email them at contact @ trialandheirs.com.

One of my favorite lines from the movie Men in Black was:

Agent Jay (Will Smith):  You do know that Elvis is dead, right? 

Agent Kay (Tommie Lee Jones):  No, Elvis is not dead.  He just went home.

That line has been running through my mind an awful lot lately.

It all began in the early days of the Probate Lawyer Blog, when I came across a Memphis newspaper story about a woman claiming that she was the secret half-sister of Elvis and that she had the DNA to prove it.  How did she get the DNA?  From Elvis, because he was alive.  She had sued to re-open the Estate of Vernon Presley (Elvis’ father) to prove that Vernon was her father.

And, of course, in my first article about the case, I didn’t take her very seriously.  Elvis is alive?  Yeah, right.  Like almost everyone who heard about it, I scoffed.  I snickered.  I went about my day.

Fast forward a few months … I received an email from the alleged half-sister, Eliza Presley.  She directed me to a website that had a lot of information explaining her DNA evidence.  I emailed back and asked Eliza for a copy of the DNA reports, so I could see them for myself.  Eliza politely said she was unable to send them to me because of the ongoing court case.

But, I had seen enough that I thought I may as well keep an open mind.  Hey, stranger things have happened, right?  Here’s my second article about the case, where I said I was rooting for Eliza.  I mean, how cool would it be if she was right, and Elvis really was alive?

The feedback I received from that article was surprising.  Many people contacted me because of it.  Most of them were very supportive of Eliza and proclaimed that the truth would come out … and it would shock the world.  I also received a few anti-Eliza emails, as well as a couple of phone calls, from people who vehemently (and quite aggressively) swore that Eliza was a big fraud and destined to land in jail. 

In the meantime, Eliza Presley contacted me again.  I’ve interviewed her by phone, at length, along with her forensic investigator that helped her track down evidence for her case, as well as her attorney.  Her lawsuit is indeed proceeding, although slower than they’d like it to for a number of reasons. 

Getting the Estate of Vernon Presley reopened was the first step.  That alone was a big accomplishment, because no Presley Estate had ever been reopened, despite the number of people claiming to be related to Elvis.  And it now appears that the court case will be coming to a head in the near future.

Throughout these interviews, I’ve found Eliza to be very open and honest with me.  And yes, she even agreed to share a copy of the DNA reports with me.   She said that she chose to share them with me because, as an independent attorney experienced in estate disputes, as well as being an author and blogger in this legal area, I could write about the reports in an objective fashion.  I agreed to do so, but only on the condition that whatever opinions I wrote about the reports would be my own, whether Eliza agreed with them or not.  Eliza was comfortable with that.

And so, she sent me the DNA reports.  I have read and analyzed the DNA reports and other evidence she sent me, as well as a lot of other information about the great ”Elvis Conspiracy” that I found on-line.

And, I have to say, the information has been nothing short of fascinating. 

So, do I believe Eliza?  Do I really think that Elvis is alive?  Is he really her half-brother?

To be continued . . .

[This is the first of a three-part series covering the Eliza Presley case.]

By Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of “Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!” and husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys. As educators across the United States through speaking engagements, print, broadcast, and social media, Danielle and Andrew consistently draw rave reviews and are in high demand. Email them at contact @ trialandheirs.com.

Dennis Hopper was already fighting against advanced prostrate cancer.  Now the 73-year-old actor is turning up the heat in his battle against his wife, 41-year-old Victoria.  He filed for divorce in January, and according to published reports, the key factor is his will.

Victoria is a 25% beneficiary under Hopper’s will.  But, in the case of divorce, the couple’s prenuptial agreement says that she gets nothing.  And that’s the sole motivating factor behind the divorce, according to Victoria.  She blames his three children from a prior marriage and says that Dennis is not making rational decisions, due in large part to the medication he’s taking.

In other words, she says it’s all about the estate planning. 

And it’s hard to argue with that point.  Dennis Hopper’s lawyer was in court last week, seeking a restraining order against Victoria to keep her away from him.  His attorney filed a doctor’s report saying that his estranged wife is hampering his recovery.  The doctor feels that the less he sees of her, the better.

Why?  According to papers filed in the divorce proceeding, Dennis says that she’s after his will.  Dennis claims that in November, Victoria’s mother told him he should change the will and leave everything to Victoria, because he was going to die soon.  Dennis also says his wife and mother-in-law would wake him in the middle of the night and badger him about his will.

So, yes, it seems the divorce is all about the estate planning.

But who is the bad guy here?  Is it Victoria, a scheming gold-digger after his money?  Dennis says so.  He feels he gave her every luxury he could, which of course only made her want more.

Or are Dennis’ children the bad actors?  Are they taking advantage of their father in a weakened state to cut his wife out, so they can get more?

Or is it Dennis himself?  Victoria says he threatened to kill her, and she found a loaded handgun and shotgun in her bedroom, despite the fact they were living with their six-year-old daughter.

According to Dennis Hopper’s doctor, he’s perfectly capable of making his own decisions and is in fine mental health.  It seems like the Judge agrees, because the divorce is going full-steam ahead.  Dennis got his restraining order a few days ago.

So, it looks like Dennis and his children will get their wish, and Victoria will get cut out of the will.  Unless he succumbs to his battle with cancer first, that is.

The really sad part of this saga isn’t that it’s happening to the Hopper family.  Rather, to me, the really tragic part is that this type of family drama is far too common.  Families often place aging or disabled seniors in the middle of a tug-of-war over money, especially in second marriage situations.  Do you think people stoop to this level only when millions of dollars are involved?

No!  In this economy especially, I see families act just as ruthlessly over $100,000, or even less.  Too many people see sickness and death as a financial opportunity.  And that’s the real tragedy.

There is some hope.  A well-crafted estate plan, from an experienced estate planning attorney, is a good start.  And a vigilant family who protects aging or dying loved ones from unsavory sorts is a must.

The problem is that spotting the true gold-digger isn’t always easy.  Sometimes it’s a new spouse or girlfriend.  Sometimes, it’s the children from a prior marriage.

Either way, anyone who thinks that this only happens in Hollywood–and that it can’t happen to their family–needs to think again.

By Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of “Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!” and husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys. As educators across the United States through speaking engagements, print, broadcast, and social media, Danielle and Andrew consistently draw rave reviews and are in high demand. Email them at contact @ trialandheirs.com.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine has an interesting article that’s coming out in the March 2010 issue, about do-it-yourself estate planning.  It was written by Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor:

You’ve been dragging your feet for ages on writing a will and drawing up other estate-planning documents. Now, to avoid the hassle and expense of hiring a lawyer, you’re considering using online forms to get the job done. Companies such as Nolo, LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer allow you to do just that. Not only do they provide do-it-yourself estate-planning documents, but they also offer guidance on filling them out and general information on estate-planning issues.

The cost for such off-the-rack estate planning? As little as $50 for a simple will to $220 or so for a package that includes a will and a living trust. That’s cheap compared with the $300 a lawyer might charge for a simple will or the $1,000 or more that a comprehensive estate plan might run you. Still, you get what you pay for, says Danielle Mayoras, an estate-planning attorney and coauthor, with Andrew Mayoras, of Trial & Heirs(Wise Circle; $20 at Amazon.com). Although the products themselves may be sound, one size doesn’t fit all, says Mayoras. “They don’t address as many what-ifs as if you had an attorney with you.”

Last will and testament.Using an online will makes sense if your finances and circumstances are uncomplicated, says Joanna Grossman, a professor at Hofstra University School of Law, but “people don’t know whether they do, in fact, have a simple situation.” If you go the do-it-yourself route, be sure to have the will properly witnessed, says Betsy Simmons, an estate-planning attorney at Nolo. “You’re not done until you do all the things that make it official.”

If your situation is, in fact, more complex — you want to disinherit a family member, say, or provide for a child with special needs, or shield a large estate from estate taxes — consult a lawyer. (The federal estate tax was repealed for 2010, but Congress is expected to reinstate it retroactively.)

Revocable living trust. Often used for large or complex estates, this vehicle lets you transfer ownership of your assets to a trust that you control and avoid the public process of probate when you die. If you decide you need a living trust, hire a lawyer. Trusts are, by nature, tailored to particular situations, and they have a lot of complicated rules, warns Grossman.

A lawyer will also have you fund the trust properly, which involves transferring the title on everything — from the deed on your house to bank and brokerage accounts — from your name to the trust. Failure to do so (a common rookie mistake) renders the trust inoperable, says David Shulman, an estate-planning attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Durable power of attorney. This document lets you appoint a representative to manage your financial affairs should you become incapacitated. Depending on your intentions — and state law — it goes into effect either as soon as the document is executed or if you become mentally incompetent. In contrast, a regular power of attorney ceases to exist if you become incapacitated. It pays to work with a lawyer to make sure you use the right documents and choose the right person for this important job.

Advance directives. You need two state-specific documents: a living will, in which you specify the treatment you want to receive if you cannot speak for yourself, and a durable health-care power of attorney, in which you appoint someone to make health-care decisions on your behalf when you cannot. They are available free through hospitals and state medical societies. You don’t need a lawyer to fill them out, but you should discuss the provisions with a doctor and your health-care proxy before signing the documents.

[click here to see the article on Kiplinger.com]

The article has some good advice.  We always advocate working with an experienced estate planning attorney.  People who try to use a preprinted form, or trust or will kit, usually end up costing their families much more than they save in legal fees.  Don’t take shortcuts with your legacy!

By Andrew W. Mayoras and Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of “Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!” and husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys. As educators across the United States through speaking engagements, print, broadcast, and social media, Danielle and Andrew consistently draw rave reviews and are in high demand. Email them at contact @ trialandheirs.com.

There was a great book review of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! that came out Friday.  Here’s a portion of it:

“If you do nothing else of consequence for your life in 2010, make a will.”

According to University of Michigan graduates Andrew and Danielle Mayoras, both attorneys, two-thirds of Americans don’t have one.

I do, and my editor has a trust, but an informal poll in the Heritage newsroom at an editorial meeting proved that of the nine people sitting there, two of us had a will.

And, truth be told, mine seriously needs updating.

Reading this book has compelled me to do something about it in a smarter way than I had done in the past.

The Detroit couple’s book, “Trial and Heirs,” will jump start you in the right direction, too. Not only is a fun read, but also an important one — one that should become the basis of family meetings everywhere.

You’ll learn why it’s important for everyone to do estate planning. According to the authors, it protects families from fighting. They say the consequences of waiting to take care of it “someday” can be devastating.

The authors take what is a very dry subject and make it not only educational, but also interesting.

What’s nice is there’s not a lot of fine print to bog down readers in the process.

By taking estate cases of famous people and boiling them down to situations to which readers can relate, this book belongs in the library of every American over the age of 18.

You can read the entire review from Heritage Newspapers here.

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at blog @ trialandheirs.com.

Danielle Mayoras, who co-authored Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! with me, recently wrote an article for Forbes.com to help financial advisers, attorneys, and other professionals get their clients talking about estate planning, using celebrity stories.  Most people don’t like to even discuss the legal planning for what happens after they die, much less actually do the planning. 

That’s why celebrity stories can help break the ice and get the conversation started.  Here’s her Forbes.com article with specific tips on how:

As professionals, one of the challenges that we have is motivating our clients to do their estate planning. You can educate clients about the proper estate planning and how it can help them, their families and their estate tax returns. The fact of the matter remains, however, that many clients will have excuses to push their legal planning to the back burner.

Reasons that you may have heard include being too busy with kids, jobs or parents to take the time to do the planning. Others may be uncomfortable with the subject, have uncooperative spouses or simply have difficulty making decisions about who will be their trustees or beneficiaries. Whatever the reasons, procrastination is common when it comes to clients doing the proper estate planning, and this is one of the reasons that my husband, Andrew, and I wrote Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!

Celebrity stories can help you translate the often-challenging discussion about estate planning into a fun and entertaining conversation with your clients. Instead of clients examining their own lives, you can point to the stories ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Frank Sinatra and Princess Diana to help motivate them.

Despite a reluctance to get down to planning, many clients do have serious concerns. What will happen once mom and dad pass away? Have they done their will or trust? Is it updated? Where is it? What professionals do they work with? Where are the documents located? Here are five important areas in which you can get your clients thinking and talking about estate planning, partly with the help of a celebrity anecdote:

[Read the rest of the article on Forbes.com by clicking here]

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at blog @ trialandheirs.com.

The case raged for months, and The Probate Lawyer Blog featured several articles about it.  The Hong Kong judge carefully deliberated since closing arguments took place in late September.  Earlier today, the High Court released the 326-page ruling that declared Wang’s 2006 will to be a forgery.

Tony Chan contended that Wang had left him her fortune because, rather than being a mere feng shui adviser for her, he was also her secret lover.  Of course, he was married during the affair.  And he was 20 years younger than she was.

Lawyers for the Wang family and charities (the vast majority of her fortune from the prior will, in 2002, was earmarked for charity), said Chan forged the new will.  They also claimed, alternatively, that Chan had tricked her into signing it by declaring it to be a “feng shui will” that he was supposed to destroy as part of a ceremony to help extend her life.

If you’re interested, you can read the Court’s decision here (don’t worry, the helpful Hong Kong Court also provided a much shorter summary of the long legal document which is also available through the same link).  Here are the highlights:

Nina Wang did have an intimate relationship with Tony Chan, but she wanted to keep it a secret.  Despite giving him lavish gifts and payments of money, she didn’t want to give him her entire fortune.

Rather, she held true to her wishes in the 2002 will, leaving most of her wealth to charity.

Wang did, in fact, sign a new document in 2006.  But it wasn’t the will Tony Chan said it was.  No — that one was forged . . . through a “highly skilled simulation”.  Instead, Wang signed a Specific Bequest Will leaving Chan $10 million (poor guy).

The Judge didn’t find Chan believable — pointing to his criminal past, among other reasons.  Chan lied and withheld relevant information from the Court, the Judge said.  And, the 2006 will was written in English, not Chinese like the 2002 will.

The judge also said he didn’t believe Chan’s wife either, who also offered testimony to support the validity of the 2006 will.

Chan’s lawyer already promised an appeal.  But, Chan has other concerns in the meantime.  Chan may be referred for criminal prosecution based on the finding of forgery.  And he won’t even have the $10 million from the “Specific Bequest Will”.  That partial will wasn’t located and Chan didn’t offer it for admission to the Court.  So he may not even get that amount.

The real irony here is that Chan’s path is eerily similar to Nina Wang’s.  Her husband was kidnapped in 1990 and was never found.  (In fact, that’s how she met Chan — he was supposed to help locate her husband).  After Wang’s husband was declared dead, the father-in-law challenged the will that left Nina Wang everything.

And, just like in this case, the will was found to be a forgery and Nina Wang was charged criminally.

But, Nina Wang ultimately won on appeal and was exonerated.  She inherited her husband’s fortune, despite originally losing her case.  Will her feng shui master/former lover be as lucky on appeal?

Feb 4, 2010 Update — Tony Chan has been arrested because of the ruling.  Read the story here.

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ trialandheirs.com.

They also each owned NBA franchises in the midwest.  Davidson owned the Detroit Pistons (yeah!), while Simon co-owned the rival Indiana Pacers (boo!) with his brother, Herbert Simon.

Both men died last year, with Davidson passing away at age 86 in March and Simon passing in October, at age 82.  And both were survived by spouses as well as children from prior marriages.

And, in both instances, the spouse and the children from the prior marriage did not see eye to eye.  Because of that, both the Davidson Estate and Simon Estate are mired in lawsuits about the true wishes of the beloved billionaires.

In Davidson’s case, there are actually multiple lawsuits that have recently been filed.  An Israeli company and a Jewish charity started the legal actions claiming that Davidson (a renowned philanthropist who generously supported many charitable causes, especially Jewish and Israeli ones) had promised them sums totaling $20 million.  The problem was that Davidson’s revised will, signed only one week before he died, did not include money for these Jewish and Israeli causes.

Karen Davidson, Bill’s wife, supports the company and charity, and she has actually joined in the request for funds, even though, as Bill’s wife and a primary beneficiary of her estate, Karen stands to lose millions if the money is taken from the estate to pay these claims.

Opposing Karen and these claimants are the two co-executors of the Davidson estate, which includes the husband of Karen’s step-daughter.  The son-in-law pointed to a dispute amongst the beneficiaries as a reason for refusing to provide the money.

Yet these $20 million disagreements pale in comparison to the family feud surrounding Mel Simon’s Estate.  He signed a new will and trust seven months before he died that drastically reduced the inheritance to his three children, to the benefit of his wife of 37 years, Bren Simon.  In fact, reportedly, Bren will receive one-half of the fortune, instead of one-third, with the children being cut out.

Deborah Simon, Mel’s daughter, filed the lawsuit a few weeks ago.  She claimed that Mel was ill from pancreatic cancer, dementia and neurological disorders which impaired his understanding and his ability to sign the new documents.   In fact, she says, he wasn’t even able to hold the pen or the documents to sign his name, and someone else had to move his hand for him.

Mel’s wife, Bren, counters that the documents were valid.  Mel fully understood and desired to make the changes, she says, to protect his wife from his children, and because he wanted to compensate her for loss in value of company stock.  Bren admits that Mel needed help signing the estate planning documents, because he suffered from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Mel’s wife, Bren, counters that the documents were valid.  Mel fully understood and desired to make the changes, she says, to protect his wife from his children, and because he wanted to compensate her for loss in value of company stock.  Bren admits that Mel needed help signing the estate planning documents, because he suffered from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

As a probate litigation attorney who regularly handles will disputes and trust contests like these cases, I see these types of family fights affect people on a daily basis.  While millionaires and billionaires do seem to attract these legal battles more often (as covered in Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!), the reality is that they are also far more common than people realize, even for middle-class families.

The exact same type of legal fights surface over estates worth hundreds of thousands, or even tens of thousands.  When a will or trust is changed and family members are cut out, or someone is convinced that a promise was made and not fulfilled, estate disputes are usually just around the corner.

The best prevention remains a good estate plan with an experienced estate planning lawyer.  Despite this, two-thirds of adults in this country don’t even have wills.

Don’t let this happen to your family!  Work with a good attorney and plan ahead.  And if you do suspect a loved one has been a victim of undue influence, or has been coerced to sign new documents when not mentally competent, learn your legal rights by working with an experienced probate litigation attorney.

As the Davidson and Simon estate battles will demonstrate, these court proceedings are long, expensive and emotionally-draining for everyone involved.

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ trialandheirs.com.

This is one example of how more and more families are facing the devastation caused by exploitation of elderly loved ones, often by a family member or caregiver.

So how do families protect their golden seniors, whose lifetime of savings can often be a tempting target for desperate or unethical people?  There are no magic answers, but here are a few Trial & Heirs Tips that we provided to the Detroit Free Press which ran next to the newspaper story:

1. Get expert advice. Consider consulting an estate lawyer who will know the ins and outs of estate planning. It’s usually money well spent.

2. Beware of Joint Accounts. When you add someone else’s name to your accounts, they usually can remove money even without a durable power of attorney.

3. Consider a “Springing” Power of Attorney. Your attorney can draft the Power of Attorney so that it only takes effect when you are found to be incompetent.

4. Choose Wisely. You should designate individuals to act on your behalf that you trust the most, not merely the oldest child or the closest relative.

5. Have Checks and Balances. Talk with your attorney about designating more than one person, but to avoid fights consider having a tie-breaker or majority vote.

6.  Select Someone to Monitor your Accounts.You can give another family member, or even a trusted advisor, the ability to monitor your accounts, such as internet banking, to make sure that your assets are protected.

Posted by:  Andrew W. Mayoras & Danielle B. Mayoras, co-authors of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founders and shareholders of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  Andrew & Danielle are husband and wife attorneys.