August 23rd, 2012

Settlement regret.

A lot of litigants end up getting it, especially in such emotionally-charged litigation as probate litigation.  Most of the time those litigants just end up expressing those feelings of regret to their lawyers.  Sometimes they try to take it further.  How can the regretful party’s lawyer see it coming and how can that lawyer guard against it?

A New Jersey trial court in In the Matter of the Estate of Lillian A. Hogan (not for publication) provides some clues.  (more…)

May 16th, 2012

When settling a fiduciary litigation case, it’s a fairly common practice to agree to the creation of a reserve fund from which to pay various estate or trust related expenses that will be incurred in the future.  Recent litigation out of Florida reminds us that when creating a reserve fund, you will want to be specific about what expenses can be paid from the reserve. (more…)