A "Hearse Cartel"

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Stephen Follett

In world news, the country of Malta will get more than the 11 licensed hearse operators after 36 years, ending a "hearse cartel."

This shows that licensing by any government is not always in the best interest of the people.  However, in cases like the practice of law, licensing and specialized education is important to understand who is qualified to practice in an area of law.  The state and federal laws are complex, so even a "simple" estate plan can result in catastrophic errors.

Fortunately, Arizona is a state that is favorable to the people and unlike California, the probate attorneys do not artificially inflate the cost of probate through the laws to fatten their wallets.  Probate in Arizona has a relatively simple procedure.  Many prefer the assistance of an attorney, however, it is not uncommon to complete probate without the assistance of an attorney.

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Mom Sues Her Children Ages 1 and 3

Posted on July 2, 2008 by Stephen Follett

This news is from the UK, but it illustrates the need to prepare your estate plan.

Actress Taryn Dielle, 42, has launched the action because she claims the law does not let her have enough of the money to look after daughter Molly, three, and son Maximillian.

Her husband, Mark Butler, died last year from cancer aged 45 leaving an estate worth £2,231,201.

Evidently, the mother/wife only gets £125,000, and the rest of the money goes to the children.  It is unlikely that this was the husband/father's intent.  However, even if it were, it make little sense for him to leave his estate subject to litigation.  There appears to be another person who is trying to get a piece of the pie too, and it may be that the mother is actually suing her children as the best means to protect them from the other person.

There is no reason that this family couldn't have planned it better and done it in a way to eliminate or reduce the possibility of litigation.

While this exact scenario would not occur in the United States, there are similar scenarios possible.  Families regularly get caught up in litigation because there was no clear estate plan designed to prevent litigation.  Several of my clients are afraid of litigation and we have attempted to anticipate and prevent it.

Unfortunately, other clients came to me because they are already having fights over their parents/grandparents money. 

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