Murdered over a Batman collection.

Ben Novack Jr., who had the second largest collection of Batman memorabilia in the United States, was murdered in a hotel room last year. At one time his wife was granted Ben's estate then three days later the judge reversed his decision. Now his wife is facing charges for the death of her husband. Allegedly Ms. Novack sought to kill her husband so that she could get his multi-million dollar estate, including his collection of Batman memorabilia. Hopefully justice is served in this case.

Got Shrimp?

Well if you're in New York City, there's a chance you've got tiny crustaceans in the drinking water.
Apparently these tiny crustaceans are in NYC tap water. It's not exactly the secret ingredient that most would have guessed gave NYC tap water a good taste. Cheers!

Congress May Be Looking for More Ways to Restrict Trusts

The federal government is showing some dislike for the grantor retained annuity trust, known as GRAT. The GRAT has been use by rich families such as the Waltons (Walmart) to save on estate taxes. The proposed bill is not a good thing for estate planners, and some are urging their clients to take advantage of the GRAT now, in case the GRAT-limiting bill ever becomes law.

Click here to find out more about GRAT trusts. Basically, a GRAT trust is allows individuals to save on estate taxes by transferring their assets into a trust for the benefit of the people they want to leave money to while retaining an annuity to themselves. The annuity will be at the rate set by the government for GRATs, known as “the 7520 rate,” which is now about 2.6%.

The beneficiaries avoid gift tax because the trusts are set up so that the lifetime value of the annuity is equal to the amount of money in the trust. The trust beneficiaries save on future estate taxes because they get to keep any interest that’s over the 7520 rate.

This advantage can come to an end if the congress puts limits on the GRATS, such as imposing a maximum annuity term of 10 years, as has been proposed by some members of congress.

Being careless with his Will left his wife car-less.

John O'Quinn, who had a wonderful car collection worth over $150 million, was careless with his Will and forgot to get it updated after he was married. This became a problem because his marriage was never recorded and it was held at a private wedding ceremony. O'Quinn had a Will done just a year before his wedding but forgot to update it even after he wrote a note on his to-do list about getting the Will changed. The current will did not include his wife, so it appears she won't be receiving any of his 800 cars or his estate, even though O'Quinn intended to include his wife in his will.

This story is a good example of what not to do. Far to often people fail to get a will or keep it updated. Get a Will drafted and make sure you keep it up to date.

Bobby Fischer is not the father, Checkmate.

In a story fit for Maury Show a 9 year old Icelandic girl, who claimed to be the daughter of Bobby Fischer, sought a share of Fisher's estate through estate litigation. The child's mother insisted that Fischer was the father, and provided some documents which she suggested proved it. To resolve this issue the court ordered DNA testing done to Fischer's body and the child. The result of the dna testing exonerated Fischer as the father. Checkmate.

One might say that it appeared the child was used as a pawn, to gain an interest in Fisher's estate. As a result of the exoneration only Fischer's alleged widow and nephews will remain in the fight over Fischer's estate. Before it is all said and done the chess champion is likely to be involved in at least one last battle over his estate.

Will Cancelled Because One of the Witnesses Was Not Present During Execution

A New York County court denied probate of a will because one of the witnesses was not present at the execution ceremony of the will. The witness stated in an affidavit that he was told by a beneficiary and a lawyer that it's ok to sign the will after the fact. To make things worse, no notary was present at the time of his signature, and the witness stated that he's never met the notary who ultimately notarized his signature.

Needless to say, this will was not accepted into probate, and the estate passed by intestacy. This case, once again, shows how important it is to have an experienced attorney draft your will.

Death Bed Marriages Voided by the Courts

Recently, a few cases came before the courts where a caretaker of an elderly incapacitated man married him shortly before his death, and then claimed a spousal claim of the right of election against his estate. The Appellate Division ruled that such marriages are void. The court used its power of equity to prevent the unjust enrichment of caretakers that trick the men into marriage. All of the men in question were not lucid, and seemingly did not understand what was happening to them. The man in Campbell v. Thomas was a 77 year old with terminal prostate cancer as well as severe dimentia. The man in Matter of Irving was 99, and the woman was 40.

This situation is, arguably, different from Anna Nicole Simpson type of a situation, because the men involved has absolutely no idea what was happening to them.