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Monday, October 26, 2009

Courts - "In Astor Trial, a Lesson for Estate Lawyers "

In this long list of entries on the Brook Astor estate issues, the ILB has stated several times: "The Brooke Astor estate dispute promises to become the stuff of trusts and estates casebooks, moving along-side the Anna Nicole Smith estate fight." Today John Eligon of the NY Times, who covered the recent criminal trial, reports in a long story that begins:

While Brooke Astor’s son and a lawyer who worked on her estate face prison time after a jury convicted them of defrauding and stealing from her, experts say the verdict may be felt by others: namely, the people who make wills and the lawyers who help them.

The trial has certainly provided talking points for estate planning experts across the country; it has already been the topic at panels of trusts and estates lawyers in New York and other states. To them, the Astor trial is noteworthy not only because of the famous name, but also because the actions of trusts and estates lawyers were parsed in a criminal courtroom, something that usually happens in civil proceedings.

“It now is not unheard of for a district attorney to question the motives of some lawyers,” said Alexander D. Forger, a trusts and estates lawyer who testified for the prosecution in the Astor trial.

Although the conviction of Anthony D. Marshall, Mrs. Astor’s son, and Francis X. Morrissey Jr., a lawyer who worked on her estate, may not fundamentally transform the way wills are done, lawyers and those in the academic world say it is likely to force estate planners in New York and elsewhere to take extra precautions when balancing their clients’ wishes and competence.

The law generally requires a very low standard of mental capacity to execute a will, and there are few hard and fast rules that lawyers must follow when ascertaining a client’s competence.

Some experts said the Astor case could motivate lawyers to use additional safeguards to ensure that their clients are competent when there is any doubt.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 26, 2009 02:02 PM
Posted to Courts in general