Siblings With Dueling Deeds

Could your family situation be any worse?  Imagine the Thanksgiving dinners.  Take the situation of these six siblings.  In July 2001, Harold secures a deed signed by his mother Ethel giving him the family home.  He records the deed.  In November 2001, Ethel signs another deed transferring the family home to a trust, with daughter Deborah and herself as the co-trustees.  Ethel reserves a life estate for herself.  That deed and trust are recorded a few months later.  In the many estate plans created by Ethel, sons Harold and Lawrence were always excluded because they were provided for through a prior gift of the family oil business.  The other four children were to inherit the remaining estate.  Ethel's last will is in 2008, and she continues to exclude Harold and Lawrence specifically because of the lifetime gift of the business.  Ethel dies in December 2009, and shortly thereafter, Deborah learns of Harold's claim to the family home.  Her lawsuit is filed in January 2010.

Today, in Allen v. Allen, 13-P-605, the Appeals Court in Massachusetts affirmed the Land Court Judge's determination that the first deed was defective, and title to the property is held in the name of the trust. The case was one of first impression and dissects the recording statute, G.L.c. 183, Section 4.  Key to the findings was the fact that the attorney and notary of the first deed could not remember Ethel being before him to sign the deed, and after evidence indicated that Ethel may not have been in the state at the time it was signed, he agreed that the date and place on the notary acknowledgment might not be accurate.  In a 23 page decision, the court determined that even though a notary acknowledgement is not required for a deed to be valid, it is required to record the deed.  Because of the defect in the certificate of acknowledgement, the recording was in error and the deed did not provide constructive notice to the world of its existence.  Harold was unable to prove that Deborah had actual knowledge of the transfer, and the court refused to impute knowledge.  The subsequent deed was held to be valid.

There are many take-aways for lawyers from this case.  A simple online title search at the time of recording the November deed would have alerted her children to the July deed while Ethel was still alive.  The take away for clients: parents beware - you run the risk of estate disputes when children are treated differently.  Any hoped for harmony is nearly impossible without thoughtful discussion about succession and transparency while you are alive.

Royal baby boy arrives safe and sound

July 22^nd was a momentous day for the British royals:  Queen Elizabeth became a great grandmother, Prince Charles and Camilla became grandparents, Prince Harry became an uncle, and William and Kate became parents.  

Outside the hospital, a town crier, decked out in traditional robes and an extravagant feathered hat, shouted the news and rang a bell. A car carrying the announcement drove from the hospital to the palace, where the news was greeted with shrieks of “It's a boy!” and strains of “For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.” A large crowd struggled at the palace gates to catch a glimpse of an ornate, gilded easel displaying a small bulletin formally announcing the news.

Most of us enter the world with far little less fanfare, although no less love and affection.  Once the baby is brought home and settles in, it is important for parents to begin thinking about estate planning. Too often, parents of young children neglect or postpone estate planning, saying they are too young, quite healthy, or cannot afford the expense. Another reason may be that estate planning deals with issues that people would prefer to ignore (death, property, marriage and family relationships).

But estate planning can be a very positive and important part of raising a family. Estate planning assures that certain things happen at death. Perhaps the most important benefit of having a Will is that it allows parents to designate a guardian for their children. This person will provide for the social training and physical needs of children if neither parent survives. If there is no Will nominating a guardian, the court must appoint one even though it cannot possibly know the values, lifestyle and child-rearing philosophy of the parent(s). It must make a decision based on state law and in the best interests of the children. It is often difficult to determine the children's best interests in a brief court hearing. An estate plan can also ensure that children will be financially supported and that they will have access to education and funds that will support them throughout their life.  

You don’t have to be royalty to plan for your child’s future.  A little bit of planning now can give you peace of mind about your new life as a parent.  Check out our estate planning page for more information or contact us if you would like to discuss an estate plan for your family.

The Irony of DOMA

In the majority opinion striking down the defense of marriage act,, the court debated whether the issue was properly before the court given that the Attorney General refused to defend DOMA in court.  The House of Representatives had formed a group called the Bipartisan Legal Advocacy Group (BLAG) to vigorously defend the constitutionality of the law and appear in place of the attorney general before the court.  The court stated that had BLAG not come forward to defend the law, thereby providing a substantial adversarial argument for a finding of constitutionality, the court might have declined to review the lower court decision. Ironically, the arguments by the very group that sought to prevent the court from finding DOMA unconstitutional, gave the court a hand up in finding DOMA unconstitutional.

Today the court declared: "DOMA’s principal effect is to identify and make unequal a subset of state-sanctioned marriages. It contrives to deprive some couples married under the laws of their State, but not others, of both rights and responsibilities, creating two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State."

The Supreme Court has told the federal government it cannot discriminate.  It is time for the remaining states which prohibit gay marriage to end discrimination.  These states will rise, one by one.

For same sex couples, the implications are enormous.  It will impact estate planning, real estate, probate, inheritance rights, criminal matters, immigration issues, social security, and hundreds, if not thousands of federal laws which provide special considerations to married couples.  If you would like us to investigate how it will make a difference in your case, please call Glickman Turley at 617.399.7770.

The DOMA decision can be found here:  UNITED STATES v. WINDSOR, EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF SPYER, ET AL., No. 12–307.

Thank you, Edie Windsor! DOMA struck down

Today is a momentous day! The Supreme Court announced that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) caused "injury and indignity" to same-sex couples, and struck it down. The entire opinion is available here. Glickman Turley LLP is cheering this decision, and we are thrilled that the Supreme Court chose the right result. We are ready to help you through the legal impacts on your life!

This ruling will have great impact on many people's lives, and here are just a few of the ways:

Federal taxes: Now, same-sex couples will be able to get all the same marriage-related benefits and tax opportunities available to opposite-sex couples. This is what Edie Windsor's case was about-- she was contesting the fact that she had to pay estate taxes on the money her wife willed to her, when an opposite-sex spouse would have gotten an exemption based on marriage. Call us to discuss your estate plan and to investigate the ways this ruling may change it.

Immigration: One of the easiest ways to get a green card is through marriage to a U.S. citizen. Previously, same-sex couples could not qualify for this. Now, same-sex spouses of U.S. citizens should be eligible to apply for legal permanent resident status and eventually citizenship, the same as opposite-sex spouses of U.S. citizens. Glickman Turley lawyers are excited to help you and your same-sex spouse file for a family-based immigration visa.

Government benefits: Now, same-sex spouses will be able to receive government benefits available to opposite-sex spouses, such as veteran's benefits and Social Security survivor benefits.

Adoptions: Unfortunately, this opinion may not do much to change the requirement that same-sex spouses must adopt their own children. Glickman Turley has years of experience with co-parent adoptions, and we can still advise you on this process.

Visit this WaPo poll to voice your opinion and see others' reasons for cheering the decision!

Contact us today to discuss the changes this opinion may have on your life. 

"Sopranos" Star James Gandolfini Dies While On Vacation

Many of us are mourning the death of Sopranos star James Gandolfini today. He was only 51 years old, and died of a heart attack while on vacation in Italy. For his family's sake, let's hope he had arranged an estate plan.

Mr. Gandolfini's character, Tony Soprano, could also have benefited from good estate planning. He was in a dangerous line of work, and cared deeply about his children. He also had several affairs and eventually a divorce, and he might have wanted to leave some money or belongings to his lovers. Many people forget to update their estate plans when they divorce and remarry, so their new spouse and child may be cut out. If Tony had died without an estate plan, his family and friends would likely be forced to spend a lot of money and time on a long probate court proceeding, fighting over how to divide his assets.

Famous actors and mob bosses have more money and assets than most of us, but it's still important for you to create an estate plan. Contact Glickman Turley to see how we may be able to help.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gandolfini. 

What happens to your e-mail account when you die?

You may never have thought about what will happen to your e-mail or social media after your death, and you may never read those long "terms of service" agreements required by many online services. Two Massachusetts siblings have been forced to consider these topics recently, while engaged in a long legal battle to get access to their deceased brother's email.

A man named Robert opened a Yahoo! e-mail account for his brother John in 2002. In 2006, John was killed in a car accident. Robert then tried to log in to John's email so that he could notify friends and family about John's memorial service, but he did not have the correct password. Robert and his sister Marianne then asked Yahoo! to give them access to John's e-mail account to help them find his assets and administrate his estate. At first, Yahoo! agreed to do this if they could get a copy of John's death certificate. Later, it refused based on a federal law called the Stored Communications Act, which is designed to protect the privacy of online service users.

Robert and Marianne got a court order allowing them to get "subscriber and e-mail header information," but after further negotiation with Yahoo! they were unable to get the contents of John's e-mails. They brought a case in Massachusetts probate court against Yahoo!, asking that the court declare that the contents of John's email were part of his estate.

So are e-mail messages part of the property of an estate under Massachusetts law? The appeals court has not yet reached an answer on this issue. Instead, it addressed some preliminary issues stemming from the Yahoo! e-mail terms of service agreement. The court determined that the provision in the terms of service requiring Robert and Marianne to use the California court was not enforceable, because they never received adequate communication of it until they began litigation. The case will go back to the lower court for more analysis. However, this case only involves a Yahoo! e-mail account, and does not deal with social networking sites, photos, reviews, and the other types of online content you may create.

What can you do to ensure your wishes are followed after your death? Only five states currently have estate laws that deal with electronic data, and Massachusetts is not one of them. If you have a Google account, you can sign up for "Inactive Account Manager," which gives access to a trusted person after a specified period of time without account activity. For your electronic data as well as all other property, it is wise to have an estate plan in place. Although the law around electronic data is complex and is still developing, Glickman Turley attorneys can help you come up with a plan that fits your needs.

Federal District Court in New York Holds DOMA Unconstitutional

The U.S District Court in the Southern District of New York found that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, taking its cues from a recent First Circuit decision holding the same.

Edith "Edie" Windsor and the late Thea Spyer married in 2007 in Canada after living together for 44 years. Spyer died in 2009, leaving her property to Windsor. In a heterosexual marriage, the decedent's estate would have passed to the spouse without any estate tax. Here, Windsor had to pay over $363,000 in estate taxes because DOMA prevents the recognition of same-sex marriages for federal purposes.

For more on this story, click here.

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.  

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Two Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases recently. One case involved a widow's claim that her children conceived by her late husband's sperm were entitled to survivor's benefits and the other case held that illegal immigrants cannot take advantage of a parent's lawful residence status when they are charged with crimes subjecting them to deportation, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

In Astrue v. Capato, the Court upheld "the government's multi-part definition of who deserves survivors benefits" in a 9-0 decision. Karen Capato had used sperm her late husband had deposited in a sperm bank to conceive her twins. She argued that the children were entitled to survivors benefits because they qualified as "natural children", despite being born after her husband's death, under the Social Security Act. The Court rejected her claim because regulations "define a 'natural child' as one who could inherit the father's property under state law." The Capatos were residents of Florida where state law specifies that children conceived after a parent's death are not entitled to inherit the late parent's property. The children were not named in their father's will before he passed.

In Holder v. Martinez-Gutierrez, the Court ruled that when illegal immigrants are charged with a crime that exposes them to deportation, they cannot take advantage of their parent's lawful residence. The Court held that "individuals must hear their own leniency through years of lawful residence."

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.  

Massachusetts Appeals Court Hears Arguments Over 351 Year Old Will

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reported that the Massachusetts Appeals Court heard arguments over dispute involving a will that is 351 years old. William Payne was a wealthy Massachusetts merchant who bequeathed in his will that a land called "Little Neck" in Ipswich, Massachusetts, "shall never be sold, and shall 'for euer' be used to benefit Ipswich public schools" and that "the sayd land not to bee sould or wasted." 


The trustees of the will had been planning to sell the land recently but a group of Ipswich parents are fighting to stop the sale. A lawyer for the trustees said that proceeds from the land sale could be invested and bring in more funds to Ipswich public schools. One Ipswich parent argued that the point of this lawsuit is not about the money, but rather a question of why anyone in Massachusetts would bother creating a charitable trust if the terms of the trust can be violated. Under current Massachusetts law, if the mission of the trust becomes impossible to carry out, then the terms of a charitable trust can be violated. The Massachusetts Appeals Court has not rendered a decision in this case yet. 


Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.

2012 Estate and Gift Tax Exemption Increases

While the future of the gift tax and estate tax remains in the hands of Congress, we have some certainty for 2012. The Unified Credit Exclusion amount for gift and estate taxes is indexed to inflation and is set at $5.120,000 for the year 2012. The top gift and estate tax rate remains at 35%. Other inflation adjusted numbers have changed including the personal exemption ($3,800) and the standard deduction. More information can be found at Revenue Procedure 2011-52.

Congressmembers Urge Immigration Officials to Consider LGBT Family Ties in Deportation Cases

As reported by Immigration Equality (immigrationequality.org), some members of Congress urged immigration officials to consider LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual) family ties in deportation cases.

Under current immigration laws, US citizen and green card holders with same-sex spouses do not have the same right as heterosexual spouses in petitioning for marriage-based visas or other derivative based relief (for example, asylum) or using marital status as a positive equity in deportation/removal cases.

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigraiton matters, as well as LGBT issues. We represent families who need help in same-sex co-parent adoptions and non-traditional family estate planning.  Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil ligitation, business litigation, business law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.

Online Estate Planning Programs

Millions of Americans still die without a valid will, even though every single one knew that he or she would die at some point.

In an effort to avoid paying a lawyer for something that he could get free from the internet, a client recently showed me a will he had written with the help of an online program. I hate to look at these documents because once I review it, I assume the liability of having drafted it. But, in this instance I could not help but comment on his document. Despite a lot of the required bells and whistles, it was missing a signature line. How he got it witnessed and notarized is beyond me, but sadly, if presented to a Court, his missing signature would have invalidated the document in full.

If you let us help you craft an estate plan, it will include a valid will. Promise.

Governor Patrick Signs Pet Trust Law!

On Friday, January 8, 2011, Massachusetts became the 44th state to allow owners to provide support for their pets upon the owner's disability or death. This gives estate planners another tool in their toolboxes for helping people take care of those who are important to them. Glickman Turley was thrilled to be part of this important legislation.