Client's Inheritance Increased by $1,000,000 After Jury Sets Aside Two Wills and Trust

posted on 10/31/2019 by Nate Schroeder in Awards & Accolades

Nate Schroeder represented a son who was almost completely excluded from receiving any portion of his mother's $1.8M estate around the time the mother moved in with our client's brother. Prior to the mother moving, our client was a beneficiary under his mother's will and beneficiary on a number of investment accounts owned by the mother. After moving in with our client's brother, the mother changed her will and eventually created an irrevocable trust that she transferred all her assets into, including the accounts that named our client as the beneficiary. We filed an action seeking to undo the changes to the mother's estate plan and for tortious interference with inheritance and breach of fiduciary duty against the brother.

After a 5-day jury trial, the jury returned a verdict finding the irrevocable trust, two wills, and transfers of the investment accounts were the result of undue influence. The jury also found in our favor on the intentional interference claim and breach of fiduciary duty claim. After the verdict, we filed an application for attorney fees under the tortious interference claim and awarded $145,000 in attorney fees. As a result, the client's increased inheritance and damages totaled $1.1M. 

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2. dbsh general
3. nathan j schroeder