Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys

» Guns, Will, and Gwatney's Name Found in Shooter's Home in

The man who fatally shot the chairman of the state Democratic Party had a Post-It note at home with the victim's last name and phone number along with 14 guns, antidepressants and a last will and testament, ...

» Confess Your Tax Sins To Sweeney Todd
There’s a new movie out called Sweeney Todd. I haven’t seen it yet, but it has all the features I look for in a flick: revenge, dark humor, and even a little singing (ok, I confess that last one is a lie — I despise musicals). The people marketing the movie are doing something fun [...]

» Workplace Flexibility Lets Mothers Thrive
Get creative with scheduling and tap into the experience and talents of women seeking a mom-friendly workplace.

» Jurisdiction in Probate

I remember very little about my law school jurisdiction class (other than the fact that my professor, who looked like a Teutonic version of Queen lead singer Freddy Mercury, wore the world's tightest jeans).

But jurisdictional questions do arise in the probate context. Often these issues have to be resolved by the court sua sponte (on its own, without motion from either party), since a party may not even have standing to present an argument. In re. Estate of Hoch v. Hoch (a 4th district Appellate Court case, available as a PDF here) is such a case, in which an Illinois court dismissed an Illinois probate (vacating its own order admitting the decedent's Will to probate) because a probate had already been initiated in Louisiana.

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Companies recognize they need gray-haired types as much as the gray hairs need work.