The law and facts do not always align. There are circumstances in which someone may be treated as another’s child legally even though he or she is not biologically a child. By way of example, a child born during a marriage is presumptively the husband’s offspring for all purposes, including probate and inheritance. Bower v….
Legal Articles
Probate Statements of Account, Objections
A probate estate for a deceased individual is designed to pay any remaining debts and liabilities and distribute any remaining property to the heirs as inheritance. When a probate estate has assets worth more than $40,000, the process generally takes 7-14 months. At the conclusion of the process, the personal representative/executor of the estate must…
Spousal Abandonment, Probate Inheritance
Sometimes very unexpected developments can occur in probate litigation. This is largely because there are very unique probate laws in Missouri. For example, a spouse who “abandons” a deceased spouse waives any inheritance interest he or she may have in the deceased spouse’s estate. Specifically, Section 474.140, RSMo provides that: If any married person…
Equitable Retainer
Trust, estate and probate law has many interesting quirks. An example of this is the equitable retainer doctrine. In short, it is a legal concept which, in practice, reduces the amount of inheritance a heir may receive if the heir had a debt to the deceased. In other words, if you are to inherit money from…
Removal of Conservator, "Interested Persons"
Like with any fiduciary (e.g., trustee, guardian, attorney-in-fact), a conservator appointed to represent the property/assets of a minor or legally incapacitated adult may be removed for cause. Section 475.082.5, RSMo allows any “interested person” to file a motion/petition alleging that a conservator is not discharging his/her statutory responsibilities and duties or has not acted in the…
Escheat: When Property/Estate without Heirs goes to the State
What happens when someone passes away and there is nobody alive who can legally inherit? Does the property just sit without an owner for eternity? Does it go to auction? Under traditional Common Law, the property escheats — that is, it reverts to ownership by the State/Government. This principle is codified in Missouri in statutory Chapter…