PROBATE, ESTATE AND TRUST LITIGATION UPDATE – CASE LAW ARTICLE 1
SUBJECT: Use of undue influence regarding the execution and preparation of wills.
OVERVIEW: In the Illinois Supreme Court Case of Tidholm v. Tidholm, 391 Ill. 19; 62 N.E.2d 473; the Court upheld the rule pertaining to undue influence regarding the execution and preparation of wills The decedent was 86 years old at the time the will was executed and was deaf and suffered from poor eyesight. Under the will, the will contestant received only $100 and the beneficiary received the remainder of the estate valued at $16,000. The will contestant maintained that the beneficiary, who was his sister, exercised undue influence over the decedent and that the beneficiary furnished the information contained in the will to its draftsman.
The jury returned a verdict that the instrument was not the last will and testament of the testator. On appeal, the Court held that the will contestant’s proof tended to make out a case of undue influence. The Court found that the trial court erred in denying the will contestant’s motion for a new trial.
PROBATE, ESTATE AND TRUST LITIGATION REVIEW - CASE LAW ARTICLE 2
SUBJECT: Breach of Fiduciary Duty.
In the Illinois Supreme Court Case of In re Estate of Thomas Talty, Deceased (Helen Talty, Petitioner-Appellee v. William Talty, Respondent-Appelant Ill.App.3d. 877 N.E. 2d 1195) the Court found that the executor exercised bad faith and breached his duty to widow by failing to make full disclosure of transactions relating to sale of corporate stock and real estate. The executor was personally liable for the difference between the sale price received and the fair market value, as well as fees and costs paid by the estate while he was executor.
OVERVIEW: The widow brought action against the executor, who had co-owned with the decedent an automobile dealership corporation and the dealership's real estate, seeking to set aside sales of corporate stock and real estate pursuant to repurchase agreement executed by executor. An executor can serve potentially conflicting interests without exercising bad faith as fiduciary. The executor owes a fiduciary duty to both the testator's estate and the beneficiaries named in the will.
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Located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, lawyer Jerome G. McSherry serves clients throughout Cook County and surrounding Lake County, DuPage County, Will County, and Kane County, including the communities of Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Inverness, Palatine, Schaumburg, Wheeling, and Mt. Prospect.