Wealth Litigated

Is an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) unfunded and unenforceable when the life insurance company rejects the paperwork to transfer policy ownership to the trustee? That is the question the California Court of Appeal decided in Dudek v. Dudek (2019) — and the answer changes the moment you cross a state line. Faulty paperwork can look exactly like failed trust funding. Industry estimates put...

When a plan to cut out an heir backfires, it can cost tens of millions. This episode kicks off "Disinherited," a Wealth Litigated series on what happens when estate plans are challenged by the very heirs they meant to leave behind. We break down State of New York ex rel. Pressman v. Pressman , where a disinherited son of the Barneys NY dynasty turned state tax whistleblower to target a $20M allege...

A husband moved $350,000 in marital stock options into a Nevada irrevocable trust — telling his wife it was tax planning. Four years later, he filed for divorce in Utah. Could the divorce court reach those options, or had the irrevocable trust put them beyond equitable distribution for good? In this Wealth Litigated Brief-ly (Episode B102), we forensically analyze the Utah Court of Appeals decisio...

What happens when the beneficiary refuses to reimburse the QTIP Trust for $1 million in taxes prepaid on his behalf? In a word, litigation. But that's just the half of it. In a unique twist, the beneficiary (trustee's nephew) weaponized discovery and demanded trustee's confidential communications with trust litigation counsel in the Hempt case. The Pennsylvania Appellate Court answers this questio...

What happens when an ex-spouse and a current spouse both claim to be the “spouse” for an irrevocable family trust?. This episode breaks down the Ochse case (Texas Court of Appeals, 2020), where one word— Spouse —created a high-stakes battle between a wife of 30 years and a wife of three years. In 2008, a mother-in-law created an irrevocable trust for her son and his "spouse". By the time the mothe...

What happens when a Massachusetts divorce court reaches into a Michigan irrevocable trust and pulls out $1.17 million for an ex-son-in-law?. Despite a spendthrift clause and an independent trustee with "sole and absolute discretion," a 2023 appellate decision in the Jones case proved that some "divorce-proof" trust designs aren't as bulletproof as they look. In this episode, Professor Kelly Lise M...

For 16 years, the system worked perfectly: the insurance company mailed premium notices to the trustee (the insured’s best friend), the friend called the dentist’s wife, she funded the trust account, and the bill was paid. But when the friend moved and forgot to update his address with the insurer, that "payment loop" shattered. Two months later, the policy lapsed; five months after that, the dent...

How does a $12 million pet trust get gutted by 83% in court while a $4.7 million pet trust survives a challenge without losing a dime? Same state, same year, same statute—but two radically different outcomes. In EP 109, Pet Trusts Gone Wrong - OVERFUNDED (Part 2 of 2), Professor Kelly Lise Murray, JD, breaks down the high-stakes litigation surrounding Leona Helmsley’s dog, Trouble , and Lenoir Abe...

One missing clause sent an $80,000 pet trust into years of litigation before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court — and the pet was already dead. In this deep dive into actually litigated pet trust cases from Massachusetts and Milan, Italy, we expose the dangerous planning gaps that can turn the most well-intentioned pet trust into an estate administration nightmare. What You'll Learn The Term...

What happens when an irrevocable family trust holds over $2 million in marital assets , but excludes one spouse entirely upon divorce? This episode deconstructs the landmark Dahl v. Dahl (Utah Supreme Court, 2015) decision, where a single word in a trust document—and a massive procedural oversight—put a $2 million marital interest at risk. Professor Kelly Lise Murray, JD, breaks down how "irrevoca...

How do you lose 100% of your retirement assets in a divorce, even after the marital property was already divided 50/50? This episode concludes our deep dive into the De Benedetti case , where a major league baseball all-star faced a $2 million judgment for breach of fiduciary duty after squandering $3.6 million in cash. We analyze the wife's radical legal strategy to collect that judgment by seeki...

What's worse than losing half your retirement in divorce? Losing all of it. In the landmark California case, D. Benedetti, a Major League Baseball All-Star earned $11 million, but $3.6 million in community assets vanished without explanation during his 16-year marriage. When his wife finally discovered the truth—secret brokerage accounts, disastrous day trading, weekly cash withdrawals with no pap...

Arkansas, 2025. A widow loses $1.4M on appeal in a trust dispute—then faces another battle: Can the trustee garnish her $2M legal malpractice settlement from his own alleged malpractice? THE SETUP After her husband's death, the widow sued her late husband's lawyer—who also served as trustee, estate planner, and at times, her lawyer—for legal malpractice. The case settled for the $2M policy limit (...

Arkansas, 2017. A 45-year-old widow receives $3 million from her husband's estate—$13,000 monthly checks plus discretionary distributions. But she doesn't control it. Every major decision requires trustee approval. The same lawyer who wrote the premarital agreement and drafted the estate plan now controls her financial future. The distribution directives? Secret, even from her. Three no-contest cl...

When a wealth manager inherited over $10 million from his grandmother, pharmaceutical heiress Bunny Mellon, he made a series of decisions that would cost him everything. After his wife discovered a first affair, he agreed to a postnuptial agreement featuring a $7 million "bad boy clause"—and he personally increased the penalty from $5 million to $7 million to prove his commitment. He signed it aga...

What happens when a Ponzi schemer loses $5.2 million of stolen investor money at Hollywood's most exclusive poker games? The winners get sued—and Bad Brad gets his revenge from prison. "Bad Brad," the real-life inspiration for a character in Molly's Game , was the ultimate "big fish" at underground high-stakes poker tables with A-list celebrities, billionaires, and wealthy entrepreneurs. Buy-in: $...