LITIGATIONRESULTS - Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek SC

WHD Successfully Defends
ESTATE Beneficiaries Against
Large Wisconsin Institution
WHD successfully defended the beneficiaries of a $9 million estate against
a large Wisconsin institution in a will contest that involved complex issues
of testamentary capacity, proper execution of wills, and standing to sue.
The clients were beneficiaries of their father’s will executed shortly before his
death. After such will was admitted to probate, the Wisconsin institution—a
beneficiary under a prior will—sued to overturn the latest will, alleging that the
latest will was invalid because the decedent lacked testamentary capacity
and that the will was procured by the clients’ undue influence. In addition
to testamentary capacity and undue influence claims, this litigation included
disputes over legal issues of first impression regarding the requirements
for execution of a will under Wisconsin’s adaptation of the Uniform Probate
Code and regarding a third party’s right to compel an autopsy for purposes of
discovery in civil litigation. The case was successfully settled after a two-day
mediation following more than a year and a half of litigation. At the end of the
mediation, the clients walked away with a dismissal of the objection to will in
exchange for what amounted to the expense of taking the matter through trial.
halley
tidwall
Litigation Type: Will contest – trust and estate litigation
Court: Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Lead WHD Counsel: Philip Halley and Karen Tidwall
Principal WHD Team Members: Philip Halley, Karen Tidwall,
Pamela Price (paralegal)
Practice Area Involved: Trust, Estate & Fiduciary Litigation
14 LITIGATION RESULTS