Probate Litigation in the News

Manohla Dargis writes a movie review of a documentary about the Barnes Foundation for the New York Times.

Dr. Albert Barnes’ will provided that the collection must remain in its original location – the mansion in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania.

The Foundation became embroiled in controversy due to a financial crisis in the 1990s, partially related

Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, 85, was sentenced to one to three years in prison.  He was convicted earlier this year of 13 felonies and one misdemeanor.  Marshall’s former attorney, Francis Morrissey was also convicted on five counts including forgery and scheming to defraud Astor.  CNN reports

During the trial, Marshall was portrayed as

Liliane Bettencourt is the heiress to the L’Oreal cosmetics fortune.  Forbes estimates her net worth at $13.4 billion and lists her as the richest woman in Europe.

Her daughter, Francoise Bettentcourt-Meyers fied a criminal complaint in December 2007 against Francois-Marie Banier, a photographer, for exploiting the frail Mrs. Bettencourt and influencing her to give him

Bruce Carton at Legal Blog Watch writes:

"An out-of-court settlement has finally resolved a long-standing dispute among Dr. Martin Luther King’s children over his multimillion-dollar estate.

Although Dr. King died in 1968, his estate continues to produce substantial income. Among other things, the estate includes the broadcast rights to Dr. King’s “I have a

The jury came back on October 8, 2009 on the 11th day of deliberations with the verdict:  guilty on 14 counts including first-degree grand larceny and scheming to defraud.

The co-defendant, estate planning lawyer Francis X. Morrissey Jr. was convicted on 5 counts including scheming to defraud, conspiracy and forgery.

The trial took 5 months.