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In Redding v. Proulx, Case No. 09-P-722, 2010 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 580 (June 1, 2010), a decision issued pursuant to Rule 1:28, the Appeals Court addressed the shifting of the burden of proof in an undue influence action. The decedent's grandson claimed that the granddaughter had unduly influenced the decedent to amend her will for the granddaughter's benefit and to transfer certain bank accounts during her lifetime to the granddaughter. The grandson argued that because the granddaughter was the decedent's attorney-in-fact, the burden should have shifted to the granddaughter to disprove undue influence. The Court disagreed, holding that the burden does not shift where the fiduciary does not play a role in the principal's generosity toward the fiduciary. Here, the evidence showed that although the granddaughter was the decedent's fiduciary, and although the decedent changed her will and transferred bank accounts for the granddaughter's benefit, the granddaughter played no role in these decisions.
In Davis v. Davis, Case No. 09-P-1356, 2010 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 596, another decision issued pursuant to Rule 1:28, the trustee of a realty trust sought instruction and a declaration allowing her to terminate the trust and distribute its assets to the beneficiaries, arguing that continuation of the trust would be uneconomical due to the cost of maintaining the property. Four of the five beneficiaries supported termination and distribution. The fifth beneficiary counterclaimed that, among other things, the trustee deliberately spent down the trust by commencing the action and paying associated legal fees from the trust account. The Court affirmed the lower court's grant of summary judgment for the trustee, holding that the judge had not abused her discretion under G.L. 203, § 25 in ruling that continuation of the trust would be uneconomical. Moreover, the trustee was well within her rights in seeking instruction from the court, given the lack of unanimity among the beneficiaries. As the Court explained, "faced with the lack of unanimity of the beneficiaries and the depletion of funds to maintain the property, the trustee more likely would have breached her duties had she failed to seek instruction from the court."Kaitlyn (Katie) Sapp co-presented on "Updates in Probate Law and Practice" at the Massachusetts Bar Association's Ninth Annual Probate Law Conference on November 8.
Margaret Meehan, Tiana Gianopulos and Alexis Gettier collaborated on an article, "New Direction: The Connecticut Uniform Directed Trust Act" for the Quinnipiac Probate Law Journal.
Mark Romance authored an article, "Five Tips for Representing a Non-Party Served with a Document Subpoena: Welcome to the Party?," published by the American Bar Association Section of Litigation.
Mark A. Romance authored an article, "Five Tips for an Effective Mediation Statement," which was published by the American Bar Association, Section of Litigation.
New Jersey Office Managing Partner Paul Marino was featured in Capital Analytics Associates' Invest: North Jersey article, "Maintaining the Emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."
Six Boston-based Individual Clients Department Day Pitney attorneys were named to Boston Magazine's Inaugural Top Lawyers of 2021 List.
Adam Myron, senior counsel resident in Day Pitney's West Palm Beach office, is running for judge in south Florida.
Alisa Hacker was appointed to the Boston Bar Association Virtual Hearing Resource Guides Probate Team.
Day Pitney's Michael Napoleone has been appointed to the Palm Beach County League of Cities board of directors.
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This website may use cookies, pixel tags and other passive tracking technologies, including Google Analytics, to improve functionality and performance. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. By using our website, you are consenting to our use of these tracking technologies. You can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but if you do so, it is possible that some areas of web sites that use cookies will not function properly when you view them. To learn more about how to delete and manage cookies, refer to the support instructions for each browser (e.g., see AllAboutCookies.org). You may locate Google Analytics' currently available opt-outs for the web here.