Olde Barrister

  The Case     After Douglas died, a dispute arose between his son, Chadd, and Douglas' longtime companion, Judy. Chadd sought to probate Douglas' earlier will, which left his estate to his sons. Judy objected and offered a later handwritten document that she claimed Douglas intended as his will. The problem was that, while Douglas had signed and dated the document, Judy acknowledged that she had written the actual dispositive provisions in her own handwriting. She argued that Douglas dictated the terms and directed her what to write. A court was asked to decide whether the document qualified as a valid holographic will. Because the essential facts were undisputed, the case was decided on summary judgment. The court held that a holographic will must satisfy the statutory requirement that the material provisions be in the testator's own handwriting. A document does not become the holographic will of one person merely because that person signs it when someone else wrote the...

  Government stupidity. Yeah, those two words are redundant. But here’s a TRUE story (name changed, of course).  Many years ago Puffuffnick owned property, went belly up in a spectacular way, both financially and personally, and passed away. His executor was left trying to clean up the mess.   One of his properties was needed for a local government project, and the local government offered a very good premium price for the property. Unfortunately Puffuffnick had some IRS problems – they had put a lien on his real estate and that had to be paid off as part of the closing.  Simple: ask the IRS for a payoff or their agreement to release the subject property on payment of all proceeds, right?  Nah.  For two months a bunch of lawyers tried to get the IRS to simply acknowledge the request. No luck. So Puffuffnick’s estate sued, in US District Court: Estate of Puffuffnick vs IRS.  The suit said, simply, “Judge: we own this property and the IRS has a li...

  Many many many years ago as a fairly young lawyer I represented a homeowner who was in litigation with the builder of her house.  She was, at best, a difficult client who thought she knew more than I did. (I learned a lot about when NOT to represent someone.!)  The client had hired her own “Expert” witness, an architect who, when I did my job and talked to him before the trial, told me his education was by "correspondence school" (now it's 'on line' education). He had not gone to college, either. No judge would have accepted him as an expert witness. But he was the witness my difficult client had, so I had to do my best.  In my favor was that the builder’s attorney was a ‘good old boy’ who had once built houses himself. He had not gone to law school but instead ‘read’ law which Virginia permits.  On the day of the trial, I call the witness. I ask about his job, how long he’s been at his job, what type of structures he works on, but I DID NOT ASK ABOUT HIS EDUC...

  Why DIY Wills Can Backfire: A Real-Life Example Many people try to save money by drafting their own Wills or getting help from a family member. While it seems simple, these “do-it-yourself” Wills often create costly problems later. Here’s a real-world example that shows why hiring a lawyer is worth it. The Situation: Dad’s Will (drafted with help from his son) leaves his “half” of the marital home to his daughter. Mom’s Will (also DIY) leaves her “half” of the same home to the daughter. Dad dies first in December 2024. The family assumes mom and daughter now co-own the home. Mom dies in October 2025. The family wants to probate both Wills to confirm daughter’s ownership. The Catch:  Mom and dad owned the home as  tenants by the entireties , which means when dad died, his interest automatically passed to mom—not to the daughter. Dad had nothing to give away in his Will. By the time mom died, she owned the entire property, but ...

              A while ago I represented an individual who sold some real estate that he had gotten from his parents. Fifteen years earlier my client’s parents conveyed some property on Smith Mountain Lake to my client and his two brothers, however they retained a life estate. Two years later my client’s brothers released their remainder interest to my client, such that my client’s parents had a life estate with him being the remainder interest.             Virginia follows the common law. At common law a “life estate” allows the owner of the life estate exclusive use of the property while they are alive. Upon their death, obviously, the life estate ends. The person who gets the property after the life estate is said to have a “remainder interest”, which is what my client had. Life estates can be created a number of ways, commonly in deeds either from someone conveying p...