Estate Litigation and Trust Dispute in Probate Court regarding Dennis Hopper and his prenup.

As Probate Attorney Blog properly predicted and TMZ later in the day confirmed in their article Dennis Hopper Probate Battle Brewing then the New York Daily News Reported on today there will be a Trust Litigation fight in Probate Court upcoming with an aggressive estate dispute contesting the phrasing of what Victoria Hopper is entitled to pursuant to the prenup she had with the Easy Rider Actor who sadly died from cancer. Their article titled Dennis Hopper couldn't divorce his wife in time probate battle brewing.

It will be in probate court although given that probate only concerns the property that is in a decedents sole name without a designated beneficiary and it appears that Hopper had a funded trust a trust and estate dispute or trust and estate litigation in probate court may be more accurate description.

The trust estate dispute will center on the fact that in their prenup of the 41 year old Victoria and 74 year old actor it said in order for her to receive 25% of his estate she would need to be married to him which there will not be a dispute as he was not able to divorce in time and living together. They were not in fact living together and in fact he had a restraining order against her as there had been alegations she had tried to kill him. A judge had agreed that she was hindering his health and signed a restraining order against her from coming too close to him. However she is expected to argue that that is still satisfied given that she was living next door and at his home. She will likely also claim that they were not living together solely because of his illness and that it was his eldest daughter who had pressured him for the divorce when he lacked capacity and she had convinced him to seek a divorce he would not have otherwise sought.

Her argument about living at the home will be interesting as well given that the prenup done while he had capacity and agreed upon by both parties explicitly said that upon either party filing for divorce if they had a child she was required to move out within 60 days from the home and would get nothing. However for whatever the reason a judge had allowed her to remain at the home for the time being and had him continue to pay her $12,000 despite no agreement to do so as spousal maintenance and child support. Additionally had she been living with him and married to him she would receive a $250,000 life insurance policy if not it would pass to his children and/or other beneficiaries. There had already been a hearing re contesting whether or not that should be changed and no decision had been made.

It will be interesting to follow the trust dispute in probate court and updates will be reported here about the estate related litigation from this blog and a the ProbateAttorneyBlog.com

An Emirati man tries the "Gold to Go" vending machine ... - Yahoo! News Photos

While in the US and on mainstreet ATM machines are merely to get money although for the Goldman Sachs type crowd and other especially wealthy trust and estate clients a vending machine is pictured in this article of dispensing "Gold to go" in the United Arab Emirates. As Yahoo News reports the AFP story.

Tattling for Dollars: The Ranks of IRS Tax Informants Grows - DailyFinance

Daily Finance.com reports that a lot more people are informing on others to the Internal Revenue Service the past few years.

Jonathan Berr mentions that there is a good compliance rate of around 85% but that this allows the government to get more dollars than they otherwise would.

The change came about following the passage of the Tax Relief and Healthcare Act of 2006.

For those with a dispute or a grudge with an ex it allows them to get revenge and make a considerable amount of money. The prior law was changed in two significant ways that it is no longer up to the government to decide if they are going to give a reward and only when and how much they feel like but they are now always giving 15-30% depending on the circumstances of collections from tax evasion of money owed which is above $2 million dollars.

An interesting issue being discussed is what if any involvement could the person have in creating the evasion. Bradley Birkenfeld the former UBS Banker who blew the whistle on the massive tax evasion scheme by wealthy Americans is reportedly seeking a reward in the billions although the government does not want to give him anything since he played a role in helping billionaire Igor Olenicoff cheat on his taxes a crime that he is serving a 40 month jail term for.

The article also points out that because of the economic downturn the IRS is making fewer deals with taxpayers to settle for less than is owed.

Siblings Cindy and Kenan Altunis Buy Winning Lottery Tickets From Same Store - AOL News

AOL News reports of the great luck for the family who had two siblings buy winning lottery tickets which alone will give them taxable estates in 2011 under current law (in excess of a million dollars) in the past couple years.

Visiting a gas station when visiting her mom in Long Island stopped in at a service station that had good memories for the family after her brother had won $1 million dollars there in 2008 with a lottery ticket. She just learned she has won over a million as well. Although just 32 years old likely another person who will be seeking to have the 2011 and subsequent years estate tax exemption to be increased from the current $1 million that is scheduled to be allowed. It is expected that the exemption will be revised to $3.5 million as was provided in 2009 although no action has been taken yet.

World's oldest person dies a week before turning 115 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

The World's oldest person died at 114. Kama Chinen of Okinawa Japan was just a week from her 115th birthday.

The all time record for longevity is France's Jean Louise Calment who died in August 1997 after having lived 122 years 164 days according to Guinness book of world records.

See Brad Lendon's blog post World's oldest person dies a week before turning 115.

World's oldest person dies a week before turning 115 – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

95 year old great grandma going to first prom

A nice video of an elderly lady who has never been to a prom is going as one of two dates of her great grandson.

It is part of the great grandma's bucket list. She is not going to dance but just wants to go and see it. She recently also went to her first concert in a limo and had backstage pass to Reba Mcentire but commented it was too noisy.

Her nursing home keeps a Bucket List of the residents final desires before they pass on and had that on the list for her.

Too see the CNN video click here.

Amid Family Tragedies, Iowa Man Richard Koenigsfeld Wins $1 Million Lottery - AOL News

As AOL news reports a guy a nice story that a guy who has had a difficult year with his wife dying of cancer a month earlier and their having lost their son played the lottery in observation of his wife's birthday and won a million dollars. Interesting to note that between time value of money and taxes the million will come out to about $455,000.

94-Year-Old Gets Final Wish: A Waltz

A nice story of an elderly woman. As Yahoo news reported the 94 year old woman with less than six months to live had as a final wish that she would Waltz again as she had for years with her husband who was now deceased so a limo was rented and she was dressed up then had some dance partners to allow her to enjoy the evening.