Trust and Estates Litigation In the News

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Jimmy Buffett’s widow, finance manager file dueling lawsuits for control of $275M estate

By Juan C. Antúnez on June 15, 2025

If you make your living in or around the world of trusts…

Kecalf Franklin, a son of music superstar Aretha Franklin leaves a court hearing with his family on Tuesday in Pontiac, Mich. A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other. Carlos Osorio/AP

The Aretha Franklin will contest never would have happened in Florida

By Juan C. Antúnez on July 15, 2023

As reported in A jury rules a handwritten will found under Aretha …

When Henry Scott’s mother died two years ago, without leaving a will, it created an ‘heirs property’ dilemma for her children. Photo by Gary Lloyd McCullough. Appearing in The Miami Herald, "Heirs to Black-owned homes face ramped-up foreclosures. Here’s who’s pushing back," by Amelia Winger

Of heirs property and lady bird deeds

By Juan C. Antúnez on July 9, 2023

Heirs property generally refers to family-owned property inherited by multiple generations without…

Florida leaders give more love to family trusts of the super-rich

By Juan C. Antúnez on January 20, 2023

In defending their work politicians often repeat a quote attributed to Otto…

A Challenging Inheritance: The Fate of Mark Twain’s Will

By Juan C. Antúnez on December 28, 2022

A portrait of Mark Twain taken by A. F. Bradley in New York, 1907.

There have been numerous books and essays written about Mark Twain’s…
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What families, trust protectors, directed trustees, and the bankers and lawyers who work with them need to know about Florida’s new Uniform Directed Trust Act

By Juan C. Antúnez on October 31, 2022

The largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history will pass over $30 trillion…

Bending the Arc of History by Terrence Franklin

By Juan C. Antúnez on July 14, 2022

The work we do as trusts and estates attorneys can alter the…
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Florida needs to adopt the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act

By Juan C. Antúnez on January 27, 2022

In our increasingly mobile society, adult guardianships often involve more than one…
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The Schottenstein Affair: FINRA arbitration as yet another inheritance litigation venue

By Juan C. Antúnez on October 11, 2021

Trusts and estates law as we know it has been around for…

Wills, Slavery and Probate: The Legacy of Lucy Sutton

By Juan C. Antúnez on September 22, 2021

A defining characteristic of inheritance litigation is that the single most important…
Continue Reading Wills, Slavery and Probate: The Legacy of Lucy Sutton