South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

The affidavits in support of respondents’ summary judgment motion did not set forth facts supporting the elements of equitable estoppel or estoppel by deed; consequently, appellant’s failure to respond with affidavits of his own did not entitle respondents to summary ...

Tagged with: Trusts & Estates

After appellant was removed as personal representative of the James Brown estate, respondents sued her for several torts based on, among other things, (1) appellant’s request for millions of dollars for services provided in a short amount of time and ...

Tagged with: Trusts & Estates

The testatrix’s will gave her personal representatives broad discretion in making distributions. Given such broad discretion, and despite the fact that the estate was unable to fulfill the testatrix’s specific bequest of $400,000 in cash to her respondent-stepdaughter, the personal ...

Tagged with: Trusts & Estates

The estate of the late James Brown faced a mountain of challenges, and there was testimony that it was next to impossible to competently administer the estate without retaining experts to assist, yet the appellant-trustee/personal representative endeavored to manage much ...

Although decedent William Murray signed a letter in 2006, which his daughters claim acknowledged his continuing debt to their late mother’s estate, the letter was too equivocal to constitute an admission that the debt was due and unpaid. Because the ...

The death of the witnesses to a non-self-proving will does not prohibit the probate of the will because the proponent of the will may present “other evidence” of due execution. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-406. Here, the proponents of their ...

Although § 15-36-10(C)(1) of the South Carolina Frivolous Civil Proceedings Sanctions Act delineates at what procedural stage a court will determine if a claim or defense is considered frivolous upon a motion of the prevailing party, this subsection does not ...

The testimony of Testatrix’s physical therapists, the lawyer who drew up her new will, and the lawyer’s assistant was sufficient to rebut the presumption of undue influence that arose from the appellant-son’s possession of Testatrix’s power of attorney and his ...

Statute of limitations could not be equitably estopped or tolled where decedent’s attorney had knowledge of the facts underlying the estate’s claim that could be imputed to decedent. We grant defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment based on the statute ...

One provision of a living trust says that, if both trust settlors are alive, either may withdraw property from the trust. Another provision says that, after one settlor dies, the other is to act as trustee alone. Thus, there is ...