The Probate Lawyer Blog

The wars over the final wishes of Bill Davidson & Mel Simon

William Davidson and Melvin Simon had a lot in common.  Both were billionaires and both were Jewish.  Simon built his fortune through the country's biggest shopping mall company, Simon Property Group, and Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.3 billion.  Davidson led Guardian Industries Corp., one of the world's largest glass suppliers, and had a fortune recently tabbed at $4.5 billion. 

They also each owned NBA franchises in the midwest.  Davidson owned the Detroit Pistons (yeah!), while Simon co-owned the rival Indiana Pacers (boo!) with his brother, Herbert Simon. 

Both men died last year, with Davidson passing away at age 86 in March and Simon passing in October, at age 82.  And both were survived by spouses as well as children from prior marriages.

And, in both instances, the spouse and the children from the prior marriage did not see eye to eye.  Because of that, both the Davidson Estate and Simon Estate are mired in lawsuits about the true wishes of the beloved billionaires. 

6 Tips to Avoid Exploitation of Elderly by Family Member

Danielle Mayoras was recently quoted in this interesting article by the Detroit Free Press about the growing epidemic of exploitation of the elderly.  It discussed a very sad case where a daughter took hundreds of thousands of dollars from her elderly mother and now is in jail saying the money is gone and she can't return it.

This is one example of how more and more families are facing the devastation caused by exploitation of elderly loved ones, often by a family member or caregiver.

So how do families protect their golden seniors, whose lifetime of savings can often be a tempting target for desperate or unethical people?  There are no magic answers, but here are a few Trial & Heirs Tips that we provided to the Detroit Free Press which ran next to the newspaper story:

Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!

Pauly Shore sues brother for undue influence

One of Hollywood's most famous entertainment spots has sparked what may be a very bitter and ugly family fight in court. 

Comedian Pauly Shore filed a lawsuit claiming that his brother, Peter Shore, has been using unscrupulous behavior and committing undue influence over their 79-year old mother, Mitzi Shore.  Mitzi suffers from Parkinson's disease and other neurological problems.  Reportedly, she's been in the care of Peter (Pauly's older brother), but Pauly has grown increasingly concerned for her well-being, according to his lawsuit filed earlier this month in the Los Angeles Superior Court. 

Pauly, Peter and their mother were, until recently, the three directors of The Comedy Store, one of Hollywood's most famous comedy clubs.  It's featured distinguished comedians such as Johnny Carson, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, George Carlin, and Robin Williams (and -- even better -- it's reportedly haunted by a ghost that plays pranks).  Mitzi won the club in a divorce in 1973 and has owned it ever since.

Brooke Astor's son gets 1 to 3 year jail sentence

Anthony Marshall and the attorney he conspired with, Francis Morrissey, each received jail sentences earlier this week for 1 to 3 years.  They had been convicted of looting Brooke Astor, Marshall's mother, out of $60 million by convincing her to change her will when she was mentally unable to comprehend it due to Alzheimer's disease, along with related crimes. 

Marshall's attorneys had pled for leniency, citing his advanced age, poor health and doctors' reports saying any jail time would equate to a death sentence for him.  The Probate Lawyer Blog covered the defense lawyer's efforts in this recent article.

The judge wouldn't hear of it.  He noted how sad it was that a life of extreme abundance led to such sadness, particularly when Marshall's own son took the stand and "tried very, very hard to destroy" Marshall.

The judge did consider that Mrs. Astor loved her son, the judge felt, along with other mitigating factors, so he did not impose the 4 1/2 years that the prosecutors requested.  In fact, the judge said he actually preferred a different sentence.  He wished he could cause Marshall's many millions to be donated to charity and leave Marshall in the hands of his wife (for whom he committed the crimes, the judge said) to care for him -- without his money.

L'Oreal fortune fight leads to interesting criminal case

It's been almost a year since The Probate Lawyer Blog featured a story on the court battle over whether the heiress to the L'Oreal fortune has been a victim of fraud and exploitation.  87-year old Liliane Bettencourt has been called Europe's richest woman.  In the article I wrote last December, I explained how Bettencourt's daughter, Francois Bettencourt Meyers, sued to prove that a celebrity photographer had received gifts from the elder Bettencourt of more than one billion dollars by preying on her mental frailty. 

The gift recipient, Francois-Marie Banier, and Bettencourt said she was competent and made the gifts of her own free will because they were dear friends.  And yes, they said, it's a lot of money, but considering her fortune has been recently valued at $13 billion (U.S. value) by Forbes, it's not that much money.  (Anyone buy that?)

I had suggested last year that I found it odd that Meyers hadn't started a guardianship proceeding to have her mother declared legally incompetent.  Well, now she has tried that, but the effort failed because Bettencourt refused to submit to a medical evaluation of her mental state, even though a doctor who reviewed her medical records apparently felt she needed a guardian (that doctor's report is what Meyers relied on for her guardianship filing).

A tale of fortune, fraud, ice cream, and murder?

Tom Carvel was the creator of soft serve ice cream and one of the founding fathers of the franchise system in America.  When his ice cream truck suffered a flat tire in New York in 1934, he sold his melting ice cream from a parking lot.  Those humble beginnings led to the first soft-serve ice cream store and eventually grew into the Carvel ice cream chain with 850 locations.  Carvel died in 1990 at age 84, with a fortune conservatively estimated at around $80 million.  The legal fighting started soon thereafter.  And it hasn't stopped yet.

The battles have passed through federal courts in three states, along with state courts in New York, Florida, Delaware, and even England (not New England ... England!).  Reportedly, legal fees and commissions have already cost the Carvel financial legacy more than $28 million. 

On one side was Pamela Carvel, Tom's niece.  She helped Tom's widow, Agnes, through years of court battles until she passed in 1998 at age 89.  In fact, the pair lived together in London -- trying to escape the heartache caused by years of fighting and seeking some peace for Agnes in her final years.

On the other side were two longtime employees of Tom Carvel -- former secretary Mildred Arcadipane and attorney Robert Davis.  At least, they were fighting until they too passed away in (one in 2002 and the other shortly thereafter).