Stealing an Inheritance

62 year old attorney, Arnold Hadley had just won a very large jury verdict, and his contingency fee for the work would allow him to retire handsomely. But the case was now up on appeal and even if he won the appeal, he had to find a way to pay the bills until the appeal was completed and the judgment paid. That would take approximately two years. But a new case arrived just in time. Roberta Ranger at 89 years of age and with progressive Alzheimer's Disease, suddenly changed her long standing Multi-Million Dollar estate plan to name her neighbor as the sole beneficiary. Arnold Hadley would represent Roberta's family and the Charities which had been replaced by the neighbor as beneficiary in this new estate plan. Representing the former beneficiaries turned out to be more difficult than expected when it was discovered that a neuropsychologist had examined Roberta at the same time she signed the new Will and Trust. He opined that Roberta had the sufficient mental capacity to change her estate plan. Arnold Hadley must find a way to overcome this obstacle. To make matters worse, Arnold Hadley was arrested during a Black Lives Matter rally which arrest, might put his license to practice law in jeopardy.

Roberta Ranger had a long standing estate plan naming her nephew as the executor and leaving 40% of a $20 Million Estate to family and 60% to Charities. However at 89 years of age and suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, Roberta changed her estate plan to leave everything to a neighbor who had arranged for her own attorney to draft the new Will for Roberta. That attorney had a neuropsychologist exam Robert immediately after signing the Will and it was the expert's opinion that Roberta, though having declining mental capacity, still was competent to sign the Will. Arthur Hadley was hired by the nephew, and by implication the other former beneficiaries, to contest the Will. Hadley discovered that Roberta's middle name was spelled wrong in the Will and that the neuropsychologist himself was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Arthur Hadley's representation of his client was complicated by (1) another case where he had to argue the exact opposite point of view from this case, and (2) his license to practice law could be suspended or revoked by the State Bar during this work after he got arrested during a Black Lives Matter rally. The case went to trial and surprising evidence lead to a compromise that resulted in at least partial justice.

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