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Wills, Trusts & Estates Keyed to Gallanis
Flannery v. McNamara
Citation:
738 N.E.2d 739 (Mass. 2000)Facts
The decedent’s will, dated January 20, 1973, left his entire estate to his wife, Katherine M. White. The relevant part of the will provides that: “I give, devise, and bequeath all of the property of which I die possessed real, personal, and mixed of nature and wheresoever located to my beloved wife, Katherine M. White.” The decedent’s will failed to name a contingent beneficiary and it did not contain a residuary clause. Katherine died October 14, 1993, survived by the decedent and her two sisters, the Flannerys. The couple had no children. McNamara, the decedent’s attorney, repeatedly advised the decedent to let him review the will, but the decedent never showed the will to McNamara. After the decedent died in 1995, McNamara was appointed administrator of the decedent’s estate. He received the decedent’s will for probate and was preparing to distribute the estate to the heirs by way of intestate succession, when the Flannerys filed for declaratory relief and reformation of the will on November 25, 1997.
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11m 20s