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business litigation
trust and estate litigation
Enforcement of contract to make a will
Our client in this case was divorced in 1972. As part of
the divorce agreement, her ex-husband agreed to make a will leaving his
entire estate at his death to the couple's four children. Many years
later, when the ex-husband died, it was revealed that he had reneged on
this obligation and had instead drafted a "pour-over" will and revocable
trust that left his entire estate to the children of his second wife.
We brought suit in the Circuit Court for the City of St.
Louis to enforce the ex-husband's contractual obligation to make a will in
favor of our client's children. The trial court ruled in favor of our
client, and ordered that the trust be reformed to provide that all assets
be distributed to the children of our client. We successfully defended the
trial court's judgment in the Missouri Court of Appeals, which affirmed
the judgment in all respects.
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