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Background
Ms. Lee died testate on August 15, 2001, leaving a Last Will
and Testament dated June 21, 2001 (Ms. Lee’s will). Ms. Lee’s
will was admitted to probate on September 14, 2001, on which day
letters testamentary were issued to decedent.
Decedent died testate on September 30, 2001, also leaving a
Last Will and Testament dated June 21, 2001. Decedent’s will was
admitted to probate, and letters testamentary were issued to
Frese as successor executor. After decedent’s death, Frese was
appointed successor executor of Ms. Lee’s estate pursuant to Ms.
Lee’s will. The wills of decedent and Ms. Lee were drafted by
petitioner’s counsel, Barbara L. de Mare (Ms. de Mare).
When the estate planning was performed, decedent and Ms. Lee
suffered from a serious and ultimately fatal disease. Decedent
and Ms. Lee had three children in their twenties and wished to
establish trusts for those children. Decedent had been a
corporate executive and, because of the nature of his work
benefits, most of the assets of decedent and Ms. Lee were held in
decedent’s name. The joint assets and the assets titled in Ms.
Lee’s name alone constituted only a minimal portion of the
combined estates.
Through their wills, a major objective of decedent and Ms.
Lee was to obtain the maximum tax benefits for their respective
estates. To fulfill this goal, Ms. de Mare drafted the wills
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Last modified: March 27, 2008