Reference no: EM133407975

Case Study: Logan Roy, a full time resident of Florida, is a billionaire with a dysfunctional family and a global media conglomerate. Sadly, he suffers a stroke but survives. Based on his poor health, he decides its time to write a will. In his will he gives his primary residence that is homesteaded to his third and current wife, Marcia. He leaves everything else - the residue and remainder of his estate to two of his four of his children, Shiv and Roman, in equal shares per stirpes. He does not give anything to his oldest son, Connor, and the will never mentions Connor. He also does not leave anything to his son Kendall. Logan explicitly writes in the will that he is intentionally not giving anything to Kendall because he tried to take over the company and is a traitor to the family. He appoints Shiv as the executor of the will.

He signs the will in front of a notary public who properly certifies the signature. At the same time, Shiv signs as a witness and Logan's secretary signs as a second witness.

Since the stroke Shiv has been Logan's primary caretaker. Prior to the stroke, Shiv did her own thing and wasn't involved in the family business, but that has changed and now she is determined to acquire a leadership role in the company and accumulate vast amounts of wealth. She has been very open about her ambition. It is also well known that Shiv has never liked Marcia since she is a homewrecker. (Shiv has an open marriage so this may be a bit hypocritical.) Shiv has become very close with her father and Logan starts to rely on her for advice on all sorts of topics. By the time the will is written, Logan routinely relies on and follows Shiv's advice to the exclusion of others. Logan only consults with Shiv and he does not seek out opinions from others - even experts which is contrary to his past behavior.

Connor, Logan's first born child, was the only child of Logan and his first wife. Connor has not been involved in the family business and lives on his ranch in New Mexico. He believes himself to be his father's favorite child.

Logan's second son, Kendall was supposed to take over the family business but after Kendall publicly accuses Logan of committing fraud, they don't get along well (understatement). Logan has also tried to convince his siblings to vote out their father and put Kendall in charge of the company. The siblings do not go along with Kendall's plan.

Since the stroke and at the time he signed his will, Logan has behaved erratically. Not only is his family aware of his odd behavior, but stories have appeared in the national media as well. In spite of his odd behavior, he continues to successfully run his company as CEO.

Six months later, Logan dies. Shiv, as executor, reads the will to everyone and starts the probate process. Marcia wants to contest the will because she feels entitled to more than just one house. Connor wants to run for President of the United States so he needs money and wants to contest the will. Kendall, for obvious reasons, wants to contest the will.

Question:

1. You are Marcia's attorney and she asks your advice about contesting the will. List the grounds that Marcia has to contest the will and discuss the strength and weakness of the arguments.

2. You are now Connor's attorney and he asks your advice about contesting the will. List the grounds that Connor has to contest the will and discuss the strengths and weakness of the arguments.

3. You are now Kendall's attorney and he asks your advice about contesting the will. List the grounds that Kendall has to contest the will and discuss the strengths and weakness of the arguments.