Will Contest Attorneys — New Jersey
Contested estates in the New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part — and how a caveat actually works.
Overview
The New Jersey Appellate Division refuses to impose compensatory damages based on undue influence
In a recent decision of the New Jersey Appellate Division in the seminal Stockdale Will Contest case, the Court refused to impose compensatory or punitive damages against the influencer, Ronald Sollitto, or his attorney, Anthony Casale, despite the finding of undue influence surrounding Stockdale’s Will and the transfer of her home to Sollitto.
In the underlying Will contest, the Spring Lake First Aid Squad, a beneficiary under Stockdale’s prior Will, successfully challenged as a product of undue influence Decedent’s 2000 Will and the inter vivos sale/transfer of her house to Sollitto. The trial Court admitted a prior Will to probate, rescinded the sale of the house to Sollitto, and awarded punitive damages of $1.174 million in legal fees incurred by the Squad against Sollitto and Casale. On appeal, the Appellate Division reversed the award of punitive damages and instead ordered the Squad’s fees paid from the Estate.
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