Attorney Sheryl Dennis was recently quoted in the Boston Globe’s coverage of a high-profile estate dispute centering on Suffolk University’s Stahl Center at 73 Tremont Street in Boston.
The case involves the contested final wishes of Rosalie K. Stahl, who died in 2020. It revolves around a conflict between Rosalie’s two daughters over whether estate trustee Barry Brown acted properly in directing $17 million to Suffolk University rather than transferring ownership of the $125 million building, and whether Rosalie had the legal capacity to authorize the final changes to her estate.
Estate fights among siblings and friends are notoriously “messy,” Sheryl Dennis was quoted as saying.
Attorney Dennis offered this additional perspective in the Globe’s coverage:
“There is so much emotion that gets dug up in all of this probate. It’s, ‘Mom liked you best. Mom was going to do this, but then you influenced her to do that,’ even if that might not be the case. But Mom is not around to say what she really wanted.”
Brown held what the court records describe as “sole and absolute” discretion over the fate of 73 Tremont. Another issue was Rosalie’s declining capacity. She suffered from vascular dementia, a disease that can progress gradually, making it difficult to establish when legal capacity has declined.
The Stahl case is a reminder that estates can become disputed when family relationships are fractured, a trusted advisor holds broad unchecked authority, and questions of mental capacity go unaddressed.
Read more about the case here:
