During the pendency of a divorce action, the Barnstable Probate and Family Court found that the wife’s restatement of her revocable living trust so as to longer provide the husband with a life estate in the marital home was not a violation of the automatic restraining order, Rule 411. Central to the holding was that title to the home was not conveyed or transferred – and that the asset was not placed outside of the Court’s reach for purposes of equitable distribution. The restatement only affected Husband’s expectancy of a future interest which does not implicate Rule 411. To those who had wondered whether changing a will violated Rule 411, this case provides good ammunition that it does not. Darden v. Darden (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-001-09) (October 15, 2009) (published in Lawyers Weekly February 15, 2010).
The Greater Boston metro family law lawyers and estate planning attorneys at the Wellesley, MA law firm of Fields and Dennis serve the Greater Boston region including Allston, Arlington, Boston, Brighton, Brookline, Chestnut Hill, Concord, Dedham, Dover, Lexington, Natick, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Westwood, and all Massachusetts.
