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Ex-Houston tv reporter denied claim to Taub estate
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The Houston Chronicle is reporting that former KTRK Channel 13 reporter Mary-Ellen Conway will not receive a portion of the late Henry J.N. Taub's estate. In court filings, Conway claimed to have been Taub's common law wife and entitled to "a $150,000 annual allowance, medical and nursing home care, a working horse farm in Brookshire and a brass sculpture of Taub, among other things" alleged to be designated in a missing codicil to Taub's will. She also sought Taub's $1.5 million River Oaks residence which is currently home to one of the Taub sons.
A trial was scheduled this week, but a confidential settlement instead was reportedly reached. The Chronicle said:
Harris County Probate Judge Kathy Stone issued a final judgment and finding of facts based on an agreement between Conway and Taub's adult children.
The judge ruled Conway would take nothing. Stone found that Conway never married nor cohabitated with Taub, nor was she given a wedding ring.
“The case has been resolved in my client's favor for its nuisance value,” the Taub children's lawyer Don Jackson said in a written statement. “The court's findings of fact make it clear that there was absolutely no validity to Ms. Conway's claims and cites 19 individual reasons why Mr. Taub and Ms. Conway were never married, formally or informally. The evidence was overwhelming.”
Stone additionally found that "a 1987 written agreement between Conway and Taub stating that they were not married was in full force."
Estate litigation is becoming more common. Probate venues are increasingly seen as a means by which to perpetrate Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) actions in which legal instruments like wills, trusts, guardianships or powers of attorney are used to divert assets from intended beneficiaries or heirs.
Having responsibly-prepared estate documents that clearly articulate an asset distribution plan is no guarantee that an estate will be spared litigation. The truth is that anyone can sue claiming anything - and depending upon access to legal channels or availability and willingness to spend resources in such a pursuit, a nothing claim can become a litigation nightmare. Marshall v. Marshall, Anna Nicole Smith's pursuit of her late husband's estate that continues posthumously today, nearly 15 years after the initial filing, proves this point.
Giving a thug money to not throw a rock through a window is called extortion. Giving money to an undeserving litigant for their withdrawal of a frivolous lawsuit so as to avoid expensive defense costs is called a legal settlement. It happens in many aspects of civil litigation, but use of this tactic for modern-day grave robbing and other property poaching activities is especially heinous. To think that death, disability or incapacitation positions your assets as "up for grabs" is harsh, but it's also a growing reality.
With the transfer of wealth that is getting ready to occur in the next 20 or so years, the Involuntary Redistribution of Assets will likely skyrocket. People think proper estate planning will protect them – wrong! People think they don’t have enough assets to be a target – wrong!! There is no inoculation from the threat of IRA. Forewarned, however, is forearmed.
For more info:
Former reporter denied claim to Taub estate (Oct. 20, 2009)
Ex-Houston tv reporter seeks Taub fortune via common law marriage claim (Aug. 19, 2009)
Houston estate dispute set for trial (Aug. 15, 2009)
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