The maddest Lee said he’s ever been in the practice of law was when a widow came to his office and explained how she was now a pauper after being disinherited from her husband’s large estate!
We have laws in South Dakota to protect widows and widowers when their spouses die. The law is they have a right to an elective share. It is very clear in our law books that this right exists.
This widow’s lawyer didn’t tell the widow about the elective share right, and allowed the valuable asset in the estate to go to a brother-in-law.
We sued the attorney and recovered over $1.3 million for the widow.
Judge Stoltenburg’s October 28, 2024, decision, which tells much of the story, is attached to this link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:va6c2:8ade0b9c-f1c4-4016-9a3e-fe3d903117d9