An Estate Planning Lawyer in Orange County Recently Discussed the Ongoing Rosa Parks Estate Battle

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - March 27, 2014 - PRLog -- ORANGE COUNTY, CA – March 26, 14 – Dwight Edward Tompkins is an estate planning lawyer in Orange County.  His most recent blog post gives details on the Rosa Parks estate dispute that continues to cause problems.  He says, “At her death, in 2005, her estate was evaluated at little over 370,000 USD.   Her final wish was that her estate passes in the care of a charitable institute, which she founded, naming her close friend, Elaine Steele, both overseer of the estate and head of this charitable institute.”  Tompkins explains how Elaine Steele would have received about 90% of the royalties while Rosa Parks’ nieces and nephews only received 10%.

Dwight Tompkins continues by saying, “The latter contested Rosa Parks’ final will and trust in court. Accusations of undue influence on Parks and mismanagement led the judge to remove Steele and the other executor named by Parks, replacing them with two attorneys.”  He then states, “Shortly before Rosa Parks’ estate trial, the two parties reached a settlement agreement whose terms, although confidential, recognized the will and trust as valid, with all the legal consequences resulting. The only change was that the nieces and nephews of Parks received additional royalties.” Tompkins explains, “The two restored executors of the Rosa Parks estate sued the judge who is handling the estate, Hon. F. Burton, as well as the two attorneys who had been named executors of the Rosa Parks estate by the court, J. Chase Jr. and M. Jefferson.”

This estate dispute over Rosa Parks’ estate is ongoing.  Her family has had no time to mourn her death.  Tompkin’s says, “Instead of taking time to grieve, the family has to spend time, money and energy on costly court cases. This is why it is so important that estate planning is carried out as early and as thoroughly as possible, before one’s mental competences can be questioned by those around them.”

To read more about this estate dispute and to learn about Dwight Edward Tompkins, an estate-planning lawyer in Orange County (http://www.tompkins-law.com/estate-planning-law-firm-oran...), please click the link:

http://blog.tompkins-law.com/2014/03/insight-on-rosa-park...

About Tompkins Law

Tompkins Law has been assisting residents in the Orange County, California and the surrounding areas with estate planning, probate, living trust, and business planning services for over 20 years.  Visit http://www.tompkins-law.com/home-page for more information.