Unwanted Conservatorship Dissolved

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A woman placed in a court ordered conservatorship over her strong protests six months ago has finally succeeded in getting the order dissolved by the same judge who originally approved it.
In a three-page order issued this week in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville Tenn. Judge David "Randy" Kennedy dissolved the conservatorship of Reba Sherrill.
Sherrill said that at a recent hearing in her case, Kennedy told her he never wanted to see her in his courtroom again.
Sherrill, who doesn't even live in Davidson County, was placed in the conservatorship in August under a recently approved addition to the state conservatorship law affecting patients in medical facilities.  The provision allows hospitals to petition the court to appoint a temporary conservator to approve the patient's release or transfer.
Sherrill was a patient at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center when the petition was filed.
Lawyers for the hospital filed a petition in August of last year contending that she no longer needed acute hospital care but lacked the mental capacity to approve a transfer to an appropriate health care facility. She had originally been admitted for medical conditions.
Kennedy approved the petition and named one lawyer to act as Sherrill's temporary conservator with the power to transfer her to another facility and another lawyer to act as a guardian ad litem or fact finder.
Soon the bills began to pile up from the lawyers and the nursing home where Sherrill was placed over her continued protests. Kennedy also converted her conservatorship from temporary to permanent and ordered that the legal and other bills be paid from her assets.
Sherrill did succeed in getting her original conservator replaced with her brother but the conservatorship remained in place. Meanwhile Kennedy allowed Vanderbilt, the party that initiated the action, to exit the case.
Recently Sherrill filed motions to have the conservatorship dissolved or for her case to be transferred to Sumner County, where she owns a home.
It was that motion that prompted Kennedy to finally dissolve the conservatorship that she contends was never needed.
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Thompson Estate Dispute Formally Ended

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The dispute between the estate of the late Sen. Fred Thompson and a Nashville law firm has been formally ended but details of the settlement are not being disclosed.
Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy has signed an order dismissing the $14,550 claim filed by the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis against the late actor's estate.
The order states that the law firm and Thompson's estate "have compromised and settled all claims and causes of action," adding that the $14,550 claim is "fully dismissed."
The dispute surfaced last year when the Waller law firm filed  a claim against the estate.  Included with the claim was a detailed accounting of work the law firm said it had performed in the weeks and months preceding Thompson's Nov. 1, 2015 death.
The billing statements detailed a last minute but futile effort to prepare a new will to replace one that had been prepared over a decade earlier. The older will omitted children born during the actor's second marriage to his widow Jeri Thompson.
Jeri Thompson subsequently challenged the Waller claim calling it "inappropriate, improper and not a valid claim."
Kennedy's order states that the dispute between the parties has been settled but does not disclose the terms.
The Waller firm's claim also triggered a dispute between the estate and Thompson's two oldest sons, who charged that estate assets might have been shifted in the effort to come up with a new will.
The two subsequently dropped the claim after Jeri Thompson was ordered to provide records of any last minute shift of assets.
Jeri Thompson had previously disclosed that the only change was an inconsequential one, changing the secondary beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
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By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Disputes with two of his sons and a law firm over the estate of a former U.S. Senator and one time presidential candidate Fred Thompson have apparently been quietly settled, according to papers just filed in Probate Court in Nashville, Tenn.
Documents filed in the Davidson Probate Court case show the two sons, Fred D. Thompson 2nd and Daniel L. Thompson, have been paid $50,000 each, as set out in the will filed in the case.
In addition a $14,450 claim filed by the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis also has been resolved the filings indicate.
The two sons had charged that Jeri Thompson, Thompson's widow and the executor of his estate may have made last minute shifts in his assets in the days and weeks leading up to his death on Nov. 1, 2015. They charged any changes would have come at a time when Fred Thompson was no longer competent.
They later dropped the claim after Jeri Thompson complied with a court order to disclose any last minute shifts in assets. She has publicly denied that any such changes occurred, stating that the only change was to a secondary beneficiary on an insurance policy.
The details of that disclosure, however, were never made public.
In the papers just filed the two sons acknowledge receipt of $50,000 each as spelled out in a will dated over a decade ago,
The filing states that the payments provide "full and complete satisfaction" of all claims and releases Jeri Thompson and the estate from any further liability.
An additional filing indicates the dispute between the estate and the Waller law firm also has been resolved.
 The docket states that the claim was being dismissed under an order agreed to by all parties.
Jeri Thompson had disputed a claim filed by the firm for work it had done in a last minute effort to draft a new will to include children of Thompson's second marriage. Those futile last minute efforts were included in the billing statements the Waller firm filed to back up its $14,000 claim against the estate.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Fred Thompson Estate Disputes Settled?

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Disputes with two of his sons and a law firm over the estate of a former U.S. Senator and one time presidential candidate Fred Thompson have apparently been quietly settled, according to papers just filed in Probate Court in Nashville, Tenn.
Documents filed in the Davidson Probate Court case show the two sons, Fred D. Thompson 2nd and Daniel L. Thompson, have been paid $50,000 each, as set out in the will filed in the case.
In addition a $14,450 claim filed by the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis also has been resolved the filings indicate.
The two sons had charged that Jeri Thompson, Thompson's widow and the executor of his estate may have made last minute shifts in his assets in the days and weeks leading up to his death on Nov. 1, 2015. They charged any changes would have come at a time when Fred Thompson was no longer competent.
They later dropped the claim after Jeri Thompson complied with a court order to disclose any last minute shifts in assets. She has publicly denied that any such changes occurred, stating that the only change was to a secondary beneficiary on an insurance policy.
The details of that disclosure, however, were never made public.
In the papers just filed the two sons acknowledge receipt of $50,000 each as spelled out in a will dated over a decade ago,
The filing states that the payments provide "full and complete satisfaction" of all claims and releases Jeri Thompson and the estate from any further liability.
An additional filing indicates the dispute between the estate and the Waller law firm also has been resolved.
 The docket states that the claim was being dismissed under an order agreed to by all parties.
Jeri Thompson had disputed a claim filed by the firm for work it had done in a last minute effort to draft a new will to include children of Thompson's second marriage. Those futile last minute efforts were included in the billing statements the Waller firm filed to back up its $14,000 claim against the estate.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Campbell's Publicist Subpoenaed in Will Fight

By Walter F. Roche Jr

The longtime publicist who publicly disclosed Glen Campbell's death from Alzheimer's Disease last year has been subpoenaed to testify in a dispute over the late singer's competence when he signed a now disputed will.
Records in Davidson Probate Court show a subpoena has been issued for Sanford Brokaw to appear for testimony in Nashville on Feb. 20. The subpoena calls on Brokaw to "provide proof of the decedent's capacity since 2002."
The subpoena comes as three of Campbell's children, who have been cut out of his estimated $50 million estate, mount a challenge to the 13-page will filed by his widow.
Brokaw, Campbell's longtime publicist, declined to comment.
Christopher Fowler, the lawyer for William T. Campbell filed notice last week that the 2006 will is being challenged. Fowler also entered appearances for the other siblings who were specifically excluded from any benefit from Campbell's estate or a related trust
Campbell died on Aug. 8 of last year shortly after his wife Kimberly had publicly disclosed that he had been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. He was first diagnosed with the disease in 2011.
The subpoena also calls on Brokaw to provide "all communications with or about the decedent and/or his family and/or his agent since 2002."
Finally it calls for Brokaw to provide "all communications regarding the estate of the decedent."
In addition the subpoena calls for Traci Jupille and Kamile Brooks to provide the same documentation.Their roles were not disclosed.
In addition to his son William, the 2006 Campbell will also bars any distribution to his siblings Kelli and Wesley.
Beneficiaries under the disputed will are his widow Kimberly and Debra Cloy, Dillon, Nicklaus, Shannon and Ashley Campbell. Court records indicate there was an earlier version of Campbell's will dated in 2002.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Glen Campbell Will Contested

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

One of the sons of the late Glen Campbell has filed notice that he is contesting his father's 2006 will, which  bars him and two siblings from any benefits.
The notice was filed Thursday in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville where the elder Campbell's estate was filed last year. Campbell, 81, died on Aug. 8 of last year following a long bout with Alzheimer's Disease.
William T. Campbell's notice that he is contesting the validity of the 13-page will was filed by Nashville attorney Christopher Fowler. The basis for the challenge was not disclosed, but filings indicate that there was an earlier will dated Jan. 2, 2002, which also is being contested.
The 2006 will states that William and siblings Kelli and Wesley are specifically excluded from deriving any direct or indirect benefit from the estate or a related trust.
The will names the singer's wife Kimberly as executor of the estate which has been estimated at more than $50 million. Campbell's five other children, Debra Cloy. Dillon, Nicklaus, Shannon and Ashley Campbell are named along with Kimberly, as beneficiaries.
Campbell's death came shortly after his wife announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's. He had been first diagnosed with Alzheimer's in August of 2011.
The current legal dispute was presaged in a prior court battle over attempts to place the singer in a conservatorship.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Glen Campbell Will Excludes Three Children

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Famed singer Glen Campbell, who died in the final stages of Alzheimer's Disease earlier this year, specifically excluded three of his children from benefiting from his estate, according to records filed in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville, Tenn.
The 13-page will, which was dated Sept. 1, 2006, excludes daughter Kelli and sons William and Wesley from any direct benefit from his estate.
Stating that he was "specifically excluding" the three children from receiving anything under the will or a related trust, the filing names his wife Kimberly as executor
Campbell died on Aug. 8 shortly after his wife disclosed he was in the final stages of Alzheimer's Disease. Campbell, who was 81 at the time of his death, was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's in August of 2011.
According to the court filings, Campbell's five other children are Debra Cloyd, Dillon, Nicklaus, Shannon and Ashley Campbell.
Campbell had three children with Kimberly and the others by prior marriages.
A hearing on the will is scheduled for Jan. 18 before Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy.
The filing sets the stage for what is likely to be a lengthy court battle between factions of the Campbell family over what is estimated to be a $50 million or more estate. In fact the battle already was engaged when efforts were initiated to place Campbell was placed in a conservatorship. 
Under the will one half of Kimberly's bequest will go to the family trust. The petition states that while Campbell owned no real estate in Nashville, he does have holdings elsewhere.
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Fees Charged to Woman Who Fought Conservatorship

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Nashville judge has ordered a woman to pay over $20,000 in legal fees from a conservatorship that she heatedly opposed.
In two separate orders Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy ordered Reba Sherrill of Sumner County to pay the fees requested by her court appointed conservator and another lawyer who was charged with investigating her case.
Sherrill was placed in the conservatorship on a petition originally filed by lawyers for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was a patient at the time.
Under Kennedy's order Sherrill or her new conservator, her brother, must pay $7,605 to Corletra Mance, who served as guardian ad litem, and $12,500 to Cathryn Armistead, who served as conservator.
Kennedy did reduce Armistead's original fee request of $13,468, but his order did not specify which items he reduced or eliminated. Her original bill included a $437.50 item for a 2.5 hour shopping trip to pick up shampoo and soap for Sherrill. She also billed $297.50 to make a trip to Regions Bank to check on an account balance and open an account for the conservatorship
Armistead billed at the rate of $175 an hour. She was eventually replaced as conservator by Sherrill's brother. Mance billed $150 an hour for her services.
In similar cases in Kennedy's court, legal fees have often been charged to the original petitioner, in this case Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt, however, was dismissed from the case several weeks ago.
Sherrill stated earlier that she did not believe she should be liable for the legal fees for a conservatorship that was unnecessary to begin with.
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