As many in Nevada know, high asset estates sometimes end up in litigation despite a person’s best efforts to avoid such conflict through estate planning. With large sums of money to be divided, beneficiaries of such estates may make great efforts to ensure that they receive the share to which they believe they are entitled. This may be the case in one probate litigation matter in which the beneficiaries of a massive estate are attempting to remove the trustees who are now managing the trusts that make up their inheritance.
Nevada readers may be familiar with brands such as Chung King and Jeno’s Pizza Rolls. These large food brands were the brainchild of Jeno Paulucci, a man who made millions creating these and other successful frozen food brands. Mr. Paulucci died in late 2011, just days after losing his wife of 64 years.
Only six weeks before his death, Paulucci removed the trustees of his estate that had handled the management of his trusts for 35 years. He replaced them with two men in another state. Now, the beneficiaries of those trusts, which are said to be worth $100 million, are attempting to remove the new trustees and replace them with the original men in what could prove to be a contentious probate litigation suit.
This case is not unlike some in Nevada in which the beneficiaries of an estate are acting in an effort to ensure that their trusts are managed properly. In this matter, the heirs believe that their parents may have been influenced late in life by the new trustees. Only a court can determine who will be allowed to manage the valuable trusts, a decision that will come after the probate litigation concludes.
Source: StarTribune.com, “Jeno Paulucci money in nasty court dispute,” Abby Simons, Oct. 20, 2012