Nashville Senior Counsel Betsy Stibler represented the adult children of a high net-worth decedent who alleged that the decedent’s spouse converted funds prior to the decedent’s death in violation of the Tennessee Adult Protection Act.
Prior to trial, the parties entered into a settlement agreement that would disburse 1.8 million dollars of the disputed funds held in Vanguard accounts to the decedent's spouse. The balance of the funds was to be distributed to the estate and subsequently the adult children as beneficiaries of the estate under the will. The trial court concluded that the decedent's spouse was responsible for the capital gains taxes associated with the disbursement of funds to him and that he was not entitled to post-judgment interest on the disbursed funds. He appealed. The Tennessee Court of Appeals at Knoxville affirmed the trial court’s order that the spouse would bear the tax burden of his distribution and that he was not entitled to post-judgment interest.