Confidential
Settlement – $371,000Judge
Court
Kings Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
The subject suit related to a petition under Probate Code Section 850 where the executor of an estate sued the
decedent's husband for the return of funds transferred to a joint account during a period when the decedent allegedly was incapacitated. The petitioner, Gerald Jacobsen, was the executor of the estate of Dorothie Jacobsen. The respondent was Edwin Hughes, husband of the decedent. The decedent married the respondent on May 2, 1990, and lived with respondent until her death on Jan. 1, 2002. The petition alleged that after the decedent began exhibiting signs of dementia, the respondent caused the decedent to create a joint accounts with him. Within thirty days of seeing a psychiatrist and having the psychiatrist preliminary find that the decedent suffered from Alzheimer's disease, the respondent allegedly caused the decedent to transfer $250,000 of her separate money into a joint account. Nearly two years later, approximately four months before her death, the decedent closed an account valued at $95,000 and deposited in into the joint account. The respondent contended that the decedent was aware of and approved these transactions. The respondent also contended that throughout the marriage, both decedent and respondent deposited moneys into joint accounts for investment purposes. The respondent contended that there were a number of joint accounts created during the marriage and that he contributed a significant amount of money into a number of these accounts. The respondent admitted that he deceived the petitioner, decedent's only child, about the decedent's condition for the purpose of keeping the child from interfering with the marriage. The petitioner had convinced the decedent to add his name to decedent's account, and petitioner had frequently contacted the decedent about her accounts. These contacts allegedly greatly upset the decedent. The petitioner admitted that he attempted, in 1997, to invoke a Power of Attorney and Conservatorship Nomination to gain information about the decedent's assets. The petitioner also admitted that he never attempted to place his mother under a conservatorship and that dealing
with his mother was [respondent's] problem. The decedent negotiated with a real estate agent for
the sale of decedent's mobile home resident in the summer of 2001.
Settlement Discussions
None disclosed.
Damages
The suit sought recovery of approximately $590,000 held in the joint account between the decedent and the respondent. The suit also sought punitive damages and attorneys' fees and costs from respondent.
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