Indiana siblings lose case over father's $3m trust after missing deadline
An Indiana appeals court dismissed a legal malpractice lawsuit filed by two siblings against an estate planning lawyer regarding their father's $3 million trust. The court ruled the claim was filed after the state's two-year statute of limitations had expired.
Why it matters
The case underscores the critical importance of adhering to legal deadlines in estate planning and malpractice litigation.
An appeals court in Indiana has dismissed a legal malpractice lawsuit filed by two siblings against an estate planning lawyer. The court ruled that their challenge over their late father's $3 million (£2.3 million) trust was filed after the legal deadline. In a decision issued on October 14, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana upheld a trial court ruling in favour of Columbus attorney F. Jefferson Crump III. The trial court had granted summary judgment, meaning the case was decided without a full trial. The lawsuit was filed by Julia Beaman and William Bobbs Jr. They claimed that Crump failed to meet his professional duties when he prepared an irrevocable trust in 2018 for their father, William Bobbs Sr. The trust was meant to pay for the care of his second wife at a retirement community that cost about $4,000 (£3,070) a month.
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