In many ways, Watson v. Herom is a typical will challenge case. The litigants are sisters and the plaintiff was challenging their stepfather’s last will and testament, which excluded her and left the entirety of his estate to the defendant.

When Scholastic’s CEO Richardson Robinson Jr. died in June, he apparently shocked his family by giving control of the $1.2 billion company and his personal possessions to Scholastic’s Chief Strategy Officer, with whom he’d had a long-term relationship, rather than to his siblings, children, or ex-wife.

Harry, 85, wants to marry 75-year-old Esther, but he does not want to lose his widower's pension. They agree not to obtain a marriage license or register the marriage, but instead to have only a ritual ceremony in a rabbi's office. Harry dies and his will leaves his assets to his children. Does only a religious marriage ceremony give Esther any rights to Harry's estate?

Joseph was 60 years old when he lost his wife to cancer. Online he met an Israeli named Rebecca, a 40-year-old widow. They emailed each other, grew to care for one another and decided to marry. Rebecca and her children moved into Joseph's home. The adult children from Joseph's first marriage feared that Rebecca and her children were going to take away their inheritance. Joseph assured his children that Rebecca signed an agreement under which she gave up all her claims under the Family Law Act and could not claim support against his estate when Joseph died. Joseph assured them they he left his children all of his money. Should the children have relaxed? Maybe – Maybe not.

The Court’s decision in Fichera v. McAllister acts as an important reminder of the importance of creating a contemporaneous evidentiary record of a parent’s intention when gifting property to their adult children.