Paul Shugar and Michael Brody published Dissecting an Undue Influence Claim: A Practical Guide for Ohio Probate Litigators in the March/April 2025 edition of the Probate Law Journal of Ohio. The article explains how to pursue undue influence claims from initial intake to appeal.

Paul and Michael were asked to write the article after giving a presentation on the same topic at the 2025 Reminger Advanced Probate Law Institute for the Columbus Bar Association.

Read the article here.Read More ›

Please use the links below to read the latest articles from our Estates, Trusts, and Probate Litigation shareholders.

• Breach Of Fiduciary Duty: A Growing Source Of Probate Litigation

• How to Help Clients Avoid (or Weather) the Probate Litigation Tsunami

• Ohio Probate Law in 2024

Reprinted from Probate Law Journal of Ohio, with permission from Thomson Reuters. Copyright © 2025. Further use without permission of Thomson Reuters is prohibited. For further information about this publication, please visit  https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/law-books, or call ... Read More ›

The mixing of financial issues with the emotion of losing a loved one is a big reason probate litigation occurs, and demographics support that estate and trust disputes only will increase in the coming years.

According to the Population Reference Bureau and Census Bureau, there are roughly 76.4 million Baby Boomers in the United States. The youngest members of this generation will turn 65 in 2029, and Fortune.com estimates that Baby Boomers should transfer roughly $53 trillion to their heirs and beneficiaries through 2045. To put that $53 trillion in perspective, the United ... Read More ›

Reminger Co., LPA is pleased to announce a new leadership structure within our Estates and Trusts Practice Group.  

Bolstered by years of dedicated experience in Ohio's probate courts, this new structure will allow our growing team to better serve our clients across the state. New leadership appointments include: 

• Adam M. Fried – Statewide Chair, Estates and Trusts Practice Group 
• Timothy J. Gallagher – Chair, Guardianships Practice Group 
• Jessica S. Forrest – Co-Chair, Estates, Trusts, and Probate Litigation Practice Group 
• Paul R. Shugar – Co-Chair, Estates, Trusts, and ...

Just because Denver Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen was a billionaire did not mean his business succession planning was easy. After leading the Broncos to eight Super Bowls, the NFL Hall of Famer began consolidating his Broncos ownership in 2002 to ensure one or more of his seven children would succeed him in running the franchise. Instead, two probate lawsuits ensued—one even before Bowlen’s 2019 death—and the team sold for $4.65 billion in 2022.

Some could argue the succession plan failed because the Bowlens no longer own the Broncos. But others would contend the succession plan ... Read More ›

We are proud to announce that 6 of our Trust & Estate attorneys were honored as 2022 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Super Lawyers

• Adam Fried (also recognized as a Top 50 Cleveland and Top 100 Ohio attorney)
• Franklin Malemud
• Russell Meraglio, Jr. 
• Leon Weiss 

Rising Stars

• Timothy Gallagher
• Paul Shugar

Paul Shugar presented the below information on Legislative Updates on House Bill 7 and Other Statutory Law Changes as part of the 2021 Marvin R. Pliskin Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Seminar, hosted by the Ohio State Bar Association.

2021 Revise Probate Law, Guardianship Law, and Ohio Trust Code (H.B. 7)

Overview

After the Ohio House of Representatives passed H.B. 7 by a vote of 98-0 on March 3, 2021, the Senate passed the bill by a 32-0 vote on May 5, 2021. Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 7 into law on May 20, 2021, and it became effective on August 17, 2021. The new law made ... Read More ›

On September 29, 2020, the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed a trust-arbitration award in Hughes v. Hughes, 2020-Ohio-4653.

This is one of the first, if not the first, trust arbitration cases to make its way through Ohio Courts. The Ohio legislature recognized arbitration  as an option for trust dispute resolution with the March 2019 enactment of Ohio Revised Code Section 5802.05.  Here, the parties commenced arbitration in July 2018, and the arbitration hearing took place in October 2018. The Arbitrator issued his decision that same month, and the award was carried out by ... Read More ›

Timothy Gallagher and Paul Shugar authored "An Introduction to Trust Arbitration" in the January/February 2020 Issue of the Probate Law Journal of Ohio.Read More ›

Reminger Co., LPA is pleased to announce that Paul R. Shugar will be presenting at the 2018 Ohio Guardianship Association's 13^th Annual Education Conference alongside attorney Kathryn Joseph on “Invasion of Independence in Guardianship: A Case Study. Lessons from the Case Involving the Exploitation of Dr. Charles Sifford.”Read More ›

Paul Shugar will be presenting "Don't Text and Unduly Influence: An Overview of How to Use Electronic Discovery in Probate Litigation" at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law Section Meeting and CLE, held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.  Read More ›

Paul Shugar will be presenting "Top Personal Representative Mistakes in Handling Distributions" via a live teleconference in connection with National Business Institute on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 from 2 pm to 3:30 PM EST. Content covered includes:Read More ›

The loss of a loved one is a devastating event, and can be a chaotic and confusing time for those left mourning. The making of phone calls to family and friends, the preparation of funeral arrangements, and the handling of other post-death matters must be addressed. But what do family members do when they find out that something suspicious has happened with their loved one’s last will and testament?Read More ›

Lexis Nexis claims that 55% of American adults do not have a last will and testament or some kind of an estate plan. This means that more than half of American estates have their personal assets pass via intestacy - without a will and pursuant to the statutory scheme of the state where they live.Read More ›

The Ohio Supreme Court provided more guidance regarding how creditors present their claims against estates with its ruling in Wilson v. Lawrence, Case Nos. 2015-2081, 2016-0180, 2017-Ohio-1410.

The main issue the Supreme Court addressed is to whom a creditor claim must be presented. Pursuant to R.C. § 2117.06, a creditor must present its claim against the estate within six months following the decedent’s death.Read More ›

When Ohio House Bill 432 and Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2137 became effective on April 4, 2017, estate fiduciaries were given new tools for managing a decedent’s digital property.

From social-media profiles, to email accounts, to Apple and Amazon digital libraries of music, movies, and media, more and more people are dying with digital assets stored in various clouds. Upon Chapter 2137 becoming effective, executors, administrators, and trustees can request a catalogue of the decedent’s digital assets with various providers and access to the same. Read More ›