Delivering all the drama of true crime...without the blood! When a $50 million trust decants, a divorce destroys generational wealth, or a sophisticated fraud scheme fools the experts—your clients need you to see it coming. Welcome to Wealth Litigated, where real courtroom battles become your competitive advantage. Host Kelly Lise Murray, JD, transforms complex courtroom outcomes into strategic intelligence for wealth managers, financial advisors, accountants, lawyers, mediators, and fiduciaries protecting client assets. A Stanford Univ. and Harvard Law-trained lawyer, legal scholar, and retired Vanderbilt Law faculty (18 years/retired 2023), Professor Murray dissects actual court cases of asset protection gone right and catastrophically wrong—from explosive family feuds over fortunes to white-collar financial crimes including fraud, embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, and title theft. Story-driven and education-focused, each weekly episode answers the key question “How did it litigate?” and reveals what worked, what failed, and why it matters for your clients' wealth outcomes. Because litigating wealth costs more than money. Subscribe now and stay ahead of the wealth protection challenges your clients face.
Wealth Litigated
Claim This Podcastby Kelly Lise Murray
Podcast Overview
Delivering all the drama of true crime...without the blood! When a $50 million trust decants, a divorce destroys generational wealth, or a sophisticated fraud scheme fools the experts—your clients need you to see it coming. Welcome to Wealth Litigated, where real courtroom battles become your competitive advantage. Host Kelly Lise Murray, JD, transforms complex courtroom outcomes into strategic intelligence for wealth managers, financial advisors, accountants, lawyers, mediators, and fiduciaries protecting client assets. A Stanford Univ. and Harvard Law-trained lawyer, legal scholar, and retired Vanderbilt Law faculty (18 years/retired 2023), Professor Murray dissects actual court cases of asset protection gone right and catastrophically wrong—from explosive family feuds over fortunes to white-collar financial crimes including fraud, embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, and title theft. Story-driven and education-focused, each weekly episode answers the key question “How did it litigate?” and reveals what worked, what failed, and why it matters for your clients' wealth outcomes. Because litigating wealth costs more than money. Subscribe now and stay ahead of the wealth protection challenges your clients face.
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Publishing Since
11/17/2025
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Recent Episodes
June 11, 2026
Brother Betrayed Bone Marrow Donor over Life Insurance in Irrevocable Trust? EP 114 Dudek
<p>Is an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) unfunded and unenforceable when the life insurance company rejects the paperwork to transfer policy ownership to the trustee? That is the question the California Court of Appeal decided in Dudek v. Dudek (2019) — and the answer changes the moment you cross a state line.</p><p></p><p>Faulty paperwork can look exactly like failed trust funding. Industry estimates put up to roughly 50% of all trusts as unfunded or underfunded — the "empty bucket" problem — and for an irrevocable life insurance trust, an unfunded policy discovered after the insured's death leaves estate planning attorneys, trust litigators, and financial advisors asking one question: what do we do now?</p><p></p><p>In Dudek, a man dying of leukemia created an irrevocable life insurance trust to thank the brother who donated bone marrow twice — naming him trustee and beneficiary of a $1 million life insurance policy. The trust instrument transferred the policy. But two un-initialed corrections got the change-of-ownership forms rejected by the insurance company, the settlor never resubmitted, and six years later he redirected the same $1 million to nine new beneficiaries — including his widow. After his death, the insurance company paid the nine. The trustee got nothing — and sued.</p><p></p><p>So whose paperwork wins: the irrevocable trust, or the insurance company's beneficiary designation? Was the trust ever funded? When does a life insurance policy actually become trust property? The answer turns on the donative-transfer doctrine, California Probate Code trust-funding rules, and a state-by-state split that decides whether intent or the carrier's forms control.</p><p></p><p>In this episode of Wealth Litigated, host Kelly Lise Murray, J.D. — Harvard-trained litigator and former Vanderbilt Law professor — walks the actual appellate record.</p><p></p><p>WHAT THIS CASE TEACHES PRACTITIONERS</p><p>- Why "the trust was never funded" is the most common — and most litigated — irrevocable trust failure</p><p>- How a trust instrument with transferring language can complete an inter vivos gift of a life insurance policy under gift law (intent, delivery, acceptance)</p><p>- Why the third-party trustee fact changed the analysis</p><p>- Why insurance-company forms protect the carrier, not the settlor's power to redirect</p><p>- Group A vs. Group B states: California, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio (the trust document transfers the asset) vs. Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina (a separate retitling is required)</p><p>- Trustee recovery tools: Probate Code §§ 850, 856, 17200, and § 859 bad-faith double damages — turning $1M into $2M</p><p>- Professional trustee vs. family-member trustee, and the one call that would have prevented the whole case</p><p>- Action step: pull your ILIT client files this week and confirm the carrier's ownership records match the trust</p><p></p><p>WHO THIS IS FOR</p><p>Estate planning attorneys, trust and estate litigators, divorce and family law attorneys, wealth managers, financial advisors, CDFAs, CFPs, trust officers, and anyone who drafts, funds, or litigates irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs).</p><p></p><p>CHAPTERS</p><p>(timestamps below)</p><p></p><p>ABOUT WEALTH LITIGATED</p><p>Wealth Litigated is a case-by-case forensic analysis of actually litigated appellate decisions in estate planning, trust litigation, and wealth protection. Not how it was pleaded — how it actually litigated.</p><p></p><p>DISINHERITED — Part 2. A series on what happens when the plan to cut someone out ends up in court.</p><p></p><p>Subscribe so you don't miss an episode.</p><p></p><p>Case: Dudek v. Dudek, 34 Cal.App.5th 154 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).</p><p>This podcast is legal education and professional development for practitioners. It is not legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship.</p><p>#EstatePlanning #IrrevocableTrust #ILIT #TrustLitigation #EstatePlanningAttorney #LifeInsuranceTrust #TrustFunding #WealthLitigated</p>
June 4, 2026
$20M Barneys NY Disinherited Heir | EP 113
<p>When a plan to cut out an heir backfires, it can cost tens of millions. This episode kicks off "Disinherited," a Wealth Litigated series on what happens when estate plans are challenged by the very heirs they meant to leave behind. We break down State of New York ex rel. Pressman v. Pressman, where a disinherited son of the Barneys NY dynasty turned state tax whistleblower to target a $20M alleged tax evasion scheme.</p><h3><strong>What You’ll Learn</strong></h3><h3><strong>🏢 The Setup & The Disinheritance</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>The Legacy:</strong> Grandchildren of Barney Pressman, founder of Barneys NY, locked in a bitter dispute.</li><li><strong>The Clause:</strong> The matriarch's trust explicitly stated: "Bob doesn't get anything for reasons he well knows."</li><li></li><li><strong>The Retaliation:</strong> Cut out of the estate, brother Bob filed a New York False Claims Act qui tam lawsuit against the estate and his three siblings.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>⚖️ The Qui Tam Weapon</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>The Relator Role:</strong> NY law allows private citizens to sue for tax fraud on behalf of the state, making tax authorities the real party in interest.</li><li><strong>The Bounty:</strong> Whistleblowers get 15%–25% of the recovery if the state intervenes, and 25%–30% if they prosecute it alone.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>The Impossible Math</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>Alleged Unpaid Taxes:</strong> $20 million in New York State income and estate tax.</li><li><strong>The Penalty Multiplier:</strong> Damages can be trebled plus penalties, pushing total exposure near $50 million.</li><li><strong>The Whistleblower's Reward:</strong> Instead of inheriting $0, brother Bob stands to collect a bounty between $5 million and $15 million.</li><li><strong>Statutory Thresholds:</strong> Defendant’s net income must be at least $1M, and the owed tax must be at least $350,000.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>The Paper Trail vs. Lived Facts</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>The Domicile Claim:</strong> The estate filed documents claiming the matriarch permanently re-domiciled to Palm Beach, Florida.</li><li><strong>The New York Reality:</strong> Evidence shows her prescriptions were filled in NY, her home health aides were in NY, she used a Southampton landline, and kept a Manhattan apartment.</li><li><strong>The Scienter Evidence:</strong> The complaint alleges Bob's disinheritance was the consequence of refusing to participate in the false Florida residency scheme, proving "knowledge of wrongdoing."</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>Timeline of a High-Stakes Tax Feud</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>1996:</strong> Barneys NY files Chapter 11; 30 years of intra-family lawsuits over alleged fraud begin.</li><li><strong>August 2019:</strong> Barneys NY files for final bankruptcy, closing flagship locations.</li><li><strong>Fall 2023 – April 2024:</strong> Matriarch enters hospice in Florida and passes away.</li><li><strong>July 2024:</strong> Brother Bob discovers his disinheritance and files the qui tam tax fraud action.</li><li><strong>2024 – 2025:</strong> The complaint is amended, unsealed, and draws major media coverage.</li><li><strong>June 2026:</strong> The case remains actively litigated in New York courts.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>Critical Wealth Protection Lessons</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>Domicile vs. Lived Reality:</strong> Out-of-state filings fail if "center-of-life" indicators remain anchored in high-tax states.</li><li><strong>Stricter Standards:</strong> NY requires taxpayers to prove a domicile change by clear and convincing evidence.</li><li><strong>The Disinheritance Backfire:</strong> Cutting an heir out removes their incentive to keep family secrets, turning them into a compliance liability.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>Professional Applications</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>Wealth Managers:</strong> Audit client files for families claiming low-tax residency while keeping a high-tax footprint. Watch IRC Section 121 exposure; as seen in Pesarik (2026), failing residency time thresholds eliminates capital gains exclusions.</li><li><strong>Attorneys:</strong> Tax whistleblower laws are expanding (NY/D.C. active; others pending), giving disgruntled heirs a lucrative path to fight back.</li><li><strong>CPAs:</strong> Track moving records, utility bills, and medical care locations to back up residency changes.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>About the Host</strong></h3><p><strong>Professor Kelly Lise Murray, JD</strong> is a lawyer and retired Vanderbilt Law School faculty member (18 years) specializing in wealth preservation.</p><ul><li><strong>Education:</strong> Stanford University (Phi Beta Kappa), Harvard Law School (cum laude).</li><li><strong>Track Record:</strong> Trained 2,500+ legal and financial professionals across 17+ states.</li></ul><br/><h3><strong>Resources & Connect</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>Deep Dives:</strong><a href="https://wealthlitigated.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://wealthlitigated.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WealthLitigated.com</a></u></li><li><strong>Questions:</strong><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=https://WealthLitigated.com/questions&authuser=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=https://WealthLitigated.com/questions&authuser=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WealthLitigated.com/questions</a></u></li><li><strong>Cases:</strong> State of New York ex rel. Pressman v. Pressman & Pesarik v. Commissioner</li></ul><br/><p>Disclaimer: Educational only. Not legal, tax, or financial advice. No attorney-client relationship formed.</p><p>#WealthLitigated #AssetProtection #TaxWhistleblower #QuiTam #EstatePlanning #BarneysNY #DomicileFraud</p>
June 1, 2026
Was $350K Irrevocable Trust Valid for Tax Saving or Dissipation in Utah Divorce? EP B102 HIlliam
<p>A husband moved $350,000 in marital stock options into a Nevada irrevocable trust — telling his wife it was tax planning. Four years later, he filed for divorce in Utah. Could the divorce court reach those options, or had the irrevocable trust put them beyond equitable distribution for good?</p><p>In this Wealth Litigated Brief-ly (Episode B102), we forensically analyze the Utah Court of Appeals decision in Hillam, a 2024 divorce appeal where the same transfer into an irrevocable trust was argued two ways at once: legitimate tax planning, and dissipation of marital assets. The trial court granted summary judgment to the Investment Trustee, ruling the irrevocable trust — with its spendthrift provision — was a separate, non-marital entity that owned the stock options. On appeal, the wife's arguments to reach the assets inside the trust hit a procedural wall: issues raised for the first time on appeal, after the governing statute was excluded at trial, were unpreserved — and barred from review on the merits. That left one path: dissipation, framed as a credit against the marital estate, not a claim against the trust. But denied dissipation rulings are reviewed for abuse of discretion — one of the most deferential standards in appellate law. Did the wife clear it? Join us to see</p><p>HOW IT LITIGATED. IN THIS EPISODE: How omitting the controlling statute at trial can block substantive appellate review — even when caselaw was cited Whether a single transfer to an irrevocable trust can be valid tax planning AND dissipation of marital assets What it takes to overturn a denied dissipation ruling under the abuse-of-discretion standard If you advise clients who hold assets in irrevocable trusts, or you litigate divorces where marital property sits inside one, the Hillam result affects your client files — not just this family. This week, review your client files to identify which clients to call. CASE: Hillam v. Hillam,Utah Ct. App. 2024</p><p>HOST: Kelly Lise Murray, JD — Stanford A.B., Phi Beta Kappa; Harvard J.D., Vanderbilt Law faculty 2005–2023 (18 years). This episode is educational legal analysis of a published appellate decision. It is not legal advice, creates no attorney-client relationship, and does not predict how any future court will rule. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/irrevocabletrust" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#IrrevocableTrust</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/divorcelaw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DivorceLaw</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/dissipation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Dissipation</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/maritalassets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MaritalAssets</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/estateplanning" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#EstatePlanning</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/familylaw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FamilyLaw</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/assetprotection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AssetProtection</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/spendthrifttrust" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SpendthriftTrust</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/wealthlitigated" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WealthLitigated</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/equitabledistribution" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#EquitableDistribution</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/utahdivorce" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UtahDivorce</a></p>
16 total episodes available
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