PODCAST · education
Wealth Litigated
by Kelly Lise Murray
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
Episodes
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Brother Betrayed Bone Marrow Donor over Life Insurance in Irrevocable Trust? EP 114 Dudek
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...
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$20M Barneys NY Disinherited Heir | EP 113
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…
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Was $350K Irrevocable Trust Valid for Tax Saving or Dissipation in Utah Divorce? EP B102 HIlliam
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? In...
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QTIP Trust Sued Beneficiary for $1M Tax Debt Default - HEMPT Case #B101
What happens when the beneficiary refuses to reimburse the QTIP Trust for $1 million in taxes prepaid on his behalf? In a word, litigation. But that's just the half of it. In a unique twist, the beneficiary (trustee's nephew) weaponized discovery and demanded trustee's confidential communications...
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Ex-Spouse #1 v. Current Wife #2: Who's "Spouse" for Texas Irrevocable Trust? EP 112
What happens when an ex-spouse and a current spouse both claim to be the “spouse” for an irrevocable family trust?. This episode breaks down the Ochse case (Texas Court of Appeals, 2020), where one word—Spouse—created a high-stakes battle between a wife of 30 years and a wife of three years. In...
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$1.17M Divorce Irrevocable TRUST LOST | Ep 111
What happens when a Massachusetts divorce court reaches into a Michigan irrevocable trust and pulls out $1.17 million for an ex-son-in-law?. Despite a spendthrift clause and an independent trustee with "sole and absolute discretion," a 2023 appellate decision in the Jones case proved that some...
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Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust Litigation Loses $750K - Friend Trustee Blamed Widow | EP 110
For 16 years, the system worked perfectly: the insurance company mailed premium notices to the trustee (the insured’s best friend), the friend called the dentist’s wife, she funded the trust account, and the bill was paid. But when the friend moved and forgot to update his address with the…
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Rich Pet Owners BEWARE! Why Courts Cut $12 million Pet Trust But Left $4.7 million Pet Trust Intact
How does a $12 million pet trust get gutted by 83% in court while a $4.7 million pet trust survives a challenge without losing a dime? Same state, same year, same statute—but two radically different outcomes. In EP 109, Pet Trusts Gone Wrong - OVERFUNDED (Part 2 of 2), Professor Kelly Lise…
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Pet Trusts Gone Wrong: Don't Let This Happen to Your Pet's Money! EP 108
One missing clause sent an $80,000 pet trust into years of litigation before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court — and the pet was already dead. In this deep dive into actually litigated pet trust cases from Massachusetts and Milan, Italy, we expose the dangerous planning gaps that can turn...
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Wealth Litigated - EP 107: Divorce Busting Irrevocable Trusts?
What happens when an irrevocable family trust holds over $2 million in marital assets, but excludes one spouse entirely upon divorce? This episode deconstructs the landmark Dahl v. Dahl (Utah Supreme Court, 2015) decision, where a single word in a trust document—and a massive procedural...
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Wealth Litigated - EP 106: Major League QDRO Part 2 of 2
How do you lose 100% of your retirement assets in a divorce, even after the marital property was already divided 50/50? This episode concludes our deep dive into the De Benedetti case, where a major league baseball all-star faced a $2 million judgment for breach of fiduciary duty after…
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Wealth Litigated - EP 105: Major League Betrayal
What's worse than losing half your retirement in divorce? Losing all of it. In the landmark California case, D. Benedetti, a Major League Baseball All-Star earned $11 million, but $3.6 million in community assets vanished without explanation during his 16-year marriage. When his wife finally...
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Wealth Litigated - EP 104: Part 2 of 2 Lasiter Case "Malpractice Trap"
Arkansas, 2025. A widow loses $1.4M on appeal in a trust dispute—then faces another battle: Can the trustee garnish her $2M legal malpractice settlement from his own alleged malpractice? THE SETUP After her husband's death, the widow sued her late husband's lawyer—who also served as trustee…
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Wealth Litigated - EP 103: No Contest Trust Trap: Widow Risks $1.4M Clawback for control
Arkansas, 2017. A 45-year-old widow receives $3 million from her husband's estate—$13,000 monthly checks plus discretionary distributions. But she doesn't control it. Every major decision requires trustee approval. The same lawyer who wrote the premarital agreement and drafted the estate plan now...
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Wealth Litigated - EP 102: How Bunny Mellon's Grandson Bet His Fortune on Fidelity
When a wealth manager inherited over $10 million from his grandmother, pharmaceutical heiress Bunny Mellon, he made a series of decisions that would cost him everything. After his wife discovered a first affair, he agreed to a postnuptial agreement featuring a $7 million "bad boy clause"—and he...
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Wealth Litigated - EP 101: Bad Brad's Inadvertent Revenge
What happens when a Ponzi schemer loses $5.2 million of stolen investor money at Hollywood's most exclusive poker games? The winners get sued—and Bad Brad gets his revenge from prison. "Bad Brad," the real-life inspiration for a character in Molly's Game, was the ultimate "big fish" at…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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
HOSTED BY
Kelly Lise Murray
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Wealth Litigated have?
Wealth Litigated currently has 16 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Wealth Litigated about?
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...
How often does Wealth Litigated release new episodes?
Wealth Litigated has 16 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Wealth Litigated?
You can listen to Wealth Litigated on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Wealth Litigated?
Wealth Litigated is created and hosted by Kelly Lise Murray.
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