Imagine living with someone for 10 years as a committed partner. Your partner is diagnosed with a terminal illness and he or she creates the Last Will making you the executor and the sole heir. You have known this individual for 20 years and you have been made aware of the fact that he or she has never been married and had no children.
After your beloved one passes away you will be grieving and anxious to take care of final arrangements in accordance with the wishes of the decedent. This is the situation that a woman named Flora Enchinton experienced recently. She was the partner of the recently deceased actor Sherman Hemsley. He was the individual who portrayed the character George Jefferson on the classic television sitcom The Jeffersons.
Hemsley apparently lived a simple life. He resided in El Paso, Texas with Enchinton and this is where he died. He reportedly had a much different personality than that of his on-screen alter ego. Hemsley was a shy, quiet, and unassuming man who had no interest in publicity or attention.
Flora Enchinton is being forced to deal with a difficult situation. The estate is being challenged by a Richard Thornton, who contends that he is the actor’s brother. For some reason Thornton thinks that he is entitled to the assets that Sherman Hemsley accumulated throughout his life.
Because of the realities of probate law the court must hear his arguments and they are doing just that. As of this writing the body of the late actor is being held at the funeral home, and needless to say this is a source of great dismay for Flora Enchinton.
Gerald M. Dorn, Estate Planning Attorney
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