News
As this year comes to a close, our law firm is sharing some of our highlights, big wins and awards from 2024.
W&H’s own, Attorney Aaron Low, argued and won an important case before the North Carolina Court of Appeals (Knuckles v. Simpson), in which Mr. Low was able to prove that our client “did not willfully abandon decedent and, therefore, respondent was not barred from inheriting from decedent’s estate under the Intestate Succession Act.”
NC Laywers Weekly, a weekly newspaper that reports on important cases and legal developments in North Carolina, recently reported on Mr. Low’s litigation win.
“The issues on appeal were whether there is competent evidence to support the trial court’s findings of fact; and the findings of fact support the trial court’s conclusion respondent did not willfully abandon decedent and, therefore, respondent was not barred from inheriting from decedent’s estate under the Intestate Succession Act.
The trial court ultimately found: “Petitioner has not shown through the greater weight of the evidence that there was willful or intentional conduct on the part of the Respondent which evinces a settled purpose to forego all parental duties and relinquish all parental claims to the child[.]” The trial court determined that given the weight of the evidence petitioner simply had not met his evidentiary burden to show respondent engaged in willful or intentional conduct with a settled purpose of foregoing her parental duties and claims to the child. The court was plainly acting within its discretion in affording more credibility and weight to respondent’s evidence. Further, the court’s determination is supported by its evidentiary findings of fact.
The court’s evidentiary findings of fact demonstrate petitioner took custody of decedent and withheld him from respondent for the rest of decedent’s life. The court was well within its discretion to conclude this, and other facts, did not support a determination respondent had willfully abandoned decedent. Therefore, the court’s findings of fact support its ultimate determination that petitioner failed to meet his burden to show respondent had engaged in willful or intentional conduct with the purpose of foregoing her parental duties or claims.”
Not all law firms are created equal, and not all law firms are equipped with litigators like Mr. Low, ready to fight for your rights. Check out the write up in NC Lawyers Weekly (https://nclawyersweekly.com/2024/05/06/domestic-relations-petition-for-determination-of-abandonment-willful-abandonment-credibility-and-weight-of-evidence-intestate-succession-act/).