Susannah Baxters mother Betty married Bazel Winstead in 1998. Susannah grew up with Betty and Bazel, and

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Susannah Baxter’s mother Betty married Bazel Winstead in 1998. Susannah grew up with Betty and Bazel, and Bazel raised her as his daughter. Susannah’s siblings John, Stephen, and Lanie were older and not as close to Bazel. Following Betty’s death, Winstead updated his estate plan, including taking out a life insurance policy for which he named Susannah as the sole beneficiary. Bazel explained to Susannah that his will designated his estate to be divided in four equal parts going to Susannah and her siblings. In a telephone conversation, Bazel told Susannah about the life insurance policy and told her to “just share some with your brothers and sister.” When Bazel died, Susannah received the proceeds from the life insurance policy, totaling more than $200,000. Susannah purportedly told her siblings that she would share some of the proceeds, but her siblings believed that she should pay each of them a quarter of the total. Susannah, on the other hand, believed that the proceeds were hers and that Bazel’s instructions to her were to “share some” as she chose. Accordingly, when Susannah refused to commit to a particular amount to be shared with her siblings, her brother John sued. Was Susannah under a specific obligation to split the life insurance proceedings in quarters to be distributed among her and her siblings?

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Business Law The Ethical Global and E-Commerce Environment

ISBN: 978-1259917110

17th edition

Authors: Arlen Langvardt, A. James Barnes, Jamie Darin Prenkert, Martin A. McCrory

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