S-23-0856 In re Masek Family Trust.
Appeal from the District Court for Gage County, Judge Steven B. Timm
Attorneys: Matt Catlett (Law Offices of Matt Catlett for Appellants), Douglas W. Ruge (Attorney at Law for Appellee), and William E. Seidler, Jr. (Seidler & Seidler, P.C. for Appellee Colleen Eames).
Probate: Trust administration
Proceedings below: In In re Estate of Charles and Patricia Masek Family Trust, 312 Neb. 94, 977 N.W.2d 919 (2022), the Court reversed the decision of the county court, and it remanded the case to the county court for further proceedings. After a further hearing, the county court entered judgment against Appellants and awarded Appellee attorney’s fees, and this appeal follows.
Issues: Appellants make the following assignments of error: 1) The county court erred in imposing liability against Appellants; 2) The county court erred in entering judgment “in favor of Barry Masek as executor of the Estate of Patricia Masek, trustee and beneficiary of the Charles and Patricia Masek Family Trust;” 3) The county court erred in awarding “additional attorney fees” to Appellee; 4) The county court erred in receiving the Bartling “file;” 5) The county court erred in receiving the pre-May 17, 2016, emails; 6) The county court erred in refusing the two physician’s affidavits from 2018; and 7) The county court erred in refusing Patricia’s December 16, 2017, letter.
On cross-appeal, Appellee makes the following assignments of error: 1) The current appeal of Appellants was defective because Appellants had appealed all issues in this case on September 15, 2023, except for a ruling on attorney’s fees and appealed at a time when the Court of Appeals and not yet ruled on the appeal; and 2) To the extent the county court’s order considered whether there was sufficient evidence to support the underlying judgment on in the initial appeal, this was error.