Ice Cream, You Scream, Heiress of Carvel Screams ‘Trust Fund’ Here in Palm Beach
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Nearly two decades on, the legal battle over the assets of the Carvel ice cream franchise, founded here in West Palm Beach, continues, with West Palm Beach legal services stepping in to get involved. The story goes that ‘Mr. Carvel’ founder and his wife had executed identical wills that placed their assets in trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse, stating that any remaining be deposited to a charitable foundation.
However, the same wills stated that Mr Carvel’s niece, Pamela Carvel, was designated to receive a one-time bequest of $20,000.
The founder's niece was to serve as one of six executors of his probate estate and as a co-trustee of the spousal support trust. Yet few years before her death in 1998, Carvel’s wife moved to live with the niece in London, at which time the niece transferred over $2 million from her uncle's estate into a joint London account. No notice of the latter was given to the other co-executors.
During this time, back in Palm Beach, probate court awarded the niece limited guardianship over Mrs. Carvel’s property and was said to have executed a new will, withdrawing the original bequest to the charitable foundation and giving it to a corporation deemed to be under control of the niece. Thus Pamela took immediate action after the death of Mrs Carvel, to pass this new will through probate in London, the result of which saw the charitable foundation responding with lawsuits in both West Palm Beach and London.
Years of left-field litigations and crazed petitions from Pamela Carvel, merely mounted her dismissal from filing any more claims in 2010. However, the story once again has risen to the surface with a bankruptcy filing some see as a ploy to dodge the prohibition against further estate litigation. While Pamela hasn’t got far with that one legally, she seems to have taken off geographically. To date, her whereabouts are unknown. A warrant has been issued for her arrest.
While Carvel’s story may be a unique one, the legal community in West Palm Beach is rapidly growing due to the amount of litigation arising in the area, typically involving depositions and other means of discovery. Companies such as Olender Legal Solutions specialize in providing court reporting services for depositions and support for local law firms, thus helping ease the theatrics that (judging by the latter) can clearly unfold in a case like this.
AUTHOR: Francesca Page
Copyright Olender Legal Solutions, Miami Court Reporters
More information about Olender Legal Solutions, Miami Court Reporters
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
The founder's niece was to serve as one of six executors of his probate estate and as a co-trustee of the spousal support trust. Yet few years before her death in 1998, Carvel’s wife moved to live with the niece in London, at which time the niece transferred over $2 million from her uncle's estate into a joint London account. No notice of the latter was given to the other co-executors.
During this time, back in Palm Beach, probate court awarded the niece limited guardianship over Mrs. Carvel’s property and was said to have executed a new will, withdrawing the original bequest to the charitable foundation and giving it to a corporation deemed to be under control of the niece. Thus Pamela took immediate action after the death of Mrs Carvel, to pass this new will through probate in London, the result of which saw the charitable foundation responding with lawsuits in both West Palm Beach and London.
Years of left-field litigations and crazed petitions from Pamela Carvel, merely mounted her dismissal from filing any more claims in 2010. However, the story once again has risen to the surface with a bankruptcy filing some see as a ploy to dodge the prohibition against further estate litigation. While Pamela hasn’t got far with that one legally, she seems to have taken off geographically. To date, her whereabouts are unknown. A warrant has been issued for her arrest.
While Carvel’s story may be a unique one, the legal community in West Palm Beach is rapidly growing due to the amount of litigation arising in the area, typically involving depositions and other means of discovery. Companies such as Olender Legal Solutions specialize in providing court reporting services for depositions and support for local law firms, thus helping ease the theatrics that (judging by the latter) can clearly unfold in a case like this.
AUTHOR: Francesca Page
Copyright Olender Legal Solutions, Miami Court Reporters
More information about Olender Legal Solutions, Miami Court Reporters
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
