Cleary v. Cleary

Two brothers, the plaintiff, William Cleary, and the defendant, Robert Cleary, were the nephews of the late Mary O’Connell. The plaintiff challenges a transaction that occurred shortly prior to Mary’s death, in which the defendant, Mary’s insurance agent and attorney-in-fact, assisted her in designating himself the beneficiary of two annuity policies worth approximately $446,000. We hold that the defendant bore the burden of proving that in rendering assistance he did not breach his fiduciary duty to Mary, and remand the case to the Superior Court.

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In 1984, the defendant, a licensed insurance…