Dudden v. Goodman

HABHAB, Judge.

This case concerns the alleged legal malpractice of Charles I. Goodman in the preparation of the tax returns for the estate of Claus P. Dudden. Specifically, the plaintiffs claim Goodman failed to take the marital deduction or take advantage of the qualified terminable, interest property provision (QTIP) of the will.

Claus died on May 21, 1982. Goodman probated Claus’s estate, including the preparation of the estate’s federal and state tax returns. Goodman filed the returns on February 3, 1983. Emma Dudden, Claus’s widow, signed the returns in her capacity as the then-current…