Article on Bridging the Gap Between Mental Illness and Firearms in Probate Courts

Michael Bell published an Article entitled, Bridging the Gap Between Mental Illness and Firearms in Probate Courts, 10 Est. Plan. & Comm. Prop. L.J. 125 (2017). Provided below is an abstract of the Article:

Joe and his wife Sandy were the parents of a young daughter, Kelly. That day’s events pour through both their minds repeatedly. Waking Kelly up– she hated waking up for school; dropping her off at school–the traffic was always terrible dropping her off; going to work–once enjoyable, but now trivial. Finally, a call no parent ever wants to receive. Things blurred after that. Hours, weeks, months passed as Joe and Sandy lived in a fog. Why did the shooter do what he did? Why did he choose the school? Why did he have a gun? Why did he choose Kelly? Finally, Joe and Sandy attend the trial to get some closure. Today was not going to be that day, though. The young man who took their Kelly away sits across the room. The trial unfolds, increasing Joe and Sandy’s anger by the minute. He was pleading mental illness? Had he been committed numerous times and let out? Had he gotten the gun from his parents because they had passed away last year? Why did the law allow someone with a mental illness to own a gun? Why is there not a law to prevent him from owning a firearm so easily? While the situation of Joe and Sandy is a hypothetical situation, estate planners should not overlook the issue of probating weapons and mental illness.