In re Estate of Murphy, No. A-12-1001, 2014 Neb. App. LEXIS 40 (Neb. Ct. App. Feb. 4, 2014)

(decedent was survived by her husband and four children, two of whom were also the children of her ex-husband; the decedent’s ex-husband’s business partner and significant other was appointed as the personal representative (PR) of the decedent’s estate; her holographic will, which split her property evenly amongst her husband and four children, was probated; the PR sold some of the decedent’s real property in a private sale to the decedent’s ex-husband; she also paid the ex-husband $22,448 to repair, clean, and transport personal property that was auctioned for $28,016.50; the husband filed a petition to surcharge the PR for committing fraud and damaging the estate; the trial court found that the PR did not breach her fiduciary duty in disposing of the estate’s property;  on appeal, the court ruled that sufficient evidence supported the trial court’s decision that the PR did not breach her fiduciary duties with respect to selling the estate's personal property and paying the ex-husband’s bill; testimony established that the personal property was in poor condition; there was no testimony to support the allegation that the amount paid to the ex-husband was excessive, given the amount of work required).