Tewksbury v. Tewksbury, 957 N.E.2d 362

Tewksbury Jr. and other heirs sued to void transfers made under a power of attorney by Howard E. Tewksbury Sr. to his son, appellee, and to return assets to the estate.
The decedent executed a power of attorney about three weeks before death naming the appellee as attorney in fact.
The decedent died intestate; Harley Tewksbury was appointed administrator of the estate.
The case was transferred from probate to Pike County Common Pleas Court in 2005 and tried in 2008.
The trial court found nonprobate assets (jointly held real properties and payable-on-death CDs) not subject to the estate and voided the John Lee property transfer as self-dealing, while others remained unaffected.
The court ultimately held the power of attorney valid and affirmed dismissal of standing-related claims, leading to appellate affirmance of judgment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing to challenge transfers	Tewksbury asserts standing to void transfers benefiting appellee	Transfers affected nonprobate assets; no estate injury	Standing lacking for certain transfers; assets not part of estate
Validity of the power of attorney	POA violated due process of decedent's competence	POA valid; decedent competent at execution	POA valid; competence question supported by some evidence
Self-dealing prohibition	Transfers were voidable self-dealing by fiduciary	Transfers consistent with decedent's wishes; no automatic voidance	Self-dealing void; John Lee property to be returned to estate

Shemo v. Mayfield Hts., 88 Ohio St.3d 7 (2000) (competence and deferential standard of review for factual determinations)
C.E. Morris Co. v. Foley Constr. Co., 54 Ohio St.2d 279 (1978) (clear error standard for trial court findings of fact)