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Estate Planning

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

A resource to enhance the teaching of courses that address intestate succession, wills, trusts, estate administration, non-probate assets, planning for disability, and other matters pertaining to estate planning.
By Gerry W. Beyer

Post Frequency: 44.9/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 14:00:00

Benefit-the-Beneficiaries Trust Standard

Posted on May 21, 2010
John H. Langbein (Sterling Professor of Law and Legal History, Yale University) has recently published his article entitled Burn the Rembrandt? Trust Law's Limits on the Settlor's Power to Direct Investments, 90 B.U. L. Rev. 375 (2010). The abstract of...

Democrats Disagree Regarding Estate Tax

Posted on May 21, 2010
Although Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) were previously in general agreement on a 35% rate and a $5 million exemption for the 2011 estate tax, any such agreement has since deteriorated. The Democrats have...

Autistic Pianist: First Publicly Heard Case in London

Posted on May 21, 2010
Until May 13th, all cases heard by the Court of Protection in London were automatically heard in private. This Court has so far taken temporary control of Ł3.2bn of assets belonging to people lacking the mental capacity to make financial...

Minnesota's Assisted Suicide Statute

Posted on May 20, 2010
Mr. Melchert-Dinkel, a licensed practical nurse from Minnesota, faces charges for two counts of aiding suicide. His obsession with death and suicide led him to create an internet alias and give troubled people information about methods of suicide. He also...

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Religious Clauses and Public Policy

Posted on May 20, 2010
Aaron H. Kaplan (J.D. candidate 2010, Georgetown Law) has recently published his note entitled The "Jewish Clause" and Public Policy: Preserving the Testamentary Right to Oppose Religious Intermarriage, 8 Geo. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 295 (2010). An excerpt from the...

My worries are over?

Posted on May 20, 2010
I am pleased to announce that my financial worries may be over. Just check out this e-mail message I recently received: Assalam Allekum, My name is Sheikh J. Mohammed. I am a dying man who have decided to Donate the...

Anna Nicole Smith Auction

Posted on May 20, 2010
On June 26th and 27th, Julien?s Auctions will present ?Hollywood Legends? at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Las Vegas. Many items from the Estate of Anna Nicole Smith will be auctioned off, and the proceeds will benefit both charity and...

Brewster's Millions: A Video-recorded Will

Posted on May 19, 2010
I recently blogged about video-recording the will execution ceremony. Brewster's Millions (1985) is another movie in which the deceased used a video-recording to explain his testamentary wishes. In order to make $300 million, Brewster had to spend $30 million within...

Learning from Celebrities' Mistakes

Posted on May 19, 2010
Celebrity estate planning blunders can teach the rest of us a lesson. A few examples include: Michael Jackson had a will and set up a trust for his children but forgot to fund the trust. Now, it's a family mess....

Prof. Jeffrey A. Cooper promoted and receives tenure

Posted on May 19, 2010
Congratulations to Jeffrey A. Cooper (Quinnipiac University School of Law) who recently learned the good news that he was promoted to Professor of Law and granted tenure effective at the start of the Fall semester.

Third-Party Special Needs Trusts

Posted on May 19, 2010
Jennifer Brannan (J.D. candidate 2011, Texas Wesleyan) has recently published her comment entitled Third-Party Special Needs Trust: Dead or Alive in a Uniform Trust Code World, 16 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 249 (2010). The introduction to the comment is below:...

SEC Custody Rule

Posted on May 18, 2010
In response to Madoff?s scheme, the SEC adopted a new rule that took effect last Friday. Under this rule, if the SEC finds that an advisory firm has custody over client assets, that firm must pay for an annual audit....

Video-Recording the Will Execution Ceremony

Posted on May 18, 2010
Gerry W. Beyer (Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law) has recently published his article entitled Video-Recording the Will Execution Ceremony, Estate Planning Studies (April 2010). Here is the abstract of the article...

Estate Planning for Gun Owners

Posted on May 18, 2010
Wendy S. Goffe (attorney, Seattle, Wa.) has recently published her article entitled Gun Trusts in Estate Planning, ABA Trust & Investments, May-June 2010, at 24. An excerpt from the beginning of the article is below: When an estate includes firearms,...

Law and Order Episode Uses Estate Tax and Same-Sex Adoption in Plot

Posted on May 18, 2010
Law and Order recently featured an episode entitled "The Tax Man Cometh." According to the blog All Things Law and Order, this episode "was a slightly twisty and meandering case that went from what looked like one murder to another...

CLE on Practical Estate Planning Advice

Posted on May 18, 2010
The ABA section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law is sponsoring a 90-minute teleconference entitled Practical Advice on Planning and Administering Estates in 2010: What You Should Be Doing Now on May 18, 2010. A summary of the program...

Author Chiam Grade's Widow Dies Intestate, Opening Access to Author's Papers

Posted on May 18, 2010
Chaim Grade was one of the leading Yiddish writers of the 20th century. When he passed away in 1982, his wife took possession of his manuscripts and refused almost all offers to translate or sort through his works, stating that...

SEC Wants Control of Collective Investment Trusts

Posted on May 17, 2010
By law, collective funds are the turf of bank regulators. But Andrew Donohue, head of the SEC?s investment management unit, wants more control. He threatened to go after advisors who sell collective investment trusts, successfully pitting the SEC against bank...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on May 17, 2010
Here are the top downloads from March 17, 2010 to May 16, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 313 The Federal...

Attend the Asian Funeral Expo and Get a Free Coffin Portrait!

Posted on May 17, 2010
It's that time of year again - time for the Asian Funeral Expo. This year's more unique products include the following: Designer Paper Effigies: Chinese paper offerings are burned as a gift to the dead. Now these paper offerings could...

Passing on Life Lessons

Posted on May 17, 2010
Susan T. Bart (attorney, Chicago, Ill) and Daniel R. Thies (2011 J.D. candidate, Harvard) have recently published their article entitled Ethical Wills: Preserving a Legacy, ABA Trust & Investment, May-June 2010, at 16. The introduction of the article is below:...

Warner Brothers Sues the Attorney Who Represented the Superman Heirs

Posted on May 17, 2010
I have previously reported on the successful lawsuit brought by the heirs of the co-creators of Superman to recover some of the Superman copyrights. Last week Warner Brothers, the movie studio who previously owned all Superman copyrights, filed a complaint...

Exploring the Interface Between Testamentary and Contractual Freedom

Posted on May 17, 2010
Adam J. Hirsch's (William and Catherine VanDercreek Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law) recent article Freedom of Testation / Freedom of Contract, which will appear in the Minnesota Law Review, is now available on SSRN. Here is...

Letter to Congress Urges Action on 'Law of Unintended Consequences'

Posted on May 16, 2010
In November of 2007 Conrad Teitell (attorney, Florida; adjunct professor, University of Miami School of Law) testified at a congressional hearing entitled "Federal Estate Tax -- Uncertainty in Planning Under the Current Law." At that hearing, Teitell recalls senator after...

Reprieve From Unbundling

Posted on May 16, 2010
The April 2010 edition of The Estate Analyst is comprised of an article by Robert L. Moshman (attorney and writer) entitled The GRAT?s Last Gasp, Unbundling Reprieved, and the Eyjafjallajökull of the Estate Tax. The introduction to the article and...

Kevorkian Van Pulled From E-Bay Due to E-Bay's Muderabilia Policy

Posted on May 15, 2010
Last month a VW van that was used by Dr. Jack Kevorkian while assisting in several suicides was placed on E-Bay. The top bid on this "piece of history" was $3,400 when E-Bay removed the listing because it violated their...

Honesty in Trust Administration

Posted on May 15, 2010
Alan Armstrong (Senior Trust Executive) has recently published his article entitled Integrity and Honesty in Wills, ABA Trust & Investments, May-June 2010, at 6. An excerpt from the beginning of the article is below: Integrity is the quality of possessing...

Joshua Tate receives tenure and promotion

Posted on May 14, 2010
Congratulations to Joshua C. Tate who on September 1, 2010 will have tenure and the rank of Associate Professor of Law at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Tories and Lib Dems Cutting Deals

Posted on May 14, 2010
In the UK, the Tories and Lib Dems are hammering out compromises in order to get a coalition running. Both sides have seized the opportunity to bring their policies and ideas to fruition. For example, the Tories have ?dropped their...

Jewish and Secular Estate Law Conflict

Posted on May 14, 2010
Benjamin Wolf has recently published his note entitled Resolving the Conflict Between Jewish and Secular Estate Law, 37 Hofstra L. Rev. 1171 (2009). The conclusion is below: The note of indebtedness method, in conjunction with a typical last will and...

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