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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

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on April 26, 2010
Here are the top downloads from February 24, 2010 to April 25, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 651 Ten Estate...

Second Marriages Affect Asset Distribution

Posted on April 26, 2010
Almost fifty percent of all marriages are second marriages, and second spouses usually benefit from the same inheritance rights as first spouses. The following is a brief summary of where assets may go when a person dies when married to...

Levy Estate Fights the IRS

Posted on April 26, 2010
Norman F. Levy, a New York City real estate tycoon, died in 2005 leaving a $1.09 billion estate to charity and his family. Since his death, his estate has encountered many setbacks. First, Madoff swindled the estate out of hundreds...

Entrustet.com Official Launch

Posted on April 25, 2010
On April 20, Entrustet announced its services that enable users to ensure that their digital assets are legally protected. Through its free Account Guardian service, users can protect their digital assets by deleting them or designating heirs to receive or...

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New Book on Understanding Fiduciary Doctrine

Posted on April 25, 2010
Matthew Conaglen (senior lecturer, University of Cambridge has published his book Fiduciary Loyalty: Protecting the Due Performance of Non-Fiduciary Duties (2010). Below is a summary provided by the publisher: Fiduciary Loyalty presents a comprehensive analysis of the nature and function...

Call for Papers: AALS Nonprofit & Philanthropy Law

Posted on April 24, 2010
The following is a call for papers from the AALS Nonprofit & Philanthropy Law: ?The Federalization of Nonprofit and Charity Law? 2011 AALS Annual Meeting January 4-8, 2011 San Francisco, CA The AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law will...

Probate Contests: Fees awarded absent bad faith or wrongful conduct

Posted on April 24, 2010
In re Estate of King, 920 N.E.2d 820 (Mass. 2010): Massachusetts law allows the probate court to award costs and expenses, including attorney?s fees, to either party in contested cases ?as justice and equity may require.? In In re Estate...

Companion Seeks Portion of O'Quinn's Estate

Posted on April 23, 2010
Below is the story of a Houston lawyer who left behind a large estate and a will that makes no provision for his long-time companion. John O?Quinn, a legendary lawyer in Houston, made millions from breast implant lawsuits and tobacco...

NPR Features Estate Tax Piece

Posted on April 23, 2010
NPR's radio program All Things Considered recently featured a piece on the confusing state of the federal estate tax. The piece includes an interview with Boston College Law School Professor Ray Madoff, who states that with it being mid-April already,...

Cash for Organs in the UK?

Posted on April 23, 2010
Across the world, demand for organs greatly outweighs supply. Although highly controversial, the UK is currently debating whether cash or other incentives should be offered to those willing to donate organs and blood. Potential problems with offering cash for organs...

Paying Back Medicaid with Personal Injury Recoveries

Posted on April 23, 2010
Lawrence A. Friedman (Certified Elder Attorney, New Jersey) has published his article entitled Medicaid and Medicare Liens in Personal Injury Settlements, J. Nat'l College of Probate Judges, Spring 2010, at 8. The article discusses the following: Medicaid's ability to claim...

The Estate Tax Gap

Posted on April 22, 2010
While heirs of the mega-rich who die in 2010 may benefit from an estate tax break, they could actually wind up worse off due to the disappearance of the step-up in basis rule for capital gain assets. Although inherited assets...

100th Anniversary of Mark Twain's Death

Posted on April 22, 2010
Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the death of Samuel L. Clemens, who was better known by his pen name Mark Twain. A recent New York Times article offers the following details about Mark Twain's will, which the article suggests...

Practitioner's Guide to Conservation Easements

Posted on April 22, 2010
Shea B. Airey (attorney, South Carolina) recently published an article entitled Conservation Easements in Private Practice, 44 Real Prop. Trust & Estate L.J. 745 (2010). The editor's synopsis of the article is below: This article presents an overview of conservation...

Repairing Wills in 2010

Posted on April 22, 2010
The March 2010 edition of The Estate Analyst is comprised of an article by Robert L. Moshman (attorney and writer) entitled Emergency Will Repairs for 2010?Part II. The introduction to the article and the March 2010 edition of The Estate...

Estate Tax Audits Average $360,000 in Additional Tax

Posted on April 21, 2010
Although the federal estate tax is taking a break, the IRS is not taking a break when it comes to auditing estate tax returns. New data from the IRS reveals that after the IRS audits an estate tax return, the...

Coming Soon: Michael Jackson Themed Cirque du Soleil Shows

Posted on April 21, 2010
Michael Jackson's estate and Cirque du Soleil are teaming-up to create two theatrical shows based on Jackson's music. Details are below: One show will open in Vegas in 2011 and then travel worldwide. The second show will open in 2012...

'Measuring the Effectiveness of a Trust Portfolio's Diversification'

Posted on April 21, 2010
Edward A. Moses (Winter Park, Florida), J. Clay Singleton (Winter Park, Florida), and Stewart A. Marhall, III (Orlando, Florida), have published their article entitled Measuring the Effectiveness of a Trust Portfolio's Diversification, 35 ACTEC Journal 303 (2009)...

Tips for Passing on Your Digital Accounts

Posted on April 21, 2010
As the first wave of people who relied heavily on the internet die, the passing of digital accounts is becoming more important. Surviving family members may want access to the deceased?s online accounts in order to contact family and friends,...

Effect of Late-in-Life Marriages on Estate Plans

Posted on April 20, 2010
The stock market crash combined with the housing slump has wiped out $15.5 trillion in net worth within the last two years. However, an even bigger threat to potential heirs is a new stepmom or stepdad. Late-in-life marriages are increasing...

Tax Court Holds Transfers to Descendants Bonda Fide

Posted on April 20, 2010
Wendy S. Gerzog (professor of law, University of Baltimore) has posted on SSRN her article entitled Flp in the Black, Tax Notes, Vol. 127, No. 3, 2010. The abstract of the article is below: In Estate of Black, because the...

Statutory Safe Harbor Not Exclusive

Posted on April 20, 2010
In re Estaste of Singer, 920 N.E.2d 943 (N.Y. 2009): New York law provides that deposing the witnesses to a will, the nominated executors, the person who prepared the will, and the persons offering the will for probate does not...

The Golden Era of Wealth Transfer

Posted on April 20, 2010
When the estate tax exemption was $3.5 million in 2009, only 5,500 estates paid taxes. If the exemption reverts back to $1 million in 2011, more than 44,000 estates will pay taxes. In addition to taxing more money and more...

Preponderance of Evidence Necessary to Rebut Revocation of Lost Will Presumption

Posted on April 19, 2010
In re Estate of Beauregard, 921 N.E.2d 954 (Mass. 2010): The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the presumption of revocation that arises when a will last known to be in the possession of the testator and cannot be found...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on April 19, 2010
Here are the top downloads from February 17, 2010 to April 18, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 602 Ten Estate...

CLE on Roth Conversion Strategies

Posted on April 19, 2010
The ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law is sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast entitled Roth Conversion Strategies for the Estate Planning Client on May 4, 2010. A summary of the program is below: The availability...

Identity Theft After Death

Posted on April 19, 2010
Until authorities update their databases regarding a new death, criminals can open credit cards, apply for jobs under a dead person?s name, and get state identification cards. A recent Wall Street Journal article offers eight steps to protecting a deceased...

Language Intentionally Omitting Heirs Does Not Override Anti-Lapse Statute.

Posted on April 18, 2010
In re Estate of Tolman, 104 Cal. Rptr. 3d 924 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010): The testators? will gave her residuary estate to her daughter and expressly stated her intention to leave nothing to any of her heirs ?living at the...

Risks and Proposed Corrections for Section 529 Savings Accounts

Posted on April 18, 2010
Adam Winger (attorney, Birmingham, Alabama) has published his article entitled Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Exposing the Account Owner's Silent Assault on � 529 Savings Accounts, 35 ACTEC Journal 277 (2009). A synopsis of the article is below: Under...

Families Sue for Receiving Incorrect or Incomplete Cremains

Posted on April 17, 2010
An Albuquerque man is suing a local company for falsely representing that he had been given his wife's cremated remains after her organs were donated for science. The wife's body, however, was later found on the company's property. Another person...

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