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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

?Resolved: The Trust is Dead? -- Call for Participation

Posted on April 08, 2010
?Resolved: The Trust is Dead? Call for Participation AALS Section on Trusts & Estates 2011 AALS Annual Meeting January 5-8, 2011 San Francisco, California The AALS Section on Trusts & Estates will hold a debate-based program during the AALS 2011...

Tax Planning for Green Card Holders

Posted on April 08, 2010
John L. Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Michael J. Stegman (Cincinnati, Ohio) have published their article entitled Confronting the New Expatriation Tax: Advice for the U.S. Green Card Holder, 35 ACTEC Journal 266 (2009). The editor's synopsis of the article is...

'Why New Yorkers Don't Donate Organs'

Posted on April 08, 2010
Only 13% of the adult population in New York state has registered as an organ donor, the fifth lowest donation rate for states in the U.S. The problem in New York State, aside from diverse cultural barriers to spreading the...

The ABA Tax Section Asks Congress to Give the Federal Estate and GST Taxes Prompt Attention

Posted on April 08, 2010
This week the ABA Section of Taxation wrote a letter to Congress emphasizing the importance of addressing the unusual status of the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes in 2010 and 2011. The letter addresses the effect that this issue...

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Growing Your Elder Law Practice

Posted on April 07, 2010
Offbeat tips for growing an elder law practice was the subject of one session at a program hosted by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorney last fall. Maximizing the benefits of your time and developing good client relations was...

Advanced Planning Strategies for Special Needs Trusts

Posted on April 07, 2010
The National Constitution Center is sponsoring a 60-minute audio conference and CLE entitled Special Needs Trusts-Advanced Strategies to Secure Public Benefits on April 21, 2010. A summary of the program is below: Administering Special Needs Trusts is a difficult task...

When Is Grandpa Too Old to Drive?

Posted on April 07, 2010
According to Chad Strowmatt, one of five certified driver rehabilitation specialists in Texas, senior citizens have the same high number of car accidents as teens on an accident-per-mile basis. But convincing seniors to surrender their car keys is not an...

Beneficiary Restrictions May Consume an Estate

Posted on April 07, 2010
James H. Cundiff (attorney & partner, Chicago) & Andrew D. Copans (attorney, Los Angeles) have published their article entitled In re Estate of Feinberg: When Legal Fees Consume an Estate--Restrictive Clauses are Moot, 35 ACTEC Journal 255 (2009). The editor's...

Kentucky Repeals Rule Against Perpetuities

Posted on April 07, 2010
The state of Kentucky has repealed its rule against perpetuities. H.B. 188, signed into law by the governor of Kentucky on March 18, 2010, contained a number of changes for trusts and estates, including this new section of KRS Chapter...

The History and Validity of an Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Trust

Posted on April 06, 2010
Michael D. Mulligan (attorney, St. Louis) has published his article entitled Fifteen Years of Sales of IDITs---Where Are We Now?, 35 ACTEC Journal 227 (2009). The editor's synopsis of the article is below: This article comprises a comprehensive, up-to-date review...

The Millionaires are Back

Posted on April 06, 2010
The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more jumped 16% in 2009, and those with a net worth of $5 million or more rose 17% in 2009. While still short of the 9.2 million...

Gene Simmons Enters the LIfe Insurance Business

Posted on April 06, 2010
Gene Simmons, famous rocker from the band Kiss, has joined a financial group that offers life insurance policies starting at $10 million to people worth at least $20 million. Premiums for the policies are financed with a loan that is...

Ethical & Practical Questions When Planning for Long-Term Health Care

Posted on April 06, 2010
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article by Kelly Greene entitled Enoculating Estates From Health Costs, WSJ, Apr. 3, 2010, which asks, ?Should you give away your nest egg to your heirs?and then stick Medicaid with your nursing-home tab....

Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Witness Must Know Purpose of Will Attestation

Posted on April 05, 2010
In re Estate of Griffith, ---So. 3d---, 2010 WL 1077441 (Miss.): Witnesses who signed a will identified their signatures on the will, but testified that they were not informed of what they were signing and that the testator did not...

Book Discusses Effect of the Dead Hand

Posted on April 05, 2010
Ray D. Madoff (law professor, Boston College) recently published her book Immortality and the Law: The Rising Power of the American Dead (Yale University Press, 2010). The following is the publisher's description of the book: This book takes a riveting...

Funeral Discount for Being an Organ Donor

Posted on April 05, 2010
An Idaho man who owns a local funeral home has announced that, among other things, he will offer an $1,800 discount on funeral services to the families of people who donate their organs. The man received a life-saving kidney transplant...

Emergency Plans: Part of Succession Planning for Family Businesses

Posted on April 05, 2010
I recently reported on a New York Times article discussing succession planning for the family business. In response to this article, the Wealth Mediation Blog adds that succession planning begins with emergency planning and ends with a clear and comprehensive...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on April 04, 2010
Here are the top downloads from February 2, 2010 to April 3, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 519 Ten Estate...

Happy Easter!

Posted on April 04, 2010
Greetings, To all my Christian readers, please accept my best wishes for a very Happy Easter. Gerry

ObamaCare Could Mean Increased Use of Health Savings Accounts

Posted on April 03, 2010
What does ObamaCare mean for those involved with Wills, Trusts, and Estates? The Trust Advisor Blog reports that there may be a rise in the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSA), a type of trust that functions like a self-directed...

Should Education and Healthcare Transfers be Subject to the Gift Tax?

Posted on April 03, 2010
Kerry A. Ryan (assistant professor of law, Saint Louis University) has posted SSRN her article entitled Human Capital and Transfer Taxation. The abstract of the article is below: This article addresses the question of whether education and healthcare transfers should...

Estate Tax Prediction Contest Hosted by KYEstates.com

Posted on April 02, 2010
The KYEstates blog recently announced that it is hosting an Estate Tax Forecasting Competition. Readers are encouraged to submit their predictions for the estate tax exemption level and maximum rate in effect for January 1, 2011 and when definitive legislation...

Swedish Bum Dies a Millionaire

Posted on April 02, 2010
Below is the story of Curt Degeman, a Swedish man lived like a bum but died with an estate worth $1.5 million: During his life, Degerman wore torn clothes and spent his days collecting scrap metal from trash cans. He...

Contracts Inform But Do Not Determine Fiduciary Obligations

Posted on April 02, 2010
Mark Leeming (faculty of law, Sydney University) has posted on SSRN his article entitled The Scope of Fiduciary Obligations: How Contract Informs, But Does Not Determine, the Scope of Fiduciary Obligations, 3 J. of Equality 181 (2009). The abstract of...

Happy April Fools Day

Posted on April 01, 2010
Happy April Fools Day!! I hope you are not deceived today!

UK Leaders Drop Flat Tax On Death

Posted on April 01, 2010
I previously reported that some political leaders in the United Kingdom were considering a flat tax on death, possibly as much as �20,000 a death, to fund elderly care programs. The Telegraph reports that leaders are no longer considering such...

Effect of Holman v. Commissioner on Limited Partnership Valuation Discounts

Posted on April 01, 2010
Alden Koste (J.D. Candidate, May 2010, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law) has published a note entitled The IRS Fished Its Wish: The Ability of Section 2703 to Minimize Valuation Discounts Afforded to Family Limited Partnership Interests...

Black Gold Billionaire Dies in 2010, Benefiting from Federal Estate Tax Repeal

Posted on April 01, 2010
Dan Duncan died last week at the age of 77. In 1968, Duncan founded a company that stores, processes and transports oil and gas with nothing more than $10,000 and a truck. According to Forbes, Duncan was worth a modest...

Suit Against LegalZoom Seeks Class Certification & Alleges Unauthorized Practice of Law

Posted on March 31, 2010
A petition filed in the Missouri Western District Court seeks class certification to proceed with a claim against LegalZoom for unauthorized practice of law. The petition avers that LegalZoom offers services normally offered by lawyers without a license to practice...

Total Return Trusts: Case Summary & Tips for Avoiding Litigation

Posted on March 31, 2010
Margaret E.W. Sager (attorney, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) recently published her article entitled Litigation and the Total Return Test, 35 ACTEC Journal 206 (2009). The editor's synopsis is below: In the years following promulgation of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act and...

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