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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

Incorporated Charity Cannot be Beneficiary of POD Account and Cy Pres Cannot be Used to Give the Charity the Property

Posted on August 19, 2009
In Tuvim v. United Jewish Communities, Inc., the decedent named an incorporated charitable entity as the POD beneficiary of five certificates of deposit and a trust account. Because the relevant Georgia statutes limit beneficiaries of such POD accounts to ?persons?...

Questioning New York's Exemption of Infants from In Terrorem Clauses

Posted on August 19, 2009
Peter G. Billlings (J.D. Candidate 2009, Quinnipiac University) has published his note entitled Infants and in Terrorem Clauses: Rethinking New York Estate Powers and Trusts Law Section 3-3.5, 22 Quinnipiac Prob. L.J. 397 (2009). The introduction from the article is...

Arizona Amends Its Version of the Uniform Principal and Income Act

Posted on August 18, 2009
Arizona's 49th Legislature amended its version of the Uniform Principal and Income Act during the first regular session in 2009. The amendment remedies an issue raised by Rev. Ruling 2006-26 so that a deferred compensation, annuity, IRA, or similar plan...

Effects of Donor Standing on Philanthropic Giving

Posted on August 18, 2009
Reid K. Weisbord (judicial law clerk) and Peter De Scioli (research associate, Chapman University Economic Science Institute) have posted on SSRN their article entitled The Effects of Donor Standing on Philanthropy: Insights from the Psychology of Gift-Giving, 45 Gonz...

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Annual Exclusion: Gift Made by Agent Does Not Qualify Unless Authorized

Posted on August 18, 2009
In Barnett v. United States, No. 07-cv-844, 2009 WL 2426246 (W.D. Pa. May 27, 2009), the court determined that gifts made on behalf of the principal by his agent did not qualify for the annual exclusion because the power of...

Italian Tax Authorities Investigate Estate of Former Fiat Chairman

Posted on August 18, 2009
The estate of Gianni Agnelli, the former chairman of Fiat, is the center of a family dispute in Italy. Agnelli's daughter, a primary beneficiary of Agnelli's estate, claims that the estate contains undeclared assets held in Swiss accounts, worth as...

Welcome Back!

Posted on August 17, 2009
For many of us, today is the first day of Fall Semester. I hope you had an enjoyable and productive summer. As you are probably aware, this blog attempts to serve as a central site to locate and explore comprehensive...

Effect of Ruling Regarding Kerouac's Estate Questioned

Posted on August 17, 2009
I previously wrote about the recent developments in the estate of author Jack Kerouac. An article written by Julian Guthrie, entitled Kerouac's unintended legacy? A legal limbo, SF Gate, Aug. 15, 2009, provides a good summary of the lawsuit over...

Heirs of Superman Creator Awarded More Rights

Posted on August 17, 2009
A court has awarded the heirs of Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman, rights to additional works after evidence showed that the publications were produced before DC Comics purchased the publication rights of the action hero. Previously, the heirs co-owned...

Albany Law School seeks T&E Professors

Posted on August 17, 2009
Albany Law School invites applications for tenure-track positions in the trusts and estates and tax areas, beginning in the fall of 2010. Appointment will be made at the assistant, associate or full professor level, depending on experience. Candidates must demonstrate...

History Between Jackson and Estate Executor

Posted on August 16, 2009
An interesting AP article summarizes the over 20-year relationship between Michael Jackson and John Branca, one of Jackson's attorneys and one of the executors of his estate. The article also mentions that the Jackson estate's other executor, John McClain, is...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on August 16, 2009
Here are the top downloads from June 17, 2009 to August 16, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 233 Ghosts of...

Australian Court Says Quadriplegic Man Has Right to Starve to Death

Posted on August 15, 2009
On Friday, an Australian judge ruled that Christian Rossiter, a quadriplegic man who is not terminally ill, dying, vegetative, of lacking capacity to express his wishes, has the right to die by refusing food and water. According to a CNN...

Gay Rights Groups in California Differ on How to Proceed

Posted on August 15, 2009
Courage Campaign, a grass-roots organization in California, announced its plans to move forward next year toward a ballot vote that could overturn the voter-approved Proposition 8. Hours later, Equality California, a leading gay rights group in California, indicated that it...

Right of Publicity as Part of an Estate

Posted on August 14, 2009
Paul L. Caron (professor of law, University of Cincinnati) has posted on SSRN his article entitled Estate Planning Implications on the Right of Publicity, 68 Tax Notes 95 (1995). The abstract of the article is below. It is not very...

House Expected to Address Estate-Tax Repeal

Posted on August 14, 2009
According to the Wall Street Journal, the House of Representatives is expected to propose a one-year plan that would prevent the scheduled repeal of the estate tax in 2010. Congressional aides have indicated that the House will propose extending 2009...

Jackson Estate: Earnings and Executors

Posted on August 14, 2009
Jackson's executors expect his estate to earn $100 million by the end of the year, on top of the $100 million already earned from a film contract and other merchandising deals. Meanwhile, Mrs. Jackson and her legal team have sought,...

CLE Will Guide Lawyers on Disability & Unexpected Event Preparation

Posted on August 13, 2009
The ABA Sections of General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division, Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, Law Practice Management Section, Senior Lawyers Division, and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education are sponsoring a Teleconference and Integrated Visual Webcast CLE...

Retirees and Post-Employment Health Care

Posted on August 13, 2009
Richard L. Kaplan (professor of law, University of Illinois), Nicholas J. Powers, and Jordan Zucker have posted on SSRN their article entitled Retirees at Risk: The Precarious Promise of Post-Employment Health Benefits, 9 Yale J. of Health Pol'y L. &...

Fallen Hero Saves Lives Even in Death

Posted on August 13, 2009
The heart of a 21-year old Army Ranger who died as a result of injuries sustained while on duty in Afghanistan saved the life of a friend of an extended family member through organ donation. The Army Ranger had indicated...

Animal Welfare Organizations File Suit Over Helmsley Estate Administration

Posted on August 12, 2009
The Humane Society, the ASPCA, and Maddie's Fund filed a lawsuit in New York surrogate court, seeking to intervene in the $5 billion estate of Leona Helmsley and charging that Helmsley's express wish to help dogs has been ignored. According...

Author Discusses Article on Probate in the Old South

Posted on August 12, 2009
Alfred L. Brophy (professor of law, University of North Carolina) has posted a series of blogs discussing the article he co-authored with Stephen Duane Davis, II, which is entitled The Most Esteemed Act of My Life: Family, Property, Will, and...

Jackson's Estate Capitalizing on Star's Post-Death Popularity

Posted on August 12, 2009
According to a Jermaine Jackson, "Michael Jackson's estate should gain 'close to $100 million' through contracts negotiated since the pop star's death," assuming the contracts are approved by a Los Angeles court. Alan Duke, Jermaine Jackson on Michael's kids, estate,...

Self Settled Trusts and LLCs

Posted on August 11, 2009
The August 2009 edition of The Estate Analyst is comprised of an article by Robert L. Moshman (attorney and writer) entitled Bootstrapping Backfires for Self-Settled Trusts and Single Member LLCs: Step Transactions Tripped Up. The introduction to the article and...

New York Man Arrested for Black-Market Kidney Scheme

Posted on August 11, 2009
A New York man was arrested on Thursday, July 24, 2009, for allegedly operating a black-market kidney buying and selling scheme for the last decade. An FBI sting exposed the operation, which could be "the first documented case of organ...

Jackson's Concert Insurance Depends on Autopsy

Posted on August 11, 2009
The insurance policy covering Michael Jackson with regard to his now-canceled concert tour contains provisions excluding cancellations relating to illegally possessing drugs, illicitly taking drugs, concealing information, or acting carelessly to increase the risk of cancellation...

Solutions for Organ Donor Shortages

Posted on August 10, 2009
Alexander Tabarrok (Mercatus Center & George Mason University) has written an article entitled Life-Saving Incentives: Consequences, Costs and Solutions to the Organ Shortage, available in the Library of Economics and Liberty, Aug. 3, 2009. The author discusses both financial compensation...

Tolkien Estate's Court Date Draws Near

Posted on August 10, 2009
The Tolkien Estate is set to meet New Line Cinema in court on October 19, 2009. The family is seeking a share of the revenues generated by the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies. The suit centers on Tolkien's 1969...

Connecticut enacts pet trust statute

Posted on August 10, 2009
Effective October 1, 2009, Connecticut will have a pet trust statute that reads as follows: (a) A testamentary or inter vivos trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal or animals alive during the settlor's or...

Michigan Sees an Increase in Unclaimed Dead

Posted on August 09, 2009
I recently wrote about financial hardship causing an increase in unclaimed bodies in Los Angeles County and Clarke County, Nevada. Authorities in Wayne County, Michigan, which includes Detroit, report a rise in the number of families failing to claim a...

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