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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

Kennedy v. DuPont Analyzed

Posted on April 28, 2009
Albert Feuer (Attorney, Law Offices of Albert Feuer) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled A Curious ERISA Case Before the Supreme Court Becomes More Confused. Here is the abstract of his article: Kennedy v. DuPont Savings Plan Administrator,...

A trustee has the duty to inform a beneficiary of the settlor?s revocation of the trust

Posted on April 28, 2009
UPC § 7-303 requires the trustee to keep the beneficiaries of the trust ?reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.? Over a sole dissent, the court in JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Longmeyer, 275 S.W.3d 697 (Ky. 2009),...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on April 27, 2009
Here are the top downloads from February 26, 2009 to April 27, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 257 2008 Developments...

Same-sex marriages begin in Iowa

Posted on April 27, 2009
Earlier on this blog, I reported that the Iowa Supreme Court in Varnum v. Brien (No. 07-1499) held that the Iowa statute banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional as a violation of equal protection. Today, April 27, 2009, same-sex couples started...

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Health and Education Exclusion Trusts

Posted on April 27, 2009
Julius H. Giarmarco, Esq. (Partner, Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C.) has recently written an article entitled How To "HEET" Up An Estate Plan. Here is a summary of the article: This article discusses the benefits of a health and education...

Action for accounting and removal of executor is not a challenge to will

Posted on April 27, 2009
The testator?s will contained an in terrorem clause applicable to any beneficiary who contests the validity of the will whether or not in good faith and with or without probable cause. In Sinclair v. Sinclair, 670 S.E.2d 59 (Ga. 2008),...

Value judgments for FLPs and similar entities

Posted on April 26, 2009
Cynthia A. Duncan (Associate, King & Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia), John R. Jones, Jr. (Counsel, King & Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia), and James D. Spratt, Jr. have recently published their article entitled McCord to Holman?Five Years of Value Judgments, 34 ACTEC J...

Business succession planning with carried interests

Posted on April 26, 2009
Richard B. Robinson (Shareholder, Robinson, Diss and Clowdus, P.C., Denver, Colorado) has recently published his article entitled Business Succession Planning, Profits Interests and § 2701, 34 ACTEC J. 243 (2009). Here is the editors' synopsis of his article: This article...

Advising the "newbie" foundation trustee

Posted on April 25, 2009
Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) has recently published his article entitled A Letter About Investing to a New Foundation Trustee, with Some Focus on Socially Responsible Investing, 34 ACTEC J. 234 (2009). Here is...

Tenancy by the Entirety and Asset Protection

Posted on April 25, 2009
Fred Franke (The Law Office of Frederick R. Franke, Jr., Annapolis, Maryland) has recently published his article entitled Asset Protection and Tenancy by the Entirety, 34 ACTEC J. 210 (2009). Here is the editor's synopsis of this article: This article...

Settlor?s attempt to relieve trustee?s duty to account deemed ineffective

Posted on April 24, 2009
A husband and his wife jointly created a revocable trust. The husband died first and under the trust terms, one-half of the property was divided into two trusts. The surviving spouse had a general power of appointment over one and...

Abolition of no-residue-of-a-residue rule applies to revocable trust used as will substitute

Posted on April 24, 2009
In In re Estate of Zilles, 200 P.3d 1024 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2008), the court held that the judicial abolition of the no-residue-of-a-residue rule in a case concerning a will also applies to a revocable trust that disposes of property...

Keeping an eye on your dead relatives and friends

Posted on April 24, 2009
It is becoming increasing common to keep a watchful eye on your children, property, elderly parents, and a less than trustworthy spouse by using a web cam and the Internet. Pollica, Italy, a city of less than 3,000 living inhabitants,...

Don't ask, don't tell -- charitable contribution style -- Update

Posted on April 24, 2009
Earlier on this blog, I reported that several colleges were getting large contributions conditioned on the school promising not to ascertain the identity of the donors. According to Justin Pope, Colleges led by women getting mystery gifts, Lubbock Online, April...

Don't ask, don't tell -- charitable contribution style

Posted on April 23, 2009
Charities, especially colleges, are getting large contributions conditioned on the charity promising not to ascertain the identity of the donors. Here are some details from Michael J. Crumb, Mystery donors give over $45M to 9 universities, Yahoo! News, April 16,...

MatchingDonors.com -- good or bad?

Posted on April 23, 2009
MatchingDonors.com is a website which facilitates donees and living organ donors to connect. According to the site, it is "the most successful nonprofit organization that is improving those odds by finding living altruistic donors for patients needing transplants...

Robert Moshman has written a new

Posted on April 23, 2009
Robert Moshman has written a new article entitled The Estate Analyst: "Planning in Fearful Times. Here is a summary of the article: The article discusses some of the reasons why estate planning has been turned on its head in these...

Disposition of Remains

Posted on April 23, 2009
James T.R. Jones (Professor of Law, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law) has written a new article entitled Body, Body, Who Gets the Body? The Resolution of Bodily Remains Cases. Here is a summary of the article: The article gives...

Marlon Brando's trustees file suit for trademark infringement

Posted on April 22, 2009
The trustees of Marlon Brando's trust have recently filed suit in Los Angeles against the companies that own and operate the Broadcast Center Apartments claiming that they are infringing on Brando's trademarked name. According to Michael Cieply, Protecting Brando Legacy,...

Successor Trustees

Posted on April 22, 2009
In Alpert v. Riley, 274 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.?Houston [1st Dist.] 2008, pet. filed), A dispute arose as to whether a successor trustee was properly appointed under a trust provision allowing the current trustee to appoint a successor trustee or...

Helmsley money going to non-dog purposes

Posted on April 22, 2009
Earlier on this blog, I reported that Surrogate Webber held that the trustees of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust which is the sole residuary beneficiary under Leona Helmsley's will, "may apply trust funds for such charitable...

Can a settlor be in breach of trust?

Posted on April 22, 2009
In Alpert v. Riley, 274 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.?Houston [1st Dist.] 2008, pet. filed), Settlor created irrevocable trusts. Later, Trustee sued Settlor for breach of fiduciary duty. The court determined that Trustee lacked standing to sue Settlor because ?[a] trust...

Standard for awarding attorney's fees

Posted on April 21, 2009
In Alpert v. Riley, 274 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.?Houston [1st Dist.] 2008, pet. filed), the trial court denied Beneficiaries? request to have attorney?s fees awarded against Trustee and Beneficiaries appealed. The appellate court reversed. Under Trust Code § 114...

Suspension of Required Mininium Distribution CLE

Posted on April 21, 2009
The ABA's Section of Real Property, Trusts & Estate Law is sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast on May 12, 2009 entitled Planning Opportunities in the Wake of Suspension of the RMD. Here is a description of this program:...

Successor executors

Posted on April 21, 2009
In Eastland v. Eastland, 273 S.W.3d 815 (Tex. App.?Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet. h.), the probate court appointed Successor Executor even though the notice requirements of Texas Probate Code § 220(a) were not followed. Beneficiary appealed. The appellate court...

Standing of Executor to Appeal

Posted on April 20, 2009
In the case of In re Estate of Denman, 270 S.W.3d 639 (Tex. App.?San Antonio 2008, pet. denied), Executor appealed a judgment of the probate court regarding the appropriate allocation of the generation-skipping transfer tax, that is, did the burden...

AALS Section on Trusts and Estates Spring 2009 Newsletter now available

Posted on April 20, 2009
The AALS Section on Trusts and Estates Spring 2009 Newsletter has just been released. Please follow this link to read and/or download the Newsletter.

Trust contest -- fraud, undue influence, and duress

Posted on April 20, 2009
In Cooper v. Cochran, 272 S.W.3d 756 (Tex. App.?Dallas 2008, no pet. h.), both the trial and appellate courts agreed that an inter vivos trust was invalid because Settlor was induced to enter into the trust because of fraud, duress,...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on April 20, 2009
Here are the top downloads from February 19, 2009 to April 20, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 251 2008 Developments...

Agreement of majority of beneficiaries does not have effect as a judicially-approved accounting

Posted on April 19, 2009
A trust agreement provided that approval of the trustee?s accounting by a majority of the income beneficiaries would ?have the same effect? as if a court having jurisdiction over the trust had approved the accounting. The court in Vena v....

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