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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

Unconscionability in the Law of Trusts

Posted on December 24, 2008
David Horton (Lecturer in Residence, Boalt Hall) has written an article entitled Unconscionability in the Law of Trusts, 84 Notre Dame L. Rev. (2009). Here is an abstract of the article: This Article claims that trust law should recognize the...

Executive Summary of Notice 2008-63

Posted on December 23, 2008
The IRS has issued Executive Summary of Notice 2008-63. Notice 2008-63 discussed the various tax changes that affect certain trusts. Here is an introduction to the article: On July 11, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2008-63, which includes...

FDIC Insurance Coverage has Been Increased

Posted on December 23, 2008
The FDIC has temporarily increased its insurance coverage to $250,000 from $100,000. The coverage will return back to $100,000 on January 1, 2010. Read more on the FDIC news release.

Individualized Justice in Disputes Over Dead Bodies

Posted on December 23, 2008
Frances H. Foster (Edward T. Foote II Professor of Law) has written a new article entitled Individualized Justice in Disputes Over Dead Bodies, 61 Vand. L. Rev. 1351 (2008). Here is a summary of the article: In February 2007, the...

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L?Or�al Heiress Denies Illness

Posted on December 22, 2008
Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman and L'Or�al heiress, has been accused by her daughter that she was tricked into giving away more than $1.4bn to a French society photographer. Both she and her daughter, Fran�oise Betterncourt Meyers sit on the...

Filed in Court: Columbo Star Peter Falk has Dementia

Posted on December 22, 2008
The National Enquirer reports TV Columbo Peter Falk's daughter asks for conservatorship for dad. Falk, 81, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and dementia, according to papers filed by daughter Catherine Falk at LA County Superior Court. She claims he is no...

Why States Should Amend Their Probate Codes to Allow an Intestate Share for Unmarried Homosexual Couples

Posted on December 22, 2008
Charles Patrick Schwartz (J.D., Hamline University School of Law, 2008) has written an article entitled Thy Will Not Be Done: Why States Should Amend Their Probate Codes to Allow an Intestate Share for Unmarried Homosexual Couples, 7 Conn. Pub. Int.....

Illinois Now Requires Trusts, Estates And Other Pass-Through Entities To Withhold Nonresident Beneficiaries? Share Of Illinois Income Tax

Posted on December 21, 2008
Karin Prangley (Attorney, Krasnow Saunders Cornblath LLP) has written an article about changes to the Illinois tax code that affect trusts in the state. Here is a short summary of the article: Illinois joins the ranks of approximately a dozen...

Bury Me With My Cell Phone

Posted on December 20, 2008
MSNBC has an article about a new trend of people being buried with their cell phones. It seems that everyone under 40 who dies takes their cell phone with them, says Noelle Potvin, family service counselor for Hollywood Forever, a...

Property And Estate Devolution Utilizing Fidei Commissum de Residuo: Finding Residual

Posted on December 19, 2008
Matthew I. Berger (Partner, Berger & Marx, LLP) has written a new article entitled Property And Estate Devolution Utilizing Fidei Commissum de Residuo: Finding Residual, 54 Loy. L. Rev. 129. Here is a summary of the article: ... However, when...

Reflections on FLP and LLC Cases

Posted on December 19, 2008
Ronald D. Aucutt (Partner, McGuireWoods, LLP) has written a new article entitled Reflections on FLP and LLC Cases, 34 ACTEC 99 (Fall 2008). Here is a summary of the article: This article is a companion to the family limited partnership?family...

Lawsuit Says Urn Had Wrong Ashes

Posted on December 19, 2008
For two years, a windowed husband thought the ashes in his urn were those of his wife. A former resident of Huntsville, Alabama, Richard Henry Parrott has filed suit against the funeral home responsible for the cremation. The complaint says:...

Trust did not prevent vesting in a beneficiary who died before trust distribution

Posted on December 18, 2008
A husband and his wife created revocable trusts terminating on the death of the second to die at which time both trusts terminate and are to be distributed equally to the couple?s three children. The trusts provided that if a...

Zuckerman May Sue Over Madoff Losses

Posted on December 18, 2008
Mark Zuckerman is considering legal action over the $30m loss by his charitable foundation in Bernard Madoff?s alleged $50bn fraud. Mr Zuckerman said, I will be taking legal action at some point against the person who led the chief portion...

Jury Rules Pickford Agreement is Valid

Posted on December 18, 2008
Oscars are protected from sale by agreement between the Academy and the receiver of the award. A jury has upheld this agreement despite the fact that the person whose estate was trying to sell 3 Oscars was not a direct...

Recent Cases Affecting FLPs and LLCs

Posted on December 17, 2008
Louis A. Mezzullo (Partner, Luce Forward) has written an article entitled Recent Cases Affecting FLPs and LLCs, 34 ACTEC 88 (Fall 2008). Here is a summary of the article: The IRS has challenged the use of family limited partnerships and...

Proposed Tax Return Preparer Penalty Regulations: A Comparison with Existing Guidance

Posted on December 17, 2008
Mitchell M. Gans (Steven A. Horowitz Distinguished Professor of Tax Law, Hofstra), Jonathan G. Blattmachr (Partner; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley McCloy LLP), and Elisabeth Madden (Asscociate; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley McCloy LLP) have written an article entitled Proposed Tax Return...

Wife Defends Suicide Documentary

Posted on December 17, 2008
Craig Ewert, 59, from Harrogate, N Yorks, died in Switzerland. He was helped in killing himself by the controversial charity Dignitas. He suffered from motor neurone disease and allowed his suicide to be filmed for a new documentary about suicide....

The UPC Authorizes Notarized Wills

Posted on December 16, 2008
Lawrence W. Waggoner (Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law) has written a new article entitled The UPC Authorizes Notarized Wills, 34 ACTEC 83 (Fall 2008). Here is a summary of the article: This article reports on a 2008 amendment to...

Action For Accounting and Removal of the Executor Does Not Trigger Forfeiture

Posted on December 16, 2008
The testator?s will contained a no-contest clause requiring forfeiture of any gift to a beneficiary who ?contests the validity? of the will or of ?any provision thereof,? whether or not there is probable cause for the contest. The court held...

Rights of a Trust Beneficiary?s Creditors Under the Uniform Trust Code

Posted on December 16, 2008
Kevin D. Millard has written an article entitled Rights of a Trust Beneficiary?s Creditors Under the Uniform Trust Code, 34 ACTEC 58 (Fall 2008). Here is a summary of the article: The Uniform Trust Code has now been enacted in...

Trust Instrument Was Effective in Transferring Both Real and Personal Property to the Trust

Posted on December 15, 2008
The decedent had created a revocable trust which stated that she was transferring to the trust certain property listed on Appendix A to the agreement. The appendix listed three parcels of real property as well as ?a variety of personal...

Husband May Transfer Inherited Trust Into New Trust

Posted on December 15, 2008
In Brown v. Miller, (Fl. Dist. Ct. App., Nos. 5D07-1288, 5D07-1356, Oct. 17, 2008), a Florida Court of Appeals ruled that a husband who is the trustee of his wife's trust and beneficiary of her estate, may transfer his interests...

Reformation of Trust Does Not Preclude Damages in Legal Malpractice Lawsuit

Posted on December 15, 2008
In Carlson v. Sweeney, (Ind., No. 46S05-0801-CV-27, Oct. 21, 2008), the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that even though a trust is reformed for a mistake of law, the attorney may still be liable for the creation of the trust. The...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on December 14, 2008
Here are the top downloads from October 14, 2008 to December 13, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 357 2008 Federal...

William S. Stevens dies

Posted on December 14, 2008
William S. Stevens who authored the famous article, The Common Law Origins of the Infield Fly Rule, while a student at the University of Pennsylvania died on December 8, 2008. The following excerpts are from William Grimes, William S. Stevens,...

Will Does Not Require Exoneration of Jointly Held Property

Posted on December 14, 2008
The testator?s will included language directing payment of all ?just debts.? In Manders v. King, 667 S.E.2d 59 (Ga. 2008), the court held that the will language was declaratory of the law and therefore did not require the estate to...

Pretermitted Heir Statute Does Not Apply to Revocable Trust Created as Will Substitute

Posted on December 13, 2008
Oklahoma?s pretermitted heir statute provides an intestate share for a child of a testator omitted from the testator?s will ?unless it appears that such omission was intentional.? In In re Estate of Jackson, 194 P.3d 1269 (Okla. 2008), a case...

New Treatise Combines Elder Law Basics and Financial Planning Strategies

Posted on December 13, 2008
Jerry Hyman has published a new book entitled Elder Law and Financial Strategies: Planning for Later Life. This book combines a study of elder law and financial planning. The treatise covers the major aspects of an elder law practice, while...

Probate judge indicted

Posted on December 12, 2008
The following sad situation is from John Eligon, New Judge Is Charged With Campaign Finance Fraud, NY Times, Dec. 10, 2008: Nora S. Anderson, who last month won the election for Manhattan Surrogate?s Court judge, was indicted Wednesday on charges...

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