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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

Power of Attorney

Posted on January 14, 2011
Catherine Seal (attorney, Colorado Springs, CO) recently published her article entitled Power of Attorney: Convenient Contract or Dangerous Document?, 11 Marq. Elder's Advisor 307 (2010). The abstract is below: This article will address the durable general power of attorney, tracing...

Discretionary Support Trust is Not an Asset of the Beneficiary on Divorce

Posted on January 13, 2011
In its opinion in Tannen v. Tannen, 3 A.3d 1229 (2010), the New Jersey Superior court reversed in part the lower court?s order regarding equitable distribution, alimony, and child support. The wife is the beneficiary of an irrevocable trust created...

Winners of the Second Largest Lottery Jackpot in History Revealed

Posted on January 13, 2011
Although Mega Millions is played in Washington D.C. and 41 states, both the winning tickets of the second-largest lottery jackpot in history were purchased in small towns just 125 miles apart. Jim and Carolyn McCullar, from Ephrata, Washington, appeared at...

Lady Bird Deeds in Texas

Posted on January 13, 2011
Gerry W. Beyer (Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law) and Kerri Griffin (2011 J.D. Candidate, Texas Tech University School of Law) recently published their article entitled Lady Bird Deeds: A Primer for...

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China Passes Law Requiring Children to Care for Elderly Parents

Posted on January 13, 2011
I previously blogged about China considering a law that would require children to care for their elderly parents. Officials in China have now passed the new law. ?This comes amid fears economic and social upheaval will leave 167 million pensioners...

German Article on Slayer Statutes

Posted on January 12, 2011
Reinhard Zimmermann (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law) recently published his article entitled 'De Bloedige Hand en Neemt Geen Erffenis' - Unworthiness to Inherit as a Result of Killing the Testator: Roman and Roman-Dutch Law ('De Bloedige...

Charitable Donation Statistics

Posted on January 12, 2011
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University conducted a study on households with incomes greater than $200,000 or a net worth of $1 million or more. They found that the recession caused wealthy families to decrease their donations to charities...

Termination of Trust on the Distribution of Assets Prevents Merger When Distribution is Delayed

Posted on January 12, 2011
The settlor?s inter vivos trust provided that at her death, her daughter would become trustee and that all the trust assets were to be distributed to the daughter. If the daughter died before final distribution of the trust assets, undistributed...

Using Annuity Maximization to Leave More to Your Beneficiaries

Posted on January 12, 2011
If you find that you no longer need a deferred annuity that you purchased years ago, and that you want to leave it to someone upon your death, you may want to consider annuity maximization using life insurance. When you...

CLE on Gifting Strategies in Medicaid Planning

Posted on January 11, 2011
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute teleconference on January 18 entitled Using Gifting Strategies in Medicaid Planning. The program description is below: Gifting remains one of the essential Medicaid planning tools, despite the recent and anticipated tax law...

Why Should You Have a Will?

Posted on January 11, 2011
Why should you have a will? Here are a few reasons: The primary purpose of a will is to guarantee that your assets are distributed according to your wishes. Even if you don?t have money now, you may die in...

Leaving Your Child More Than Money

Posted on January 11, 2011
Paul Sullivan, a New York Times personal finance author, recently wrote about what he wants to pass on to his daughter. He and his wife recently renewed their estate plans, tying in their financial adviser and insurance broker. While it...

Death with Dignity Acts in Oregon and Washington

Posted on January 11, 2011
Margaret K. Dore (attorney, Seattle, WA) recently published her article entitled ?Death with Dignity?: A Recipe for Elder Abuse and Homicide (albeit not by name), 11 Marq. Elder's Advisor 387 (2010). The introduction is below: Death with Dignity Acts in...

Elizabeth Edwards May Not Have Disinherited Her Husband

Posted on January 10, 2011
I previously posted that Elizabeth Edwards? will left nothing to her husband, John Edwards. While it is true that her will does not mention John when distributing her tangible personal property, Article V of her will leaves the remainder of...

Jackson Family War Surrounds a Tell-All Book

Posted on January 10, 2011
Alejandra Jackson and her five children have been living at the Jackson family home in Encino, which was owned by Michael Jackson and now his estate. Katherine and her lawyers asked Alejandra to leave several months ago, and Alejandra lawyered...

Even Applying for a Job at Volkswagen Concerns Inheritance Issues

Posted on January 10, 2011
Kimberly Weisul posted The 25 Weirdest Interview Questions of 2010 on BNET on January 6th. Amongst questions like, ?If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?? and ?How...

CLE on Carryover Basis Reporting

Posted on January 10, 2011
My Legal Conferences is sponsoring a 60-minute webinar on January 12 entitled New Carryover Basis Reporting Practices-Keys for 2011. The summary is below: New carryover basis rules are in effect for 2011 and they are more complex than ever. These...

Proposed China Law Requires Children to Care for Elderly Parents

Posted on January 09, 2011
Chinese leaders proposed legislation that requires adult children to care for the emotional needs of their elderly parents. The elderly will be able to invoke the law if their children do not come home to take care of them often....

12th Annual Building Blocks of Wills Estates and Probate Course

Posted on January 09, 2011
The Texas Bar is sponsoring the 12th Annual Building Blocks of Wills Estates and Probate Course on January 14 from 9:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Topics to be covered include: Basic Estate Planning Elder Law Planning and Issue Spotting Avoiding Claims and...

African-Americans Less Likely to Have End-of-Life Planning

Posted on January 08, 2011
The National Center for Health Statistics found that 28% of people in home health care had advance directives, as did 65% of those in nursing homes and 88% of those in hospice settings. The study also revealed a significant gap...

Judge Throws Out Jury Verdict; Howard Stern Walks in Anna Nicole Smith Case

Posted on January 08, 2011
As I previously blogged, prosecutors and California Gov. Jerry Brown went after Howard K. Stern and others for conspiring to fuel Anna Nicole Smith?s drug habit. The jury found Stern guilty of 2 counts of conspiracy. The judge claimed that...

Payments to Doctors for End-of-Life Planning Discussions Once Again Removed from Healthcare Bill

Posted on January 07, 2011
I previously blogged about doctors receiving additional payment from Medicare for discussing end-of-life healthcare preferences with their patients. This provision has been a politically charged topic throughout the enactment of the health care bill, and the Obama administration will once...

Elaine Kaufman Leaves Elaine's to Her Manager

Posted on January 07, 2011
For 47 years, Elaine Kaufman ran Elaine?s, an Upper East Side restaurant that was a place where people went to see and be seen. Ever since her death on December 3rd, speculation swirled about the future of Elaine?s. On Wednesday,...

Elizabeth Edwards' Will Leaves Nothing to Husband John Edwards

Posted on January 07, 2011
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, died on December 7 after a 6-year battle with breast cancer. Her will, which she drafted just six days before she passed away, names her oldest daughter Cate as executor and...

Massachusetts Governor Has Until Sunday to Sign Pet Trust Legislation

Posted on January 07, 2011
I recently blogged about the stalled pet trust legislation in Massachusetts. Governor Deval Patrick has until Sunday to sign the legislation that would allow pet lovers to designate who should care for their pets after their death. Currently there is...

Same-Sex Marriage in California

Posted on January 06, 2011
On Tuesday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Imperial County?s challenge to U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker?s ruling that California voter initiative illegally deprives homosexual couples of their constitutional right to equal protection...

Billionaire Dies 48 Hours Before Estate Tax is Reinstated

Posted on January 06, 2011
In 1916, Seth Millikin, co-founder of textile manufacturing company Milliken & Co., attempted to avoid the newly created estate tax by giving his children shares of the company. He died in 1920, and the U.S. Supreme Court found that these...

Model Client Letter Summarizing 2010 Tax Act

Posted on January 06, 2011
The Wealth Strategies Journal has posted a Model Client Letter/Memo Re 2010 Tax Act summarizing the Tax Act's estate and gift tax provisions. Professionals may send the letter to their clients and allied professionals. The summary of the letter is...

Millionaire Leaves Estate to Scotland Based on Fantasies of 'Brigadoon'

Posted on January 06, 2011
William Roberts Lindsay, a retired investor who was reclusively living out his days in the Nevada desert, bequeathed his entire estate to the National Trust for Scotland before shooting himself in November. His estate is expected to be worth at...

Murderer Inherits $241,000 from His Victim

Posted on January 05, 2011
Heroin addict Brandon Palladino murdered his mother-in-law, Dianne Edwards, after she caught him attempting to steal jewelry from her home. Dianne?s will bequeathed everything, about $431,000, to her only daughter, Deanna Palladino. After Deanna spent $190,000 of her inheritance on...

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