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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

Rocky Road Ahead for Family Business Succession Planning

Posted on March 24, 2011
Wealth managers with clients who are business owners may need to prepare for some rough transitions. Approximately 27% of family-owned businesses around the world expect to change hands within five years, but 47% have no succession plans in place. People...

Judge Rules You Can't Opt Out of Medicare Without Losing Social Security

Posted on March 24, 2011
Three retired federal employees who have now reached age 65 brought suit because they wanted to drop their Medicare Part A coverage without losing their Social Security benefits. On March 16, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the U.S. District for the...

Report on Hofstra Estate Planning Program

Posted on March 23, 2011
The following report was written by Bridget Crawford (Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law) and is reproduced with her kind permission: Yesterday I attended a program on ?Estate Planning in 2011 and Beyond? sponsored by Hofstra Law School....

First Full-Face Transplant Performed in the U.S.

Posted on March 23, 2011
A Texas construction worker who was left blind and without eyebrows, a nose, or lips after a power line accident two years ago just received the nation?s first full face transplant in Boston. More than 30 doctors, nurses, and staff...

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New Hampshire Tries to Attract Trust Companies

Posted on March 23, 2011
New Hampshire has been working hard to establish itself as a trust company destination by passing trust-friendly legislation. New Hampshire now has the flexibility of South Dakota and all the qualities that could qualify it as a top-tier trust state,...

Testamentary Intent

Posted on March 23, 2011
Deborah S. Gordon (Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University) recently published her article entitled Reflecting on the Language of Death, 34 Seattle U. L. Rev. 379 (2011). The abstract available on SSRN is...

Downsides to Pre-Mortem Probate

Posted on March 22, 2011
I previously blogged about Alaska becoming one of the few states that allows the pre-mortem probate of wills. While these laws may help prevent emotionally and financially draining estate battles, there are some downsides to the practice, including: If an...

Pros and Cons of Estate Taxes

Posted on March 22, 2011
Congress first created the estate tax almost a century ago in an effort to decrease economic inequality, but the tax never achieved that original goal. So why not get rid of the estate tax? It taxes income that has escaped...

Advanced Elder and Guardianship Law Courses

Posted on March 22, 2011
The State Bar of Texas is sponsoring the Advanced Elder Law 2011 and Advanced Guardianship Law 2011 courses in Houston on April 7-8, 2011. Highlights include: Healthcare Reform Act Social Security Benefits and Your Clients Elder Abuse and Exploitation Trial...

Overview of Shariah-Compliant Wills

Posted on March 22, 2011
Omar T. Mohammedi (Attorney at Law, New York, NY) recently published his article entitled Shariah-Compliant Wills: An Overview, 25 Prob. & Prop. 58 (Jan./Feb. 2011). The introduction is below: Remembrance of death and expectation of the afterlife are cornerstones of...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on March 21, 2011
Here are the top downloads from January 18, 2011 to March 19, 2011 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 781 The Fundamentals...

Estate Planning for Digital Assets

Posted on March 21, 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 Estate Planning for Digital Assets, Est...

10th Annual Frozen Dead Guy Days

Posted on March 21, 2011
The Nederland Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted the 10th Annual Frozen Dead Guy Days. An excerpt from the announcement for the festival is below: A wild and wacky celebration of all things dead, frozen, and frigidly fun, Frozen Dead...

Need for Better End-of-Life Planning

Posted on March 21, 2011
By communicating your wishes about end-of-life care to loved ones, you can help relieve stress when the time comes for them to make decisions regarding your health care. Studies have found that one-third of people who are forced to make...

Happy First Day of Spring

Posted on March 20, 2011
Happy First Day of Spring!!

Marital Fault as a Basis for Terminating Inheritance Rights

Posted on March 20, 2011
Allison Bridges (Attorney at Law, Ashland, VA) recently published her article entitled Marital Fault as a Basis for Terminating Inheritance Rights: Protecting the Institution of Marriage and Those Who Abide by Their Vows??Til Death do Them Part, 45 Real Prop...

Lack of End-of-Life Planning Leaves Immigrant's Family on Sideline

Posted on March 20, 2011
In 2008, Ms. Nyirahabiyambere legally moved from Rwanda to the United States. She found a job with health care benefits, but then lost the benefits when she chose to move to Virginia to help her son with his children. She...

The Globalization of Philanthropy

Posted on March 19, 2011
Milton Cerny (Attorney at Law, Washington, D.C.) and Michele A.W. McKinnon (Attorney at Law, Washington, D.C.) recently published their article entitled The Globalization of Philanthropy: International Charitable Giving in the Twenty-First Century, 45 Real Prop...

Trust Funds for Pets Increasingly Common

Posted on March 19, 2011
Four-legged trust funders and legal battles surrounding their money are becoming increasingly common. Actress Caryn Rosenthal set up a trust for her dog Jax, and Robert Misseri (president of Guardians of Rescue) purchased $500,000 in life insurance for the benefit...

National Perpetuity Standards for Federally Subsidized Conservation Easements

Posted on March 18, 2011
Nancy A. McLaughlin (Robert W. Swenson Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law) recently published her article entitled Internal Revenue Code Section 170(h): National Perpetuity Standards for Federally...

Advantages of Polst Programs Over Advance Directives

Posted on March 18, 2011
I previously blogged about an emerging alternative to advance directives: The Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (Polst). Polst programs continue to gain popularity. They are currently in use in 14 states and many other states are developing programs...

Lawsuit Over Ansel Adams' Work Settled

Posted on March 18, 2011
I previously blogged about Rick Norsigian claiming to find Ansel Adams? lost negatives. The Ansel Adams Trust controls copyright to his work and filed an aggressive lawsuit disputing the suggestion that Adams took the pictures and contending that their sale...

U.S. Tax Court Rules in Favor of QPRT Settlor

Posted on March 18, 2011
Decedent executed a 3-year QPRT in 2000 to keep the value of her residence out of her gross estate. The QPRT terminated in 2003, and the decedent began to look into fair market rent values but died before paying any...

Probate Attorney Ordered to Pay $1M in Restitution

Posted on March 17, 2011
Leonard Brady was a highly regarded probate attorney in Milwaukee. One judge dubbed him as the ?grand master of probate? and appointed him to protect the $1.6M estate of Catherine Pretschold. When nobody was looking, Brady sent almost $700,000 overseas...

Protecting Vulnerable Individuals from Financial Abuse

Posted on March 17, 2011
Irene D. Johnson (Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law) recently published her article entitled Preventing Identity Theft and Other Financial Abuses Perpetrated Against Vulnerable Members of Society: Keeping the Horse in the Barn Rather Than Litigating Over the...

Judge Allows Alejandra Jackson to Live on Estate for One More Month

Posted on March 17, 2011
I previously blogged about Alejandra Jackson refusing to leave the Jackson family compound against Katherine?s will. The Estate wants Alejandra out of the compound and had offered her a condo in return, but Alejandra has lived there for 20 years...

Study on the Fears and Anxieties of the Super Rich

Posted on March 17, 2011
Boston College?s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy has been studying how the American wealthy live and think. The project produced a survey that invited the rich (mainly those with $25 million or more) to write freely and anonymously how prosperity...

35th Annual Estate Planning and Probate Course

Posted on March 16, 2011
The State Bar of Texas is sponsoring the 35th Annual Estate Planning and Probate Course in Fort Worth on June 8-10, 2011. Highlights include: 2011 Statutory Changes Affecting Probate, Guardianships, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Other Areas of Interest to...

How to Become a Law Professor

Posted on March 16, 2011
Brannon P. Denning (Professor of Law, Samford University Cumberland School of Law), Marcia L. McCormick (Associate Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of Law), and Jeff M. Lipshaw (Associate Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School) recently published their...

Boston Inherits Italian Estate with Pets

Posted on March 16, 2011
Luciano Visocchi grew up hearing stories about Boston, where his mother and aunt lived for many years. Visocchi, who was once an elected official in Atina, Italy, originally left his estate to 18 members of an Italian political party. Before...

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