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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

EMT Pleads Guilty to Posting Corpse Photo on Facebook

Posted on December 16, 2010
In March 2009, Mark Musarella, a retired NYPD detective, arrived at the scene where Calvin Lawson, 30, murdered Caroline Wimmer, 26, by wrapping a hairdryer cord around her neck. Musarella took a gruesome cell phone picture of Wimmer and posted...

Democrats in House Bog Down Tax Bill

Posted on December 16, 2010
In-fighting among Democrats in the House of Representatives has delayed a vote on the tax bill which passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote yesterday (December 15, 2010). According to Deirdre Walsh, Procedural snag delays House vote on tax deal,...

Senate passes tax bill 81 to 19

Posted on December 15, 2010
Today, December 15, 2010, the United States Senate approved the tax plan worked out between President Obama and Republican leaders by an overwhelming vote of 81 to 19. The bill now goes to the House where it is expected to...

Assembling the Global Baby

Posted on December 15, 2010
In a hospital room in Crete, a Bulgarian woman will deliver a baby whose biological father is Italian, biological mother is an anonymous European, and whose birth is being arranged from Los Angeles. Rudy Rupak, chief executive of PlanetHospital, searches...

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House Democrats Prepare Their Amendments to Estate Tax Portion of Tax Deal

Posted on December 15, 2010
House Democrats are currently focusing on an amendment to the estate tax provision of President Obama?s tax deal. The House estate tax proposal, which was passed in the House one year ago, would apply a 45% tax to estates over...

Judge King of Hawaii Dies at 94 Due to Complications From a Fall

Posted on December 15, 2010
Samuel P. King was born in China in 1916 and grew up in Hawaii. He graduated from Yale Law School, served in the Navy in WWII, and was appointed to the federal bench in 1972 by President Nixon. He spent...

CLE on Asset Protection

Posted on December 15, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on December 15 entitled Asset Protection 101. The program description is below: Asset protection is rapidly becoming one of the most lucrative areas of law. When a client walks through...

Details of the Senate Version of the Tax Bill

Posted on December 14, 2010
On December 11, Laura Saunders wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal entitled The State of the Estate Tax, which gave a good overview of the Senate version of the Obama-Republican tax bill. Her summary of the important details...

Michael Jackson's Estate Will Soon Take On Michael's Mother and Vintage Pop Media

Posted on December 14, 2010
In 2001, Vintage Pop obtained possession of some Michael Jackson memorabilia and set up a pay-per view website for the material. Michael Jackson sued the company for copyright infringement and other charges, but the case was dismissed in 2006 with...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on December 14, 2010
Here are the top downloads from October 13, 2010 to December 12, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 311 2010 Federal...

CLE on Roth Conversions

Posted on December 14, 2010
The ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits is sponsoring a 90-minute teleconference on December 14 entitled Roth Conversions ? A Yearend Look. The program information is below: As 2010 ends and the first year in which Roth conversions became available...

Tax cut package progresses in Senate

Posted on December 13, 2010
Today (December 13, 2010), the Senate advanced the tax-cut package. According to David M. Herszenhorn, Senate Advances Tax Cut Package, NY Times, Dec. 13, 2010, this action "virtually assur[es] that the Senate will approve the bill on Tuesday and send...

How To Make Money From The Grave

Posted on December 13, 2010
This post is provided through the courtesy of Kenji Crosland, a writer for TeachStreet, a website dedicated to providing online and local classes, including law classes. As far as I know, there are only two ways to make money from...

House Democrats Will Vote on Tax Bill; Estate Tax Emerges as Main Concern

Posted on December 13, 2010
Despite last week?s threat by House Democrats to prevent Obama?s tax compromise from reaching the floor, House Democrats will allow a vote on the bill. What form the bill is in when it comes to the floor is what?s currently...

22nd Annual Advanced Estate Planning Techniques

Posted on December 13, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a national live video webcast on December 14 entitled 22nd Annual Advanced Estate Planning Techniques. The program description is below: Join our distinguished attorney faculty for an insightful analysis and discussion of the latest...

Mark Madoff Commits Suicide

Posted on December 13, 2010
Mark Madoff, Bernard Madoff?s elder son, was found dead Saturday morning in an apparent suicide. Saturday was the two-year anniversary of his father?s arrest. Over the past two years, Mark had been in an increasingly fragile state of mind. To...

CLE on Estate and Trust Administration

Posted on December 12, 2010
The ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law is sponsoring a 90-minute teleconference and live audio webcast on December 14 entitled Select Issues in Estate and Trust Administration. The program information is below: This session will delve into...

Don't Forget to Vote for the Wills, Trusts, & Estates Prof Blog!

Posted on December 12, 2010
Each year, the editors of the ABA Journal choose the 100 best legal blogs. Thanks to your loyalty and support, this blog has been selected. Voting is now taking place to determine the "popular" favorite in each of 12 categories...

December 2010 is the Best Time to Create a GRAT

Posted on December 12, 2010
A GRAT is a trust into which the grantor transfers property and retains a stream of annuity payments. If the grantor survives the term, the remaining property is passed on to the beneficiaries. The IRS requires that the annuity payments...

Senator Sanders Filibusters Obama's Estate Tax Deal

Posted on December 11, 2010
On Friday, Senator Sanders (I-VT) launched a filibuster in which he discusses the many reasons why he believes the estate tax proposal in the Obama deal is ?a horrendous proposal.? The description of the 8.5-hour speech from Senator Sanders? website....

CLE on the New Estate Tax Regime

Posted on December 11, 2010
ALI ABA and ACTEC are co-sponsoring a 90-minute course on December 22 entitled The New Estate Tax Regime: Making Sense Out of Chaos. What you will learn: While it is not possible to answer all the questions that have arisen...

Harry Reid Introduces Legislation for Obama-Republican Deal

Posted on December 10, 2010
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced legislation for the Obama deal titled as the ?Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.? The relevant portion of the summary of the bill, which has several surprise...

Louisiana and Penalty Clauses in Testaments

Posted on November 26, 2010
Irina Fox (Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana) recently published her article entitled Penalty Clauses in Testaments: What Louisiana Can Learn From the Common Law, 70 La. L. Rev. 1265 (2010). The abstract available on...

Using Qualified Disclaimers as a Hedge for Tax Uncertainty

Posted on November 26, 2010
Among the many concerns surrounding the estate, gift, and GST tax uncertainty, some people fear that Congress will enact retroactive legislation that could destroy estate planning actions taken in 2010. Joe Luby, an investment manager in Nevada, thinks that the...

Useful Tool for State Income and Estate Taxes

Posted on November 26, 2010
Yahoo! Finance has a handy tool for state income and estate tax planning. Users can easily view each state?s income, sales, property, estate, and other tax laws. Click here to access the tool. Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for...

CLE on Managing Real Property in Estate Adminstration

Posted on November 26, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on December 9 entitled Managing Real Property in Estate Administration. The program description is below: Do you have the real estate background you need to ensure your clients' real property...

Astros Owner McLane Puts Team Up for Sale Due to Estate Planning Issues

Posted on November 25, 2010
Drayton McLane, who has owned the Astros since 1992 and seen the team through six playoff appearances, the opening of Minute Maid Park in 2000, and the team?s only World Series berth in 2005, announced last week that he is...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nurse Charged with Assisting Suicide Over the Internet

Posted on November 25, 2010
After Mark Drybrough?s sister Carol found him hanging from his bedroom door, she began researching her brother?s internet history, finding that he spent a significant amount of time in suicide chat rooms and that he had entered into a suicide...

Leveraging Taxable Gifts with Life Insurance

Posted on November 25, 2010
Melvin A. Warshaw (attorney, Boston, MA) recently published his article entitled A ?One of a Kind? Opportunity is Closing: Leveraging Large Taxable Gifts in 2010 with Life Insurance, ABA RPTE Publications, Sept. 2010. The conclusion is below: Integrating the use...

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