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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

Hendrix Estate Wins $250,000

Posted on August 08, 2010
In September 2006, The Sunday Times gave away a Jimi Hendrix CD with the paper. Experience Hendrix and Last Experience, two companies associated with the Hendrix estate, launched a lawsuit claiming that The Sunday Times did not obtain proper copyright...

Judges Dealing with DNRs

Posted on August 07, 2010
Judge Rory R. Olsen (Harris County Probate Court No. 3) recently published his article entitled Who Woke the Sleeping Firefighter?, 2 Est. Plan. & Community Prop. L.J. 275 (2010). The conclusion is below: While no sane person-and certainly not this...

Jerry Garcia's Estate Refuses to Allow Biopic to Use His Songs

Posted on August 07, 2010
Amir Bar-Lev is directing a biographical film about Jerry Garcia, the co-founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of Grateful Dead. However, Garcia?s estate refuses to license any recordings from Grateful Dead or any other music produced by Garcia for the production...

Pitfalls of Dynasty Trusts

Posted on August 06, 2010
Congress set the stage for dynasty trusts in 1986 when it instituted the generation-skipping transfer tax and allowed for a $1 million exemption. Estate planners began drafting trusts to take advantage of this exemption, but the term was always limited...

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CLE on Single-Member LLCs

Posted on August 06, 2010
The ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law is sponsoring a 1.5 hour teleconference and live audio webcast entitled Are Single-Member LLCs a Ticking Time-Bomb for Asset Protection? on August 24, 2010. Program information is below: The Florida...

O'Quinn's Companion Takes His Executor to Court

Posted on August 06, 2010
I previously blogged about John O?Quinn?s long-term companion, Darla Lexington, seeking a portion of O?Quinn?s estate. Previously, she hadn?t filed any papers and was trying to handle the situation discreetly, but today she is taking it to court. O?Quinn?s will...

Leaving Valuables to Your Heirs

Posted on August 06, 2010
Some tips for passing down heirlooms are below: To be prepared, have your valuables appraised every five years. If an item is worth more than $3,000, the tax code requires its value to be confirmed by an appraiser. Set up...

Why Charities Aren't Voicing Opinions About the Estate Tax

Posted on August 05, 2010
When Obama proposed a cap on the value of itemized deductions at 28%, the philanthropic sector strongly urged against doing so, noting that this would cause a drastic decrease in charitable contributions. As I previously mentioned, the lack of an...

Selling S Corporation Stock to a Trust

Posted on August 05, 2010
Christopher J. C. Jones (attorney, Charlotte, NC) and Justin S. Steinschriber (attorney, Charlotte, NC) recently published their article entitled Income Tax Considerations in Structuring the Sale of S Corporation Stock to a Trust, Prob. & Prop., July-August 2010, at 55...

Is it Ethical to Retrieve Eggs from Comatose Women?

Posted on August 05, 2010
In 2008, a 36-year-old woman had a heart attack and slipped into a coma. One of her relatives discovered the possibility of retrieving her eggs so that she and her husband could have a posthumous child. Doctors at Massachusetts General...

Many Want the Estate Tax Repealed Permanently

Posted on August 05, 2010
Although the estate tax would only apply to about 2% of families as it stands for 2011, about 2/3 of Americans think that the estate tax should be repealed permanently. Even more perplexing is that 55% of Democrats think the...

Fighting to Afford an Inherited Home

Posted on August 04, 2010
In 1963 Richard Aldrich?s grandmother died, leaving Rokeby to him and his two siblings. Rokeby is a 195-year-old, 43-room house on 420 acres. Unfortunately, their grandmother didn?t leave the three much money for the upkeep of Rokeby, and they were...

ILITs Present Challenges to Trustees

Posted on August 04, 2010
Melvin A. Warshaw (attorney, Needham, MA) recently published his article entitled ILIT Trustees: Bridge Out Ahead . . . Lock in Your Navigation System Now, Prob. & Prop., July-August 2010, at 32. The introduction is below: The irrevocable life insurance...

Tips on How to Talk About Estate Planning with Your Parents

Posted on August 04, 2010
Talking with your parents about estate planning isn?t easy. Older adults don?t want to think about death while children don?t want their parents to think they only care about money. Here are some pointers on how to talk to your...

Avoiding Capital Gains Taxes

Posted on August 04, 2010
Avoiding capital gains taxes used to be so much easier. There are still a few methods for avoiding the taxes, including: Donate your appreciated stock. You get a deduction for the fair market value without having to declare the appreciation...

Lack of Estate Tax Might Mess Up Your Estate Plan

Posted on August 03, 2010
A standard estate plan for a married couple uses ?A-B? trusts. Upon the death of the first spouse, the single trust is split into the decedent?s trust and the survivor?s trust. The amount in the decedent?s trust is usually equal...

Estate Planning for Those Who Live Abroad

Posted on August 03, 2010
Estate planning can be further complicated when an individual lives in or owns property in a different country. Some governments have forced-heirship rules, requiring that certain portions of an estate go to certain family members. Further, expatriates are usually subject...

Kentucky Case Regarding Trustee Communications with Beneficiaries

Posted on August 03, 2010
Turney P. Berry (attorney, Louisville, KY), David M. English (William Franklin Fratcher Professor of Law, University of Missouri), and Dana G. Fitzsimons Jr. (attorney, Richmond, VA) recently published their article entitled Disclose. Disclose! Disclose? Longmeyer Distorts the Trustee's Duty to...

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest

Posted on August 03, 2010
Although lawyers are forbidden from handling matters in which they have a conflict of interest, conflicts are common and sometimes unavoidable. They are even more common in the estate planning practice area. Here are some common conflicts that should be...

No Estate Tax Decreases Charitable Bequests

Posted on August 02, 2010
Although wealthy people are potentially able to pass more money to their family members in 2010 due to the lack of an estate tax, economists estimate that charitable bequests will actually decrease this year. Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at...

Finding a Better Way to Manage Estate Conflicts Continued

Posted on August 02, 2010
Paul Fisher (attorney, Los Angeles, California) has published his article entitled The Power Tools of Estate Conflict Management: Recharging the Culture of Estate Conflicts, Part 2,Prob. & Prop., July-August 2010, at 42. An excerpt from the beginning of the article...

Wrongful Death Payout Awarded

Posted on August 02, 2010
The estate of Sean Bell, who was wrongfully shot to death by police in 2006, was recently awarded a $3.25 million settlement. After attorneys? fees are paid, the money will be placed in a trust for Mr. Bell?s minor children....

FLPs Under Increased Scrutiny

Posted on August 02, 2010
Family limited partnerships are used by the wealthy to reduce estate taxes by discounting the value of the assets in them. FLPs gained popularity in the late 1990s, but the IRS has begun to increase its scrutiny of them. The...

Billionaire Brothers Evade Taxes

Posted on August 01, 2010
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Sam and Charles Wyly on Thursday. The complaint alleges that the two billionaire brothers created an elaborate sham of offshore trusts, failing to pay taxes on $550 million in gains...

Elder Law Book

Posted on August 01, 2010
Lawrence A. Frolik (Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh) and Richard L. Kaplan (Professor of Law, University of Illinois) recently published their book entitled Elder Law in a Nutshell (West Law School 5th ed. 2010). The description is below: The...

Competent Children Don't Need an Inheritance

Posted on July 31, 2010
Chinese real estate tycoon Yu Pengnian announced that he is giving away his last $500 million to his charitable foundation. When asked whether his children were opposed to the donations, Yu stated, ?If my children are competent, they don?t need...

Book Guiding Trustees

Posted on July 31, 2010
Christopher P. Cline (Wells Fargo Regional Wealth Management Director for Oregon and SW Washington) recently published his book entitled The Law of Trustee Investments (ABA 2009). A description of the book is below: This book takes a very practical approach...

CLE on Minimizing Estate Tax

Posted on July 30, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on September 10 entitled Minimize Your Clients' Estate Tax Burdens. The program description is below: Do you have reliable fundamental tax knowledge to effectively build your clients' estate plans in...

Lady Claims to be Michael Jackson's Daughter

Posted on July 30, 2010
Mocienne Petit Jackson has asked the L.A. County Superior Court to order a DNA test proving that she is the illegitimate daughter of Michael Jackson and Barbara Ross, Diana Ross? sister. She claims that Michael secretly impregnated Barbara when he...

Bronx Wife-Killer Gets Liver Ahead of Thousands of New Yorkers

Posted on July 30, 2010
Johnny Concepcion confessed to stabbing his wife to death on July 5. He then took rat poison in an attempt to commit suicide, which damaged his liver. This week, Concepcion was chosen over 1,805 New York City residents in need...

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