Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog: Estate Planning

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Estate Planning Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

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

Liechtenstein is no Longer a Tax Haven

Posted on July 21, 2010
Prince Maximillian of Liechtenstein has become part of a plan to extract taxes owed to Britain from its opaque bank accounts. Starting in September, every Liechtenstein bank account will be subject to a mandatory tax audit. Rather than taking their...

Article on Preventive Adjudication

Posted on July 21, 2010
Samuel Bray (Stanford School of Law) recently published his article entitled Preventive Adjudication, U. Chi. L. Rev. (Forthcoming 2010). The abstract available on SSRN is below: This Article identifies, justifies, and explains the parameters of a largely ignored but important...

Doubting the Accuracy of Living Wills

Posted on July 21, 2010
After a family friend lost both legs in a car accident, Richard Rudd told his parents that he would not want to be kept alive if something similar happened to him. Soon after, Richard was involved in a motorbike accident...

Daughter Shamelessly Tries to Gain Control Over Mother's Estate

Posted on July 21, 2010
In May 2005, housekeeper June Gordon found Mrs. Cheney on the couch with a broken arm and a urine-drenched nightgown. Mrs. Cheney and her 51-year-old daughter, Diane Wells, got in an argument regarding who owned the apartment they were living...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Body Found at a Closed Funeral Home

Posted on July 20, 2010
The Seager-Jones Funeral Home in Bath, New York was shut down in May because it wasn?t registered with the state. When cataloging items to be auctioned from the funeral home, an auctioneer found a decomposing body inside a sealed casket....

North Carolina Upholds Medicaid Reimbursement Statutes

Posted on July 20, 2010
A summary of Armstrong v. Cansler (U.S. Dist. Ct., W.D.N.C., No. 5:07-CV-37-RLV, June 28, 2010) is below: Through her guardians, minor Emily Armstrong sued a health care provider for personal injuries. When the matter settled, the state sought reimbursement of...

Court Abused its Discretion in Virgie Arthur's Defamation Suit

Posted on July 20, 2010
In April 2008, Virgie Arthur, Anna Nicole Smith?s mother, sued Howard K. Stern for defamation, claiming that he harmed her efforts to seek custody of Smith?s child. In May 2009, the trial court granted Arthur?s motion to compel, appointing a...

Revisiting Some Celebrity Estates

Posted on July 20, 2010
The July 2010 edition of The Estate Analyst is comprised of an article by Robert L. Moshman (attorney and writer) entitled A Billionaire?s Free Pass as well as some discussion regarding Michael Jackson?s estate and other celebrity estates. The introduction...

Arrests Made in Bettencourt Scandal

Posted on July 19, 2010
I have previously blogged about the Liliane Bettencourt family feud scandal here and here. Most recently, French investigators have arrested four leading figures in the scandal, including photographer Francois-Marie Banier. The four men will be questioned about discussions in the...

Billionaires Dying in 2010

Posted on July 19, 2010
As I previously blogged, the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner served as a reminder that the federal government is losing billions this year due to the lack of an estate tax. There are approximately 400 billionaires in...

Deactivating Pacemakers is Not Assisted Suicide

Posted on July 19, 2010
Katy Butler, a teacher in California, wrote an article about the struggles her parents went through due to procedures that prolonged her father?s life too long. Katy?s father was given a pacemaker which caused his body to far outlive his...

D.C. Upholds Same-Sex Marriage Law

Posted on July 19, 2010
On July 15, 2010, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals shot down a suit that challenged the Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009. This Act requires the District to recognize marriages between same-sex couples entered into in other...

Adapting Trusts to the 21st Century

Posted on July 18, 2010
As society changes, many existing trusts are too rigid to offer sufficient flexibility to change with it. Some of these changes include: The changing landscape. Changes in marriage, divorce, and family creation are significant and life expectancies are steadily increasing...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on July 18, 2010
Here are the top downloads from May 18, 2010 to July 17, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 315 2009 Developments...

CLE on Partnership Taxes

Posted on July 17, 2010
The American Bar Association is sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast entitled Parsing Partnership Tax on August 3, 2010. Program information is below: This session will provide an overview of partnership federal income tax questions commonly encountered by estate...

New Estate Tax Proposal

Posted on July 17, 2010
As I previously mentioned, George Steinbrenner?s death this year saved his heirs approximately $500-600 million. Steinbrenner?s death, combined with three other billionaire deaths in 2010, may catch the attention of Congress and motivate it to act. I have previously mentioned...

Reverse Mortgage Lenders Increase Scrutiny for Agents

Posted on July 16, 2010
Reverse mortgage lenders now routinely second-guess power of attorney (POA) documents. In addition to the POA, they require a doctor?s letter stating that the principal was competent at the time they executed the POA or indicating when the principal?s incompetency...

CLE on Retirement Plans

Posted on July 16, 2010
National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on August 18, 2010 entitled Handling Post Death Issues with IRAs, Qualified Plans, and Non-Qualified Plans. The program description is below: Retirement plans often constitute the largest portion of a decedent's...

PSA Payments are Compensated Transfers

Posted on July 16, 2010
Warren Kerner entered into a personal service agreement (PSA) with his son, Jonathan. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Kerner would pay Jonathan $9,283 a month and Jonathan would provide Mr. Kerner with daily care in Jonathan?s home. Mr. Kerner was...

Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples

Posted on July 16, 2010
Julius Giarmarco has written three parts to Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples, Producersweb.com. ?Part one of this article addressed non-tax estate planning issues confronted by unmarried couples; and part two dealt with basic gifting strategies for unmarried couples...

Self-Settled Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

Posted on July 15, 2010
Phyllis C. Smith (Professor of Law, Florida A&M University) recently published her article entitled The Estate and Gift Tax Implications of Self-Settled Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: Can You Really Have Your Cake and Eat it Too?, 44 New Eng. L....

CLE on the Estate Tax Repeal

Posted on July 15, 2010
National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on July 22, 2010 entitled Estate Tax Repeal Update. The program description is below: Recent repeal and the uncertainty of the future legislative environment weigh heavily on all retirement and succession...

Using Therapists to Benefit Your Clients

Posted on July 15, 2010
Due to the chaos and anxiety caused by the stock market and an unpredictable economic future, a growing number of financial advisers are hiring therapists to help their clients. Therapists help advisers and clients conquer emotional roadblocks that are currently...

Guardian Must Repay Medicaid Overpayment

Posted on July 15, 2010
Charles Maloy moved into a nursing home and began receiving Medicaid benefits. Mr. Maloy?s son, Charles Maloy II, was appointed his guardian. As guardian, Charles transferred half of his father?s property to himself and took out two mortgages. When the...

CLE on Administering Trusts

Posted on July 14, 2010
National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on July 21, 2010 entitled Navigating Trust Administration With Ease. The program description is below: Your firm may use some of the most sophisticated tools available to establish strong estate plans...

Prenuptial Agreements as an Estate Planning Opportunity

Posted on July 14, 2010
Prenuptial agreements used to be for the rich and famous but have recently become more common among baby boomers as an estate planning opportunity. As a result of the financial crisis, boomers have become more anxious to hang on to...

Steinbrenner's Estate Passes Untaxed

Posted on July 14, 2010
George Michael Steinbrenner III, owner of the New York Yankees for more than 30 years, died Tuesday morning of a heart attack at age 80. Mr. Steinbrenner landed at #341 of The Forbes 400 Richest Americans in 2009 with a...

Applying Charitable Trust Principles to Conservation Easements

Posted on July 14, 2010
Nancy A. McLaughlin (Professor of Law, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law) and W. William Weeks (Professor of Law, Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington) recently published their article entitled Hicks v. Dowd, Conservation Easements, and the Charitable Trust...

DOJ Investigating Offshore Accounts

Posted on July 13, 2010
The U.S. Department of Justice is sending out letters informing people that they are being investigated for failing to report an interest in a financial account located in a foreign country. This suggests that the DOJ is going to follow...

CLE on Planning for Blended Families

Posted on July 13, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90 minute national teleconference on August 19, 2010 entitled Estate Planning for Blended Families. The program description is below: Gain the skills necessary for addressing the specific planning needs of blended families...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...