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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

Art Valuation

Posted on July 13, 2010
Alan Breus, CLU, ChFC, recently published his article entitled Valuing Art for Tax Purposes, J. of Accountancy (July 2010). The executive summary provided by the author is below: Artworks are often donated for a charitable deduction for income tax purposes...

Belief in Cryonics Places Stress on Relationships

Posted on July 13, 2010
Peggy Jackson, a hospice worker, deals with death every day and tells families what to expect and how to reduce discomfort. She hates the phrase ?giving up,? and believes that people should let go peacefully. Her husband, Robin Hanson, teaches...

Blog ranked #20 among blogs edited by law professors

Posted on July 12, 2010
The Wills, Trusts, & Estates Prof Blog ranked #20 in number of visitors for the 12-month period (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010). To all my readers, I greatly appreciate your support and contributions.

Estate Tax is Giving People an Incentive to Die

Posted on July 12, 2010
At the end of 2009, many people near death?s door forced themselves to stay alive until January 1, 2010 so that their heirs could avoid a 45% tax hit. As we near the end of 2010, the situation is reversed....

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Wife Murders Husband to Inherit Batman Collection

Posted on July 12, 2010
A year ago, Ben Novack Jr. was found brutally murdered in a hotel suite. On Thursday, federal prosecutors announced the indictment of four people, including Mr. Novack?s wife, for the murder. Ms. Novack?s motive was greed; she was intent on...

Dissolving Corpses

Posted on July 12, 2010
The EU is considering allowing resomation, which is the process of dissolving corpses by placing it in a chamber at 180 degrees with potassium hydroxide and high pressure. If Belgium approves the process, EU law would allow Britain to use...

Estate Tax Podcast

Posted on July 11, 2010
On June 22, 2010, LexisNexis posted an Estate Practice & Elder Law Community Podcast featuring Randy Spiro on "practical considerations in estate planning?s most uncertain year." In this podcast, Spiro "discusses uncertainties surrounding the current federal estate tax law, the...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on July 11, 2010
Here are the top downloads from May 11, 2010 to July 10, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 277 The Costs...

California Funeral Trust Misspent Money

Posted on July 10, 2010
A California audit found that the second-largest prepaid funeral trust in California misused millions of dollars that were set aside to pay for 27,000 consumers? funeral expenses. The audit shows that $12.6 million was misspent and some was used as...

Scams Against the Elderly on the Rise

Posted on July 10, 2010
Virginia?s reported cases of financial exploitation of the elderly rose from 373 in 2001 to 756 in 2009. Many more cases are not reported because senior citizens avoid reporting incidents for fear of being sent to a nursing home or...

Incorporating Philanthropy Into Your Estate Plan

Posted on July 09, 2010
This month?s Foundation Source Access Report, entitled Engaging the Family in Your Philanthropy: Creative Strategies and Practical Approaches to Involving the Next Generation, provides guidance for attorneys when clients ask for advice about engaging their children in their philanthropy...

Repealing the Estate Tax May Have its Drawbacks

Posted on July 09, 2010
Ray D. Madoff recently wrote a piece entitled Inherited Wealth Shouldn?t Get a Free Pass on Taxes, Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2010. One of the most common arguments for repealing the estate tax is that it?s unfair to tax...

Estate Planning CLE

Posted on July 09, 2010
The Knowledge Congress is sponsoring a 2-hour live webcast entitled Estate Planning in 2010 on July 15, 2010. The event details are below: In the current regulatory and economic environment, estate planning has become more challenging. Teams of wealth management...

Donating to Charity to Lower Roth IRA Tax Bill

Posted on July 09, 2010
This is the first year that someone making more than $100,000 can use a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs have special tax benefits, but those who move retirement assets into a Roth must report a large amount of income and pay...

Legal Bloopers

Posted on July 08, 2010
Susan R. Harris (attorney, Greenwood Village, CO) recently composed a list of typos from legal documents, letters and e-mails. She stated, "While spell checkers are a blessing, they have created vast new possiblities for bloopers." The descendant died November 12,...

CLE on Converting Roth IRAs

Posted on July 08, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on July 13, 2010 entitled IRA Roth Conversions. The program description is below: The expansion of the Roth IRA conversion program is here, and with it comes a number of...

Planning for a Special-Needs Child

Posted on July 08, 2010
When Jason and Amanda Purnell found out that they were going to have a daughter with Down syndrome, they realized that they would have to support her for the rest of their lives. The Purnells wrote wills and took out...

Perelman Files a Frivolous Lawsuit

Posted on July 08, 2010
Billionaire Ronald Perelman initiated a lawsuit against his in-laws while acting as guardian of his daughter, Samantha Perelman, and as executor of the estate of his late ex-wife, Claudia Cohen. Perelman believes that Samantha is entitled to property that Claudia?s...

Restricting Charitable Gifts

Posted on July 07, 2010
John K. Eason (Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law) recently published his article entitled Motive, Duty, and the Management of Restricted Charitable Gifts, 45 Wake Forest L. Rev. 123 (2010). The introduction is below: Restricted charitable gifts present...

Statute of Limitations for Will Interpretations

Posted on July 07, 2010
A summary of In re Estate of Florence, 307 S.W.3d 887 (Tex. App.?Fort Worth 2010, no pet. h) is below: Testator?s will gave Wife, among other things, his ?tangible property.? The residuary of the estate passed into a testamentary trust....

Restricting GRATs

Posted on July 07, 2010
The House of Representatives passed an amended version of H.R. 4899 on July 1, 2010. Known as the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010, this bill includes a ten-year minimum term for GRATs. This provision would make GRATs less advantageous for...

CLE on Protecting Assets for Physicians

Posted on July 07, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on July 13, 2010 entitled Asset Protection Techniques for the Physician Client. The program description is below: Malpractice suits against physicians have reached a truly alarming rate - as have...

CLE on Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts

Posted on July 06, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on August 5 entitled Maximizing Your Use of Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts. The program description is below: Take your estate planning mastery a step beyond simple living trusts: explore the...

Executor Lacks Standing to Sue for Life Insurance Proceeds

Posted on July 06, 2010
A case summary for Irwin v. Irwin, 307 S.W.3d 383 (Tex. App.?San Antonio 2009, pet. filed) is below: The appellate court determined that an executor of an estate lacked standing to litigate issues regarding the proper payment of life insurance...

Offshore Trusts in New Zealand

Posted on July 06, 2010
John Prebble (Professor of Law, Victoria University of Wellington) recently published his article entitled The New Zealand Offshore Trust Regime, Int?l Fin. Centre Rev. 134 (2009). The abstract of the article which is available on SSRN is below: New Zealand...

Bobby Fischer to be Exhumed

Posted on July 06, 2010
Chess genius Bobby Fischer died in Iceland in January 2008 without leaving a will. The cases over his estate are ongoing. Most recently, the Supreme Court of Iceland ordered Fischer?s body to be exhumed to prove whether or not he...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on July 05, 2010
Here are the top downloads from May 5, 2010 to July 4, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 634 The Generation-Skipping...

An Opt-Out Organ Donation Policy Proposal in New York

Posted on July 05, 2010
To battle the shortage of organ donors, New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky is proposing a donor registry system that presumes everyone is a donor unless they opt out on a driver?s license or state identification card. In order for this...

Taxable Gifts Gaining Appeal

Posted on July 05, 2010
Over the past decade, the use of large gifts to reduce one?s estate has not been a popular technique. However, with the estate tax set to return next year at a higher level and a lower exemption amount, making large...

"Fat Cats and Lucky Dogs" Now Available

Posted on July 05, 2010
Professor Gerry W. Beyer (Texas Tech University School of Law) and Barry Seltzer (Barrister & Solicitor, Ontario, Canada) have recently published their book entitled Fat Cats & Lucky Dogs -- How to leave (some of) your estate to your pets....

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