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

Irrevocable life insurance trusts explained

Posted on April 01, 2009
Martin M. Shenkman (Member, Martin M. Shenkman, P.C.) has written a new article entitled The Practical Planner: "Insurance Trusts (ILIT) Not So Simple", Feb. 2, 2009. Here is a summary of the article: Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts ("ILITs") are a...

Prof. Sitkoff delivers Trachtman Lecture at ACTEC Annual Meeting

Posted on April 01, 2009
Robert Sitkoff (John L. Gray Professor of Law, Harvard Law School) recently presented the Tractmas Lecture at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Here is an excerpt from Harvard's press release: In his...

Potential problems with the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act of 2000

Posted on March 31, 2009
Adam Hirsch (William and Catherine VanDercreek Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Disclaimer Law and UDPIA's Unintended Consequences. Here is the abstract of his article which is slated to...

Gift Planning

Posted on March 31, 2009
Martin M. Shenkman (Member, Martin M. Shenkman, P.C.) has written a new article entitled The Practical Planner: "Gift Planning During Economic Uncertainty", Dec. 31, 2008. Here is a summary of the article: Gift planning is a substantial part of estate...

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

Texas lawyer disbarred for probate misconduct

Posted on March 31, 2009
The following is a description of the conduct which caused an Irving, Texas lawyer to be disbarred on June 2, 2008: An evidentiary panel of the District 6A-B2 Grievance Committee found that [attorney's] great uncle executed a will naming [him]...

Estate tax -- past and possible future

Posted on March 31, 2009
Robert Moshman (Writer and Attorney) has written an article entitled The Estate Analyst: "Plateau or Pinnacle", Jan. 28, 2009. Here is a summary of the article: The article overviews the past 8 years of the fabled estate tax repeal. It...

Article explains benefits of having a will and how to get one

Posted on March 30, 2009
A recent widely distributed AP article contains some excellent advice on why it is a good idea to have will. Here are some of the benefits mentioned in Candice Choi, Don't let death steal your wishes: Write a will and...

Estate planning malpractice analyzed

Posted on March 30, 2009
Sharon B. Gardner (Partner, Crain Caton & James, Houston, Texas) has recently published her article entitled Project Runaway--One Day You're In As the Attorney and the Next Day You're Out!, 1 Est. Plan. & Comm. Prop. L.J. 111 (2008). Here...

UK doctor to sell euthanasia kits

Posted on March 30, 2009
Dr. Philip Nitschke, the Australian doctor known as "Doctor Death," will start selling his euthanasia kits in the United Kingdom in May 2009 and internationally shortly thereafter. His kit provides chemicals that the user mixes with barbiturates and when they...

Retirement Benefit Planning

Posted on March 30, 2009
Alvin J. Golden (Ikard & Golden, P.C., Austin, Texas) has recently published his article entitled Selected Problems in Planning with Retirement Benefits: Community Property Issues and Creditor's Rights, 1 Est. Plan. & Comm. Prop. L.J. 169 (2008). The article covers...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on March 29, 2009
Here are the top downloads from January 28, 2009 to March 29, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 236 2008 Developments...

Equal may not be fair

Posted on March 29, 2009
Many parents believe that dividing their estate equally among the children is a fair way to distribute their property. However, this may not be the case. The following excerpt is from Eileen Aj Connelly, With wills, 'equal' not always '...

Britany Spears' conservator forces fan website to close

Posted on March 28, 2009
Jordan Miller operates two websites (www.BreatheHeavy.com and www.BritneyRes.com) devoted to his "inspiration," Britany Spears. Britany's conservator, Jamie Spears, has requested that he close the websites because Mr. MIller is using her name and image for financial gain without her consent...

Anna Nicole Smith's body disposition judge accused of elder abuse

Posted on March 28, 2009
Judge Larry Seidlin who gained fame as the presiding judge over the hearing to determine the proper disposition of Anne Nicole Smith's body, is now under investigation for elder abuse. Here are some details from Bob Norman, Judge Larry Under...

AALS Section on Trusts and Estates Call For Papers for 2010 AALS Annual Meeting

Posted on March 27, 2009
Trusts and Estates law was for centuries a fairly stable, if dusty, body of doctrine. Over the past few decades, however, striking changes in the economic, legal and social landscape have prompted an explosion of new doctrinal developments. Major trends...

Yale fights to keep Night Cafe

Posted on March 27, 2009
Yale graduate Stephen Carlton Clark, the founder of the Baseball Hall of Fame, left the Van Gogh painting entitled Night Cafe to Yale. Now, a descendant (Pierre Konowaloff) of the original owner (Ivan Morozov) claims that the property was improperly....

FLP victory for IRS -- but, taxpayer made it easy

Posted on March 27, 2009
On March 26, 2009, the Tax Court decided Estate of Jorgenson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2009-66. In this case, the court held that all assets of a family limited partnership were included in the decedent's estate -- a big victory...

If confessing on deathbed, be sure you are going to die!

Posted on March 26, 2009
James Brewer recently had a stoke and thought his days on this earth were few. Accordingly, to "cleanse his soul," he confessed to a murder he committed over 30 years ago. However, his estimate on his remaining days was wrong....

Anne Nicole Smith -- More evidence against her psychiatrist

Posted on March 26, 2009
Earlier on this blog, I discussed that on March 12, 2009, Howard K. Stern (Anna Nicole Smith's partner and attorney) and her two doctors (Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich) were charged with 8 felonies which include a variety of drug...

Open-Air Cremation

Posted on March 26, 2009
Many followers of the Hindu religion desire to have an open-air cremation rather than being cremated in a traditional crematorium. The ability of a person to have an open-air cremation is currently being debated in the United Kingdom. Here are...

Deferring estate taxes under IRC � 6166

Posted on March 25, 2009
Kimberly Leach Johnson(partner, Naples office, Quarles & Brady LLP) & Amalia Levit Todryk(associate, Milwaukee office, Quarles & Brady LLP) have recently published their article entitled Planning for the Payment of Estate Taxes for Illiquid Estates Owning Real Estate -- The...

Madoff's prison number proves lucky

Posted on March 25, 2009
Ralph Amendolaro (Queens, N.Y.) saw Bernie Madoff in a prison outfit and noticed his prisoner number. He used the last three digits, 054, to play the New York State Lottery's Number game and was lucky. He won $1,500 on a...

Impact of amended UPAIA � 409

Posted on March 25, 2009
Steven B. Gorin (partner, Private Client practice group, Thompson Colburn LLP) has recently published his article entitled Principal and Income Act Amendment Saves the Marital Deduction for Retirement Plans, Prob. & Prop., March/April 2009, at 12. Here is an excerpt...

Estate planning to protect the family vacation home

Posted on March 25, 2009
William S. Forsberg (shareholder, Leonard Street and Deinard) has recently published his article entitled The Family Vacation Home: Keeping It in the Family is Hard to Do -- It's More About Cooperation Than Planning!, Prob. & Prop., March/April 2009, at...

Body disposition desires of PETA founder, Ingrid Newkirk

Posted on March 24, 2009
The founder of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Ingrid Newkirk has recently released her disposition of remains document. Here are some of her desires: The meat of her body is to be used for a human barbecue....

Pomerey Bill analyzed

Posted on March 24, 2009
Martin M. Shenkman (Member, Martin M. Shenkman, P.C.) has written a new article entitled The Practical Planner: "Estate Tax Proposed Legislation: Analysis of Pomeroy Bill." Here is a summary of the article: The article overviews some of the changes that...

Beneficiary defective inheritor's trust

Posted on March 24, 2009
Robert Moshman (writer and attorney) has written an article entitled The Estate Analyst: "Freeze, Squeeze & Burn Trusts", Feb. 15, 2009. Here is a summary of the article: Richard Oshins has come up with a completely new approach for estate...

Peter Falk Update

Posted on March 24, 2009
Earlier on this blog, I reported that actor Peter Falk's (aka Columbo) daughter (Catherine) had petitioned the court to take over her father's affairs claiming that he was suffering from Alzheimer's. On February 19, 2009, the court appointed attorney (Clark...

Do you need Twitter?

Posted on March 23, 2009
Having joined Facebook years ago at the urging of my students, I am now wondering whether I need to take the "next step" and use Twitter. Personally, I sometimes wonder why I even care what I'm doing at the moment,...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on March 23, 2009
Here are the top downloads from January 21, 2009 to March 22, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 142 Hurford: FLP...

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...