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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

May court disqualify an executor sua sponte?

Posted on January 06, 2009
In the case of In re Estate of Gaines, 262 S.W.3d 50 (Tex. App.?Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet. h.), the person designated by Testatrix as her independent executrix probated Testatrix?s will and asked to be appointed as the independent...

Disputing capacity to execute power of attorney

Posted on January 05, 2009
In Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. v. Brown, 261 S.W.3d 394 (Tex. App.?Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet. h.), Decedent signed a power of attorney naming his son as his agent. Agent open an account with Brokerage which contained an arbitration...

Big Bopper's casket heading to e-Bay

Posted on January 05, 2009
The Big Bopper, Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr., died on February 3, 1959 ("the day the music died") in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the plane's pilot. In 2008, his casket made of 16 gauge steel...

Enforcement of option contract after death of a party

Posted on January 05, 2009
In Wells v. Dotson, 261 S.W.3d 275 (Tex. App.?Tyler 2008, no pet. h.), Decedent entered into a lease with an option to purchase with Lessee. After Decedent?s death, Lessee notified Executor that he wanted to exercise the option to purchase....

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The passing of Clifton Kruse

Posted on January 04, 2009
It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of "the" elder law expert, Clifton Kruse. The following excerpts are from his obituary: Clifton Bryan Kruse, Jr., 74, passed away surrounded by his family on December 30, 2008,...

Probate exception analyzed

Posted on January 04, 2009
Allison Elvert Graves (J.D., University of Alabama, licensed in Missouri) has recently published her comment entitled Marshall v. Marshall: The Past, Present, and Future of the Probate Exception to Federal Jurisdiction, 59 Ala. L. Rev. 1643 (2008). Here is the...

Obama scatters grandmother's cremains

Posted on January 03, 2009
Madelyn Dunham, President-elect Barak Obama's maternal grandmother, died on November 2, 2008. Because of the proximity of her death to the Presidental election, her private memorial service was postponed until December 23, 2008 when the service was held at the...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on January 03, 2009
Here are the top downloads from November 4, 2008 to January 3, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 150 Take the...

Beneficiary Deeds in California

Posted on January 02, 2009
David Major (Technical Editor, Santa Clara Law Review, Volume 49; J.D. 2008, Santa Clara University School of Law) has recently published his comment entitled Revocable Transfer On Death Deeds: Cheap, Simple, and Has California's Trusts & Estates Attorneys Heading For...

Was Marlon Brando's Will Forged?

Posted on January 01, 2009
Although Marlon Brando died in 2004, disputes about the validity of his will continue. Here are some excerpts from Matthew Heller, Judge OKs Claim Alleging Marlon Brando Will a Fake, onpointnews.com, Dec. 26, 2008: The ex-wife of Marlon Brando's son....

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 01, 2009
As you are probably aware, this blog attempts to serve as a central site to locate and explore comprehensive materials to enhance your teaching of courses that address intestate succession, wills, trusts, estate administration, non-probate assets, planning for disability, and...

Minimum Distribution Rules for IRAs Changed

Posted on December 31, 2008
The folllowing excerpts discussing the new IRA MRD rules are from Relief from Required Minimum Distribution Rules - But Only for 2009 , BracewellGiuliani.com, Dec. 30, 2008: A recent tax law change promises to help give retirees and retirement plan...

Retention of Testamentary Freedom -- A Good Idea?

Posted on December 31, 2008
Joshua C. Tate (Assistant Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law) has recently published his article entitled Caregiving and the Case for Testamentary Freedom, 42 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 129 (2008) (the link is the the SSRN version of...

Impact of Madoff scam on charitable donations

Posted on December 30, 2008
The impact of the Madoff scam on charitable donations is discussed in Deborah Brewster, Non-profits face donor ire over Madoff exposure, FT.com, Dec. 28, 2008. Here are a few excerpts from this article: Non-profit organisations may find it harder to....

Long-Term Care Insurance FAQs

Posted on December 30, 2008
Katherine C. Pearson (Professor of Law & Director, Elder Law and Consumer Protection Clinic Penn State Dickinson School of Law) has recently posted her article entitled Evaluating Long-Term Care Insurance in a Troubled Economy. To prepare her article, Prof...

Estate Planning for Closely Held Business Owners CLE

Posted on December 30, 2008
The American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education are sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast on January 6, 2009 entitled Estate Planning for Business Owners: Recent Developments...

Probate lawyer behaving badly

Posted on December 30, 2008
A Houston lawyer recently received a six-month suspension from the practice of law for the following behavior: [He] was retained to file an application for a guardianship in probate court. [He] did not return many of the client?s phone calls...

Uniform Probate Code Authorizes Notarized Wills

Posted on December 29, 2008
As many of you aware, the Uniform Probate Code has recently authorized what is known as the "notarized will," that is, a non-holographic unwitnessed will which may be valid if properly notarized. To read more about this new technique, see...

First U.S. Face Transplant

Posted on December 29, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I reported on an unusual anatomical gift, a face. Up to now, face transplants have only been done in France (2) and China (1). Now, the first face transplant in the United States has taken place....

Mediation of Elder Law Disputes

Posted on December 29, 2008
The ABA Commission on Law and Aging and the ABA Senior Lawyers Division are co-sponsoring a program entitled Elder Mediation: The Challenges and Rewards of this Evolving Practice Area on February 13, 2009 from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST...

Steeler Update

Posted on December 29, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I discussed the considerable family and business strife involved with the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team. Here are some recent developments according to AP, NFL OKs Steelers restructuring, SI.com, Dec. 17, 2008: Dan Rooney and his...

Did Whitney Houston improperly use her dad's life insurance proceeds?

Posted on December 28, 2008
Singer Whitney Houston is involved in lawsuit regarding the proceeds of her dad's (John Houston) life insurance policy. John died in 2003 naming Whitney as the beneficiary of a $1 million life insurance policy. According to the lawsuit, Whitney was...

Mary Pickford & The Oscars

Posted on December 28, 2008
Mary Pickford was a famous actress who won two Oscars for her work: best actress for Coquette (1929) and Lifetime Achievement (1976). Mary died in 1979. The two Oscar statuettes she received are now the center of dispute. So too...

Are adopted adults considered "descendants"?

Posted on December 27, 2008
In the case of In re Ray Ellison Grandchildren Trust, 261 S.W.3d 111 (Tex. App.?San Antonio 2008, pet. denied, rehearing filed), Settlor established a trust for the ?descendants? of his children. A dispute arose as to whether descendants included the...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on December 27, 2008
Here are the top downloads from October 28, 2008 to December 27, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 433 2008 Federal...

Planning during difficult economic times CLE

Posted on December 26, 2008
The American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education are sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast on January 21, 2009 entitled Estate and Related Planning During Economic Turmoil...

Passage Graves Explained

Posted on December 26, 2008
The following excerpts are from Passage graves from an astronomical perspective, EurekaAlert.com, Dec. 18, 2008: Passage graves are mysterious barrows from the Stone Age. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen indicates that the Stone...

Caught in the legal recession? - ABA Journal Survey Results

Posted on December 26, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I posted a request from the American Bar Association to invite readers to participate in a survey being conducted by ABA Journal about the legal job market and the current state of the economy. The results...

Riches to rags -- What may happen if you don't diversify

Posted on December 26, 2008
A basic tenant of investing is to diversify -- that is, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Failure to diversify can have devastating consequences as Nancy Silverton recently learned. The following excerpts are from Claudia Eller, A noted...

Happy Holidays!!

Posted on December 25, 2008

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