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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

Involuntary anatomical "gifts"

Posted on September 05, 2008
Louis and Gerald Garzone have recently pled guilty in Pennsylvania to a variety of crimes including conspiracy, theft, abuse of corpse, and welfare fraud. Here are the details from AP, Brothers admit stealing parts from 244 corpses, CNN.com, Sept. 3,...

Who controls "Seven Year Itch" photo?

Posted on September 05, 2008
This classic photograph is of Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe as they appeared in the 1954 movie Seven Year Itch. For years, a battle has been waged over the rights to this photo. Here are the details according to Fishers...

Is guardianship a modern type of slavery?

Posted on September 05, 2008
James Timothy Struck (BA, BS, AA, MLIS, Chicago, Illinois) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Illinois Guardianship Law Similar to Slavery-Law Should Be Stricken as Vague, Prohibiting too Much Speech and Too Discriminatory. Here is the abstract of...

The debate continues: Is being "too generous" to help animals against public policy?

Posted on September 04, 2008
As most readers are already aware, Leona M. Helmsley left the vast majority of her $4 billion fortune to a foundation to benefit dogs. The battle is now being waged between people who think the law should either not enforce...

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Estate Planning and the Pittsburgh Steelers

Posted on September 04, 2008
Considerable family and business strife is reportedly involved with the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team according to Rooney family members considering outside investors, ESPN.com, July 7, 2008. Here are a few of the highlights of this story: Dan Rooney (chairman)...

More on James Brown

Posted on September 04, 2008
The goings on with the estate of James Brown have received considerable discussion on this blog. A recent article provides some additional interesting information. Here are a few highlights from Mary Bridges, Tortured Soul, Conde Nast Portfolio, Aug. 2008, at...

Trust Property & Estate Inventories -- Interesting Issues

Posted on September 04, 2008
Two interesting issues were raised in the recent Texas case of In re Estate of Walker, 250 S.W.3d 212 (Tex. App.?Dallas 2008, pet. denied). Estate Administration -- Inventory Originally, Executrix filed an inventory valuing Testatrix?s estate at over $5 million...

Tangible Personal Property -- Often a problem

Posted on September 03, 2008
The following excerpts are from Splitting Heirs, Trusts & Estates Newsletter (Heritage Auction Galleries), Sept./Oct. 2008, at 5: A common issue confronting estate settlement professionals relates to valuable tangible assets. Most of the thousands of wills that I have reviewed...

The Estate of Franz Kafka

Posted on September 03, 2008
The disposition of the literary estate of Franz Kafka is metamorphosing into a dispute that may take many years to resolve. Here are the details summarized from Ethan Bronner, Under ?Kafkaesque? Pressure, Heir to Kafka Papers May Yield Them, NY...

Do fiduciary duties include obedience?

Posted on September 03, 2008
Rob Atkinson (Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell Professor, Florida State University College of Law), has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Rediscovering the Duty of Obedience: Toward a Trinitarian Theory of Fiduciary Duty. Here is an abstract of...

Do Animals Grieve?

Posted on September 02, 2008
Do animals grieve when their partners or "friends" die? The answer to this is somewhat surprising as discussed in Natalie Angier, About Death, Just Like Us or Pretty Much Unaware?, NY Times, Sept. 2, 2008. Here are some examples: Primates...

England May Increase Tax-Free Inheritance Threshold

Posted on September 02, 2008
According to Ian Cowie & James Kirkup, Tories plan to raise inheritance tax threshold to �2 million, Telegraph.co.uk, Sept. 2, 2008, the English Parliament may increase the amount married couples may leave to their relatives to �2 million (approximately $3...

The Estate of Curtis "Doc" Beauchamp

Posted on September 02, 2008
The following summarizes a discussion of an interesting case as reported in David Hasemyer, Relatives fight for slice of dental-empire fortune, Union-Tribune (San Diego), Sept. 1, 2008: Curtis "Doc" Beauchamp began an innovative method of practicing dentistry which included advertising...

Could a human heart both "carry" love and death?

Posted on September 02, 2008
A most unusual anatomical gift scenario has recently been revealed in AP, One widow, 2 dead men, one shared heart, CNN.com, Sept. 1, 2008. Here are the basic facts: Cheryl Sweat allegedly marries Husband One. Cheryl has affair with Terry....

Getting a family business from one generation to the next

Posted on September 01, 2008
Dwight Drake (Associate Professor of Law, University of Washington School of Law) has recently published his article entitled Transitioning the Family Business, 83 Wash. L. Rev. 123 (2008). Here is an abstract of the article: By any measure, family-dominated businesses...

The Hidden Thoughts of Millionaires

Posted on September 01, 2008
According to Daren Fonda, 10 Things Millionaires Won't Tell You, SmartMoney.com, Aug. 19, 2008, here are the top things millionaires won't say: "You may think I'm rich, but I don't." Having a million dollars does not reflect significant wealth in...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on September 01, 2008
Here are the top downloads from July 3, 2008 to September 1, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 636 A Guide...

Happy Labor Day!

Posted on September 01, 2008
Happy Labor Day!! Hope you are having an enjoyable, productive, and safe holiday.

The James Brown Auction -- What Happened?

Posted on August 31, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I reported that on July 17, 2008, Christie's was preparing to auction off a large portion of James Brown's estate. Now, a report of that sale from Guy Trebay, More Tag Sale Than Tribute, NY Times,...

So tell me how you really feel?

Posted on August 31, 2008
A will is a property transfer document, similar to a deed. The basic difference is the a deed is effective upon delivery while a will does not take effect until death. As a method of property transfer, a will is...

Would it have been better for an organ donee to have died?

Posted on August 30, 2008
Organ donation can be a wonderful thing -- it can give people who would otherwise have died years or even decades of additional life. But, what if the person saved by the organ donation turns out to be "evil," e.g.,...

Mary Ellen Bendtsen Update

Posted on August 30, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I discussed the intriguing case of Mary Ellen Bendtsen: Links to extensive background material showing how Mary Ellen was allegedly subjected to undue influence and other acts amounting to elder abuse. Watch a video of her...

Donated Brains -- Rightly or Wrongly?

Posted on August 29, 2008
Here is a summary of an interesting organ donation case based on Carol Smith, Appeals court keeps alive lawsuit over organs donated for research, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Aug. 26, 2008: Bradley Gierlich died in 1998 intestate and without written body disposition...

Is being "too generous" to help animals against public policy?

Posted on August 29, 2008
As most readers are already aware, Leona M. Helmsley left the vast majority of her $4 billion fortune to a foundation to benefit dogs. The battle is now being waged between people who think the law should either not enforce...

How well does the law of wills and trusts interface?

Posted on August 29, 2008
Alan Newman (Professor of Law, University of Akron School of Law) has recently posted an article on SSRN entitled Revocable Trusts and the Law of Wills: An Imperfect Fit. Here is the abstract of the article: Over the centuries that...

How to locate heirs and beneficiaries

Posted on August 29, 2008
Locating heirs and beneficiaries is often a difficult task. The following excerpt from an outline by Lori J. Perlman, Esq. is reprinted with permission from the "Practical Skills Seminar on Probate and Administration of Estates," October 2006 Coursebook, published by...

Lawyer in trouble for writing will leaving himself millions

Posted on August 28, 2008
A lawyer is in deep trouble after it was revealed he drafted a will leaving himself and his assistant $7 million from his client's estate. Here are the details from Chris Tisch, A will casts a shadow on a prominent...

Demand for sophisticated estate planning may grow as number of wealthy individuals continues to increase

Posted on August 28, 2008
Despite the appearance of a poor economy, the number of wealthy individuals is actually growing according to Tom Herman, The Ranks of the Ultrawealthy Grow, Yahoo! Finance, Aug. 28, 2008, who explains: About 47,000 people had a net worth of...

"Dead Man Standing" or "I see a dead person"

Posted on August 28, 2008
The man in the picture is Angel Pantoja Medina and he is dead. Angel died on August 15, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His brother explained that Angel told him that he wanted to be standing during his wake....

Posted on August 28, 2008

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