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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

Britney Spears incurs high legal fees

Posted on August 19, 2008
The fight over the custody of Britney Spears' two children has been very expensive according to Spears custody fight touts hefty price tag, CNN.com, Aug. 19, 2008. Here are some of the details: Total legal fees exceed $716,000. Stacy D....

Estate Administration CLE

Posted on August 19, 2008
The American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, Young Lawyers Division, and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education are sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast on September 16, 2008 entitled Critical Issues in Estate...

Nursing home evictions

Posted on August 18, 2008
Evictions are no longer just for tenants who do not pay rent or violate noise rules. Instead, a nursing homes are evicting residents, especially those who have lived at the home for a long time, in the hopes of bringing...

Did Texas probate judge approve too much compensation?

Posted on August 18, 2008
According to Rick Casey, Judge Wood slapped again, Houston Chronicle, June 5, 2008, [A] Houston appeals court ruled that probate Judge Mike Wood improperly awarded what may turn out to be more than $2 million in fees to a trustee...

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Selling Endowment Art

Posted on August 18, 2008
In an effort to meet rapidly rising costs, many universities are selling artwork that was donated to their endowments. The problems this is causing are described in Siobhan Morrissey, Art of the Sale, ABA J., Aug. 2008, at 11. Here...

Welcome Back

Posted on August 18, 2008
For many of us, today is the first day of Fall Semester. I hope you had an enjoyable and productive summer. As you are probably aware, this blog attempts to serve as a central site to locate and explore comprehensive...

How much should an agent be paid?

Posted on August 17, 2008
The difficulty of ascertaining the amount of compensation which is "reasonable" for an agent acting under a power of attorney is highlighted in Helen W. Gunnarsson, What's a POA agent worth?, 96 Ill. B.J. 389 (2008). Here are some the...

A check issued to the decedent prior to death and cashed afterwards is cash owned at death

Posted on August 17, 2008
The decedent?s will gave his surviving spouse one-half of cash owned at death including bank accounts, certificates of indebtedness, and ?in any other form.? Under authority granted by a general power of attorney, the decedent?s wife picked up a dividend...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on August 16, 2008
Here are the top downloads from June 17, 2008 to August 16, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 410 A Guide...

Family Limited Partnership Treatise

Posted on August 16, 2008
David T. Lewis (member, Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, Charlotte, NC) and Andrea C. Chomakos (associate, Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, Charlotte, NC) are the authors of The Family Limited Partnership Deskbook: Forming and Funding FLPs and Other Closely Held...

The Estate of Vernon Kunshick

Posted on August 15, 2008
An extensive website entitled Estate of Denial has been created by individuals who feel the legal system has not done a good job of protecting the intent of Vernon Kunshick. According to the site: Vernon Kunshick died May 7, 2006....

The passing of Prof. Robert Lynn

Posted on August 15, 2008
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I regret to inform you that earlier today (August 15, 2008) Emeritus Professor Robert "Bob" Lynn of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law passed away. For those of you who...

Steinbeck's heirs lose book rights

Posted on August 15, 2008
There has been an ongoing dispute over the rights to some of John Steinbeck's most famous books such as The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. Recently, a court in New York ruled that Penguin, a book publishing...

Spendthrift clause does not prevent transfer of the remainder

Posted on August 15, 2008
The decedent?s will created a trust giving income and up to all of the corpus in the trustee?s discretion to the widow, remainder to the decedent?s two children, A and B. No provision was made for death of a child...

Statutory double damage provision for breach of trust not retroactive

Posted on August 14, 2008
After finding that the deceased trustee had misappropriated trust property, the trial court granted double damages under the Kansas Uniform Trust Code. The appellate court held that applying the double damage provision to acts that had occurred before the January...

Prof. Brophy moves to UNC

Posted on August 14, 2008
Alfred Brophy -- a longtime fan of Wills, Trusts, and Estates blog, who shamelessly bases a lot of T&E class on postings here -- has moved from the University of Alabama to the University of North Carolina, where he'll be...

Where should older or disabled persons live?

Posted on August 14, 2008
Lawrence A. Frolik (Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law) has recently published his book entitled Residence Options for Older and Disabled Clients. Here is a description of this book: With the recent census figures reporting that more...

"He's dead, Jim" -- or not?

Posted on August 14, 2008
There continues to be debate as to when a person is "dead enough" to permit harvesting of organs. In the past, organs were removed only after doctors determine that the donor's brain has ceased to function. Recently, three infants were...

Top Money Mistakes

Posted on August 13, 2008
According to Ken and Daria Dolan, Celebrity Money Mistakes, AOL.com, the following are the top money mistakes which celebrities often make. Note that many of them would apply to "regular" folks as well. No prenuptial agreement. Out-of-date will. Allowing home...

Does the FBI have your artwork?

Posted on August 13, 2008
The FBI is currently seeking the true owners of hundreds of works of art (follow link to see pictures of the artwork) which were discovered in the apartment of William M.V. Kingsland when he died in 2006 intestate and with...

Law firm helps employees get estate plans

Posted on August 13, 2008
Genser Dubow Genser & Cona is law firm in New York which specializes in estate planning and elder law. Managing partner Jennifer Cona recently discovered that over half of the firm's staff (junior attorneys included) did not have their estate...

Special Needs Trusts CLE

Posted on August 13, 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 September 9, 2008 entitled Practical Aspects of Special Needs Planning Part...

Charitable gifts without tax motivation

Posted on August 12, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I reported on the Salwen family of Atlanta, Georgia who decided to make a significant charitable gift for non-tax reasons. Keith Taylor has created a website, ModestNeeds.org, in which anyone may make modest contributions to help...

In terrorem clause dealing only with distribution does not bar will contest

Posted on August 12, 2008
The decedent?s will provided that any bequest distributed to more than one beneficiary should be divided as the beneficiaries agree and if they cannot, by the executor. Any ?further dispute? disqualified the beneficiaries involved from any distribution...

Private Trust Companies

Posted on August 12, 2008
The IRS has recently released Notice 2008-63 which solicits comments on a proposed revenue ruling on the income and transfer tax consequences of family members creating a private trust company to serve as the trustee of trusts in which family...

When the defendant's lawyer becomes a defendant in estate lawsuits

Posted on August 12, 2008
All too often, a lawyer hired by an executor or trustee to defend claims of breach of fiduciary duty becomes a defendant in the lawsuit. The plaintiff joins the lawyer as a defendant alleging that the lawyer and his/her client...

Jerry Orbach's children furious at step-mom

Posted on August 11, 2008
On December 28, 2004, actor Jerry Orbach died. He is most famous for his role as Detective Lennie Briscoe on the television series Law and Order. According to Gina Serpe, Orbach Kin Wants More Order to Will, eonline.com, August 11,...

Need to find heirs?

Posted on August 11, 2008
When a person dies intestate, it is often a difficult task to locate the person's heirs. One of the many companies that provides this service is Landex Research, Inc. which began in 1956 (just like me). I recently received a...

Writing wills for family members -- just say "no"?

Posted on August 11, 2008
Relatives often ask for legal services, especially those involving estate planning such as the drafting of a will, trust, power of attorney, or living will. Should you agree even after the emotional pressure and guilt that some family members, such...

Illinois judge sets forth suggestions to prevent elder abuse

Posted on August 11, 2008
Judge Patrick T. Murphy of the Circuit Court of Cook County has set forth the following recommendations to prevent elder abuse: States should enact legislation requiring banks and other financial institutions to report cases of suspected financial abuse...

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