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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

European Trust Taxation CLE

Posted on July 30, 2008
Financial Events International is sponsoring a conference in London on November 12, 2008 entitled Trusts Taxation in Europe. If you can't make the trip to London, no worries -- the conference is also available via webcast. Here is a description...

Virginia updates slayer statute

Posted on July 29, 2008
The Virginia legislature has made it harder for killers to inherit by adding voluntary manslaughter as a disqualifying crime. In another change, not just the slayer but also "any transferee, assignee, or other person claiming through" the slayer will not...

Idaho probate law changes

Posted on July 29, 2008
Recent changes to Idaho probate law include: Authorization for wills and self-proving affidavits to be signed by the testator's proxy. 2008 Idaho Laws Ch. 76. Revamping of allowances for a surviving spouse and children. 2008 Idaho Laws Ch. 182. According...

Should the law of probate and non-probate transfers be unified?

Posted on July 29, 2008
Grayson M.P. McCouch (Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Probate Law Reform and Nonprobate Transfers. Here is the abstract of his article: The advent of widespread, large-scale probate...

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Advertising a probate judge on staff triggers ethics problems

Posted on July 29, 2008
Joseph Secola is a Probate Judge in Brookfield, Connecticut and is also engaged in the active practice of law. His partner, Micky Fox, posted a notice on-line that his partner (Judge Secola) "is not only a Probate Judge in Brookfield,...

Minnesota authorizes transfer on death deeds

Posted on July 28, 2008
On May 18, 2008, the Governor of Minnesota approved H.F. 3420 (Chapter 341, � 5) which authorizes transfer on death deeds (effective August 1, 2008). Minnesota now joins the approximately ten other states that allow this technique. The National Conference...

The Drew Peterson Saga Continues

Posted on July 28, 2008
Drew Peterson is a former Illinois police officer who has been accused in the death and/or disappearance of two of his four wives. Here is a brief background of Drew's situation: Wife #3 (Kathleen Savio) was discovered dead in dry...

British tabloid claims Steve Fossett may have faked his own death

Posted on July 28, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I discussed Steve Fossett?s disappearance and his wife?s petition to declare him legally dead. On February 15, 2008, he was declared legally dead. However, because no one has found his body or wreckage of his plan,...

"Happiest UPS man" takes final ride to funeral services

Posted on July 28, 2008
Jeff Hornagold was a driver for the United Parcel Service for approximately 20 years. He died recently in Crystal Lake, Illinois from lung cancer. His friend and fellow driver, Michael McGowan, drove him on Saturday (July 26, 2008) from the...

Dynasty Trust CLE

Posted on July 27, 2008
The National Constitution Center is sponsoring a live audio conference on July 30, 2008 entitled Dynasty Trusts: Multi-Generational Drafting & Planning Techniques. Here is a description of the program: With a dynasty trust, a generation skipping transfer trust, estate tax...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on July 27, 2008
Here are the top downloads from May 28, 2008 to July 27, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 151 Limited Liability...

Huge expenses approved for Denice Denton's estate

Posted on July 26, 2008
Denice Denton committed suicide on June 24, 2006 during her tenure as the Chancellor of the University of California--Santa Cruz. After her will was admitted to probate which leaves her estate to her three siblings, Denice's mother (Carolyn Mabee) was...

Are pre-engagement agreements needed?

Posted on July 26, 2008
It is starting to appear that a pre-nuptial agreement is not enough when doing estate planning for a person involved in a long-term relationship. Instead, it may also be necessary to have a pre-engagement/pre-living together agreement. If not, problems may...

How to motivate your child if you are wealthy

Posted on July 25, 2008
According to Sharlene Goff, The Wealth generation game, Financial Times, July 5, 2008: Thousands of children of successful entrepreneurs and professionals are growing up with enough wealth around them to support them for the rest of their lives. Wealth managers...

How should retired individuals plan for their children?

Posted on July 25, 2008
I have discussed before on this blog [here and here] the way in which children often believe they are entitled to their parents' estates. A recent article discusses various perspectives of this situation. See Christine Dugas, Money Mentors: How should...

New law firm fringe benefit -- elder care

Posted on July 25, 2008
A growing number of law firms are offering elder care as a fringe benefit. According to Debra Cassens Weiss, Backup Elder Care Is Latest Benefit Offered by Big Law Firms, ABA J. Law News Now, July 23, 2008: The Daily...

Facebook "Trusts and Estates Attorneys" group formed

Posted on July 25, 2008
Jill L. Miller (Jill Miller & Associates, P.C., New York, NY) has recently created a Facebook group entitled Trusts and Estates Attorneys. According to the description: This is a group for trusts and estates attorneys to share ideas and recent...

Andre Norton -- What did she really want?

Posted on July 24, 2008
Andre Norton was a writer of hundreds of science fiction novels over her 70 year career. She died on March 15, 2005. A dispute is now being waged over her will and how it disposes of the rights to her...

Life insurance killers get life sentence without parole

Posted on July 24, 2008
On July 15, 2008, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David S. Wesley sentenced Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt (both in their 70's) to life in prison without the possibility of parole because they sacrificed men on the "altars of greed."...

Attorney sanctioned for lying to probate and tax courts

Posted on July 24, 2008
A probate attorney's deciteful conduct was revealed and he will pay the price. Here are some excerpts from Estate of Mary Allison, T.C. Memo 2008-149, June 10, 2008: Mary Allison died in 1995. Her son, Daniel Allison, is an attorney...

Estate of Cory Lidle sued for building damages

Posted on July 24, 2008
On October 11, 2006, New York Yankee's pitcher Cory Lidle crashed his airplane into the 50-story Belaire Apartments in Manhattan. Cory died as did his co-pilot. Janice Carrington, the owner of one of the apartments, has filed suit against Cory's...

Who is that in Grandma's dress?

Posted on July 23, 2008
What if you were at your grandmother's funeral and noticed she had all ten fingers, instead of the nine that she really had? Would you think that the morticians went the "extra mile" in restoration or would you look closer...

California Enacts Modernized Pet Trust Statute

Posted on July 23, 2008
On July 22, 2008, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved S.B. 685 which replaces California's permissive pet trust statute with a modern statute with enforceable provisions. Here are some of the highlights of this new statute: A trust for the care...

Suicide in Japan

Posted on July 23, 2008
Japanese citizens are committing suicide at an alarming rate. Here are some details from Paul Wiseman, Suicide epidemic grips Japan, USA Today, July 20, 2008: Approximately 34,000 Japanese citizens committed suicide in 2007. The Japanese suicide rate is the ninth...

Mexico -- Assisted suicide and availability of suicide drugs

Posted on July 23, 2008
Assisted suicide (legal in the United States only in Oregon) is an increasing debated issue in Mexico. For example, in April 2008, the Mexican Senate voted to allow doctors to withdraw life-sustaining medicines in certain cases. However, no authorization was...

More on FDIC insurance rules

Posted on July 22, 2008
As discussed earlier on this blog, it is important to know how FDIC insurance covers your savings, be it in retirement accounts, joint accounts, POD accounts, trust accounts, etc. After the failure of IndyMac, it is especially important to be...

Tax Court's FLLP Mirowski case analyzed

Posted on July 22, 2008
Prof. Wendy Gerzog (Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law) has recently posted on SSRN her article entitled Tax Court FLP Confusion: Mirowski. Here is the abstract of her article: The article critiques the Tax Court's latest family....

Probate records "too" public in Alabama?

Posted on July 22, 2008
Probate records are a tremendous source of information for people who seek to do wicked things like identity theft. In the past, these evil people had to make a trip to the clerk's office to view the records which acted...

Rosa Parks Update

Posted on July 22, 2008
Earlier on this blog (here, here, and here), I have discussed various aspects of the estate of Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who refused give up her seat on the bus in 1955. The latest developments were reported in...

Another Texas lawyer suspended for conduct which included probate neglect

Posted on July 21, 2008
According to Disciplinary Actions, 71 Tex. B.J. 590, at 594-95 (2008), Ronald D. Cross received a five-year partially probated suspension from the practice of law with the first two years to be actively served for a variety of acts of...

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