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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

Organ Trade Scandal in India

Posted on February 11, 2008
According to CNN.com, Amit Kumar has recently been accused of ?buying, coercing and outright stealing kidneys from poor Indians.? One of his alleged victims said that Kumar lured him into the house and drugged him. The next thing the victim...

James Brown Update

Posted on February 10, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I discussed the controversy surrounding James Brown?s estate. Here are more recent developments from Lynnley Browning, Suit Tangles Issue of James Brown?s Estate, NYTimes.com, Feb. 8, 2008: Mr. Brown?s estate was already the subject of a...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on February 10, 2008
Here are the top downloads from December 12, 2007 to February 10, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days: Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 83 Conservation Easements:...

Tax Reforms and Their Applicability

Posted on February 09, 2008
The following excerpts are from Robert L. Moshman, The Zero Percent Capital Gains Tax Rate, Est. Analyst (Feb. 2008): These days, tax reforms are like time-release pills; the relief comes years after the legislation. The zero percent tax bracket of...

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Michigan in Need of New Legislation for the Legally Incapacitated

Posted on February 09, 2008
Nicole E. Bergeron (J.D. 2006, Thomas M. Cooley Law School), has recently published her article entitled Resuscitating Elderly Wards in Michigan: Should a Legal Guardian Be Allowed To Execute a ?Do-Not-Resuscitate? Order on a Legally Incapacitated Individual's Behalf?, 9 T...

Negative Inheritance and Ways to Avoid It

Posted on February 08, 2008
According to Marshall Eckblad, When Inheritance Is Negative, WSJ.com, Jan. 22, 2008: People who don't prepare to care for their sick and aging parents could fall victim to what economists call "negative inheritance." If the term seems foreign, the scenario...

Domestic and International Trusts Conference in New York

Posted on February 08, 2008
On May 22 and 23, 2008, Financial Events International is sponsoring a conference entitled Advanced Planning : Domestic and International Trusts in New York, New York. Here is an excerpt from the description of the program: U.S. Trusts practices continue...

"American Greed" Features Affordable Media Case

Posted on February 07, 2008
Many of you are probably familar with the case Federal Trade Commission v. Affordable Media, LLC.,179 F.3d 1228 (9th Cir. 1999), which is often used in casebooks to discuss self-settled asset protection trusts. See, e.g., Jesse Dukeminier, Stanley Johanson, James...

Conference on Trusts Taxation in Switzerland

Posted on February 07, 2008
On February 26, 2008, Financial Events International is sponsoring a conference entitled Trusts Taxation in Switzerland: Consequences of the Hague Convention and the new Swiss guidelines on trusts in Geneva, Switzerland. Here is a summary of the program: Via the...

Using Estate Planning to Pass on Family Values

Posted on February 07, 2008
The following is from Ian Driscoll, A wealth of experience to pass on, FT.com, Jan. 22, 2008: When Doug Regan?s clients imagine passing their wealth on to their heirs, they often experience two emotions: Fear and anxiety. ?Fear and anxiety...

Happy Lunar New Year!!

Posted on February 07, 2008
This year (2008), just like the years 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, and 1996, is the Year of the Rat. According to Chinese New Year 2008, TravelaChina.com: People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for...

The Body Part Market

Posted on February 06, 2008
In Black Markets: The Supply and Demand of Body Parts, Michele Goodwin (Everett Fraser Professor of Law, University of MInnesota Law School) examines the problems that arise because of a shortage of organs. Here is a description of her book:...

Adoption of the Nebraska Uniform Trust Code did Not Undermine Trust Asset Protection Against Creditors

Posted on February 06, 2008
William H. Lyons (Richard H. Larson Professor of Tax Law, University of Nebraska College of Law) and John M. Gradwohl (Judge Harry A. Spencer Professor of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law) have recently published their article entitled Discretionary...

New Tax Law Protects Widows and Widowers Selling Their Homes

Posted on February 06, 2008
The following is from Tom Herman Tax Break for Surviving Spouses Selling Homes, WSJ.com, Jan. 20, 2008: Some widows and widowers thinking of selling their home may benefit from a new law enacted last month. The new law effectively gives...

Oregon Same-Sex Partnership Law Takes Effect

Posted on February 05, 2008
Oregon citizens may now register as domestic partners because an attack on the law failed. The following excerpts are from Ruling Allows Legal Status for Partners of Same Sex, NY Times, Feb. 3, 2008: A state law allowing same-sex couples...

New York Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages From Other Jurisdictions

Posted on February 05, 2008
On February 1, 2008, a New York appeals court held in Martinez v. County of Monroe that same-sex marriages that are valid in the jursidiction where performed are entitled to recognition in New York. Here are some excerpts from this...

Knight v. Commissioner Analyzed

Posted on February 05, 2008
In his February 2008 issue of Estate Analyst, Robert L. Moshman, Esq. discusses the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Knight v. Commissioner. The following excerpts are from his article entitled A Knight?s Tale, Est. Analyst (Feb. 2008): The United...

Family Wealth Enhancement and Preservation Conference

Posted on February 05, 2008
On April 7 - 9, 2008, Financial Events International is sponsoring a conference entitled Family Wealth Enhancement & Preservation: The Western Way vs Islamic Shariah Compliant Way in Ras-Al-Khaimah Emirate, United Arab Emirates. Here is a summary of the program:...

Delaware Legislator Proposes a ?You?re In Unless You Opt Out? Organ Donation Statute

Posted on February 04, 2008
The following is from J.L. Miller and Hiran Ratnayake, Change in procedure aims to save lives ,delawareonline.com, Jan. 24, 2008: When 23-year-old Timothy Layfield died from a sudden onset of meningitis in 2002, he left behind a young daughter and...

Kentucky Dower Statute Analyzed

Posted on February 04, 2008
Elizabeth S. Muyskens (J.D. Candidate 2008, University of Kentucky College of Law) has recently published her Note entitled Married in Kentucky: a Surviving Spouse's Dower Right in Personalty, 96 Ky. L.J. 99 (2007-2008). Here is an excerpt from her Note:...

Organ Shortage Prompts Nephew to Become a Liver Donor for His Uncle

Posted on February 04, 2008
According to Where Are The Donors?, courant.com, Jan. 23. 2008: Mr. Gray, 29, donated half of his liver to his uncle Daniel Gray, 59, whose own liver was failing due to a large tumor.*** As The Courant's Hilary Waldman reported,...

Equal Inheritance Rights Could Positively Impact Health and Economy in Uganda

Posted on February 04, 2008
Rachel C. Loftspring (J.D. Candidate 2008, University of Pennsylvania Law School) has recently published her Comment entitled Inheritance Rights in Uganda: How Equal Inheritance Rights Would Reduce Poverty and Decrease the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Uganda, 29 U...

Access to Life-Saving Organs May Be Limited in Rural Areas

Posted on February 03, 2008
The following is from Rural Patients Less Likely To Receive Organ Transplants, sciencedaily.com, Jan. 9, 2008: Patients in small towns and isolated rural areas have lower organ transplant rates and are less likely to be wait-listed than patients in urban...

Perpetual Conservation Easements Subject to Charitable Trust Principles

Posted on February 03, 2008
Nancy Assaf McLaughlin (Professor of Law, University of Utah, S.J.Quinney College of Law) has recently posted on SSRN her article entitled Conservation Easements: Perpetuity and Beyond. Here is an abstract of her article: Perpetual conservation easements are intended to protect...

Happy Groundhog Day!!

Posted on February 02, 2008
Best wishes for a Happy Groundhog Day!! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning and directed President Bill Cooper to the scroll which proclaimed "As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on February 02, 2008
Here are the top downloads from December 4, 2007 to February 2, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days: Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 78 Conservation Easements:...

Trust Investment Law

Posted on February 01, 2008
Jeffrey A. Cooper (Associate Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University School of Law) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Empty Promises: Settlors' Intent, the Uniform Trust Code, and the Future of Trust Investment Law. Here is the abstract of...

GST and the Qualified Severance Rules for Trusts

Posted on February 01, 2008
Marc Chorney (Attorney at Law, Chorney & Millard LLP) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled GST Qualified Severance Regulations: Final and Proposed. Here is the abstract of his article: Prior to 2001, downstream divisions of trusts were prohibited...

A Discussion of the Estate Tax Controversy

Posted on February 01, 2008
Ann Mumford (Senior Lecturer in Tax, University of London , Queen Mary School of Law) has recently posted on SSRN her article entitled Inheritance in Socio-Political Context: The Case for Reviving the Sociological Discourse of Inheritance Tax Law. Here is...

James Bruce Coffman Dies -- Organ donees lose hero

Posted on January 31, 2008
It is with great sadness that I report that James Bruce Coffman (J.B.), died on January 19, 2008 in Houston, Texas. The following is from his obituary in the Houston Chronicle: He was a loving husband to his wife Pepi,...

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