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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

Carrying Out Settlor's Intent in Irrevocable Trusts

Posted on January 22, 2008
Charles D. Fox IV (Attorney at Law, McGuireWoods LLP) has recently published his article entitled How ?Revocable? Is ?Irrevocable?? Obtaining Flexibility in Irrevocable Trusts, 33 Ohio N.U. L. Rev. 943 (2007). Here is an introduction to his article: This paper...

Is Precatory Language in Trusts Enforceable?

Posted on January 22, 2008
Frank L Schiavo (Associate Professor of Law, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law) has published his article entitled Does the Use of ?Request,? ?Wish,? or ?Desire? Create a Precatory Trust or Not?, 40 Real Prop. Prob. & Tr....

Fall Issue of Wake Forest's E-Clinic News

Posted on January 22, 2008
The Wake Forest University School of Law's Elder Law Clinic provides free legal assistance to moderate income seniors, and serves as a resource center for lawyers and other professionals. In a partnership with the School of Medicine, the E-Clinic offers...

Tom Poston Buried With Tip for St. Peter

Posted on January 22, 2008
On Saturday (January 19, 2008), actress Suzanne Pleshette died at age 70. Her husband, Tom Poston, had died in April of 2007. Reports of Suzanne's death have included a discussion of how she buried Tom with a $20 bill so...

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Permanency Plans Protection Children (Illinois Emphasis)

Posted on January 21, 2008
Sarah Unsicker (Attorney at Law, Illinois) has recently published her article entitled Permanency Planning: Protecting Children from the Loss of Their Parents, 95 Ill. B.J. 656 (2007). Here is an excerpt from the introduction to her article: Parents want the...

The Family Wealth Management Conference in Geneva

Posted on January 21, 2008
The Family Wealth Management Conference, ?an exclusive forum for leading professional intermediaries to meet and discuss some of the key consideration when advising high-net-worth private clients,? will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on January 30-31, 2008...

Living Trust Scams and Ways to Avoid Them

Posted on January 21, 2008
According to Living Trust Scams and the Senior Consumer, texasbar.com (adapted from the brochure prepared by the Texas Young Lawyers Association and published by the State Bar of Texas): Living trust sales are a growing area of consumer fraud. Con...

Martin Luther King, Jr. Died Intestate

Posted on January 21, 2008
Today we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the main leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King devoted all of his income and talent to the movement. He died intestate, leaving less than $30,000...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on January 20, 2008
Here are the top downloads from November 21, 2007 to January 20, 2008 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days: Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 87 Dealing with...

Same-sex couples married in another state cannot divorce in Rhode Island

Posted on January 20, 2008
In Chambers v. Ormiston, 935 A.2d 956 (R.I. 2007), the Rhode Island Supreme Court considered whether a Family Court could ?properly recognize, for the purpose of entertaining a divorce petition, the marriage of two persons of the same sex who...

Treasury Department Going Plastic

Posted on January 19, 2008
The following is from Eleanor Laise, Treasury Plans Social Security Debit Card, WSJ.com, Jan. 4, 2008: The Treasury Department plans to introduce a prepaid debit card for Social Security recipients in an effort to provide safer and cheaper benefits payments...

Probation Violator May Keep Lottery Winnings

Posted on January 19, 2008
Timothy Elliott, a convicted bank robber, was granted probation. One of the conditions of his probation was to refrain from gambling and purchasing lottery tickets. Timothy ignored the prohibition and played the Massachusetts lottery. He was lucky -- he won...

You better trust your life insurance beneficiary!!

Posted on January 19, 2008
As today's (January 19, 2008) B.C. comic reminds us, "Never go rock climbing with your life insurance beneficiary."

Anna Nicole's Will Analyzed

Posted on January 18, 2008
In Anna Nicole Smith?s Will: A Tragedy in Many Acts, 95 Ill. B.J. 270 (2007), Katarinna McBride discusses Anna Nicole?s will in which she disinherited her daughter by expressly omitting all future born children from her will: Under California?s pretermitted...

Holding property as joint tenants with right of survivorship ? Another possible advantage

Posted on January 18, 2008
William P. LaPiana, (Rita and Joseph Solomon Professor of Wills, Trusts, and Estates, New York Law School) and Marc S. Bekerman (Associate Director of New York Law School Graduate Tax Program) have recently published their article entitled Obtaining a Full...

Supreme Court Holds Trust Investment Advisory Fees Subject to the 2% Floor

Posted on January 18, 2008
In its January 16, 2008 decision Knight v. Commissioner, No. 06?1286 (U.S. Jan. 16, 2008), the United States Supreme Court sided with the IRS on the issue of deductibility of investment advice fees paid by a trust. Normally investment advisory...

Useful Tax Resources for Self-Preparers

Posted on January 18, 2008
In her article 50 Tools and Resources for Freelancers During Tax Season, businesscreditcards.com, Jan. 17, 2008, Jessica Hupp lists 50 tools to assist individuals who prepare their own income tax returns. Here are some of the articles she recommends: Tax...

Steve Fossett Update

Posted on January 17, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I discussed Steve Fossett?s disappearance and his wife?s petition to declare him legally dead. The following update is from Michael Higgins, Judge says testimony is needed to find Steve Fossett legally dead, Chicago Tribune, Jan...

NYLS Faculty Win Excellence in T&E Writing Award

Posted on January 17, 2008
The following is courtesy of Prof. Paul Caron, editor of the Tax Prof Blog: Marc S. Bekerman, Associate Director of the Graduate Tax Program at New York Law School, and John J. Reddy Jr., President of the New York Law...

Dynasty Trusts -- No longer for the super rich?

Posted on January 17, 2008
According to Hillary Chura, Bequeathing, With Strings Attached, NYTimes.com, Jan. 5, 2008: Once only for the superrich, dynasty trusts now provide a way for the rest of us to leave money to loved ones, preserve wealth for future generations and...

Washington court to decide whether a son who killed his mother can inherit her estate

Posted on January 17, 2008
The following is from Natalie Singer, Son seeks estate of mother he killed, seattletimes.nwsource.com, Jan. 3, 2008: From inside Western State [Hospital], where he's spent most of his time since stabbing his mother and brother to death with a butcher...

Comment Reminder and Request

Posted on January 16, 2008
Do you notice that when you post a Comment, it does not appear? Do you post it again and again? Then, after a while, do you notice that it suddenly appears? This is not aberrant behavior. Instead, it is by...

Holiday Gift Gone Awry

Posted on January 16, 2008
A woman in Phoenix, Arizona received a ceramic vase as a Christmas gift (pictured on the left) that was meant to hold the cremains of a stranger. See Creepy Christmas gift, CNN Video, Dec. 27, 2007, to see the report...

British Prime Minister Advocates Presumed Consent for Organ Donation

Posted on January 16, 2008
The following excerpts are from UK PM backs organ donation plan, CNN.com, Jan. 13, 2008: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he supports plans to allow hospitals to take dead patients' organs without their prior consent. * * *...

Illinois Small Trust Termination Legislation

Posted on January 16, 2008
The following is from Helen W. Gunnarsson, Small-trust-termination amendment gets mixed reviews, 95 Ill. B.J. 624 (2007). With the governor?s signature on SB 531, the trustee of a trust having a market value of less than $100,000 may, under certain...

South Dakota Supreme Court Orders Equitable Division of Wife?s Inheritance upon Divorce

Posted on January 16, 2008
In Halbersma v. Halbersma, No. 24290 (S.D. Aug. 22, 2007), wife received an inheritance from her parents during her marriage and kept it in a separate account. Husband worked on the farm and provided for the family. After 50 years...

Post-Death Implantation Child Not Considered an Heir in Arkansas

Posted on January 15, 2008
The following is from John Lyon, Court: Embryo implanted in mother's womb after father's death not an heir, Arkansas News Bureau, Jan. 11, 2008: A child conceived through in vitro fertilization but implanted in his mother's womb after his father's...

Registry for Reproductive Material Donors -- The British Approach

Posted on January 15, 2008
Earlier on this blog, I reported on the proposal to develop a registry in the United States of reproductive material donors. This issue has already been addressed in England where in March 2005, a law took effect which provides that...

Taxation of Virtual Winnings or "Are your WoW earnings income"?

Posted on January 15, 2008
Bryan T. Camp (Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law) has recently published his article entitled The Play?s the Thing: A Theory of Taxing Virtual Worlds, 59 Hastings L.J. 1-71 (2007). Here is the abstract of his article...

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys announces the Third Annual NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition

Posted on January 15, 2008
Here is some information taken from the Competition's announcement: The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys is pleased to present the Third Annual NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition offering a $1,500 cash prize for the best article submitted...

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