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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

Parents: Consider a Trust as Part of Your Estate Plan

Posted on June 16, 2009
Parents should consider creating a trust that would take care of their children if something happens to the parents. Reasons for creating a trust include: Parents have substantial assets or money that children would inherit. Ability to delay the age....

Hollywood Nursing Home Slated to Close

Posted on June 16, 2009
It is rumored that the Motion Picture & Television Fund plans to close a hospital and nursing home that serves former Hollywood stars, citing annual losses of $10 million. The announcement caused a Hollywood backlash because the organization's motto -...

The Legal Responsibilities of Owning More Than One Home

Posted on June 16, 2009
A recent Financial Times article has this warning for those who own multiple homes in different states: The worst-case scenario occurs when you divide your time casually among your various homes. In a landmark, decades-old case still cited by attorneys,...

"Old Geezer" Is Not Politically Correct

Posted on June 16, 2009
The International Longevity Center in New York and the Aging Services of California have put together a stylebook for media professionals called Media Takes: On Aging. The guide informs the reader of correct and incorrect ways to refer to our...

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Madoff Affects Quest for Immortality

Posted on June 15, 2009
A married couple whose architectural designs seek to make humans immortal invested millions with Madoff, putting their work at risk. The couple designs homes with physical obstacles, such as uneven floors, oddly shaped rooms, and inconveniently placed windows, because they...

'Why You Need A Will'

Posted on June 15, 2009
Forbes has published an article on the disadvantages of intestacy, including a link to an intestacy calculator. The article points out that only a few states - California, Maine, New Jersey, Washington, and the District of Columbia - offer registries...

No statute of limitations on trustee removal

Posted on June 15, 2009
The probate court removed Trustee from office. Trustee appealed claiming that the removal action was barred by the four-year statute of limitations governing breach of fiduciary duty claims because the underlying reason for the removal was for an alleged breach...

Estate Planning for a Military Equipment Collector

Posted on June 15, 2009
Imagine estate planning and estate administration for a client who owns 65 military tanks, runs a private museum, and has a mile-long model railway. This is just part of the estate left behind by Jacques Littlefield, which is now managed...

Heir of Nazi Victim Settles Painting Dispute

Posted on June 14, 2009
The Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum reached a settlement over two Picasso paintings claimed by a great-nephew of a German Jewish broker who allegedly sold the paintings under duress. The agreement allows the museums to...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on June 14, 2009
Here are the top downloads from April 15, 2009 to June 14, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 253 How the...

Happy Flag Day

Posted on June 14, 2009
Happy Flag Day!

Future of Inheritance Tax in UK Unfavorable to Heirs

Posted on June 13, 2009
A promise made by the Tories, the flagship conservative party in the UK, that would triple the inheritance tax threshold may be postponed for sunnier financial times. A business secretary for the party said the change is now an aspiration,...

Nursing Home Improperly Uses Drugs and Causes Deaths

Posted on June 13, 2009
A complaint alleges that psychotropic drugs were administered to numerous uncooperative patients at a nursing home in Kern County, California, resulting in three deaths and other severe side affects. Three people were arrested and charged with elder abuse, including the...

Class gift, or not?

Posted on June 13, 2009
In the case of In re Estate of Womack, 280 S.W.3d 317 (Tex. App.?Amarillo 2008, pet. denied), Testator?s holographic will provided for his entire estate to be divided among his nieces and nephews, his predeceased wife?s nieces and nephews, and...

Conservation Easements Analyzed

Posted on June 12, 2009
Nancy A. McLaughlin (Robert W. Swenson Professor of Law, Univ. of Utah College of Law) and W. William Weeks (Adjunct Professor of Law and Director, Conservation Law Clinic, Indiana Univ. Bloomington School of Law) have posted on SSRN their article...

Private Split Dollar Life Insurance

Posted on June 12, 2009
Katarinna McBride (partner, Beermann Swerdlove, LLP, Chicago, Illinois) has recently published her article entitled Passing the Buck: Private Split-Dollar for Every Vocabulary, 97 Ill. B.J. 262 (2009). Here is an excerpt from her article: Estate planners have designed several methods...

Golden Coffins Under Attack

Posted on June 12, 2009
The recent financial downturn has left a sour taste in the mouths of many when it comes to the salaries of big company CEO's, including "golden coffins" - generous posthumous payouts to senior management. According to Joann S. Lublin, Activists...

Conflict of interest not enough to justify removal of executor

Posted on June 12, 2009
Beneficiaries? Mother (the testator?s ex-wife) moved to have Independent Executor removed from office because he shared ownership of certain estate property with his deceased brother and allegedly had a conflict of interest with the beneficiaries. Mother argued that he could...

"Five Wishes" -- Sounds good but legally dangerous

Posted on June 11, 2009
In Be Careful What You Wish for: Analyzing the "Five Wishes" Advance Directive, 97 Ill. B. J. 242 (2009), Ray J. Koenig III (partner, Peck, Bloom & Koenig, LLC, Chicago, Illinois) and MacKenzie Hyde (law clerk, Peck, Bloom & Koenig,...

English Proficiency not Required to Be an Administrator in New York

Posted on June 11, 2009
On June 1, 2009, A New York Surrogate Court held that the court may appoint a person as administrator of an estate when the person is unable to read, speak, and understand English. The court relied on the fact that...

Insurance Companies Increasingly Offer End-of-Life Benefits

Posted on June 11, 2009
More and more group life insurance companies are offering bereavement counseling, estate resolution services, and professional help for funeral planning in addition to the traditional lump-sum payment. These add-on services cost little to nothing for employers offering group life insurance...

Preventing abuse of powers of attorney

Posted on June 11, 2009
Prof. Lawrence A. Frolik (University of Pittsburgh School of Law) has recently published his article entitled Keep Powers of Attorney in Check, Trial, April 2009, at 42. Here is an excerpt from his article: Durable powers of attorney were designed...

Hearst Update

Posted on June 10, 2009
Last week a superior court judge ruled that the hearings and trial documents in the conservatorship trial of Phoebe Hearst will be open to the public. Information regarding bank accounts, her residence, and her psychiatric state will not be made...

The unseemly side of long-term care insurance

Posted on June 10, 2009
Alicia Garcia and Mike Abourezk, both from Rapid City, South Dakota, have recently published their article entitled The Untold Story of Long-Term Insurance, Trial, April 2009, at 20. Here is an except from their article: A nursing home resident who...

Conservator Appointed for Peter Falk

Posted on June 10, 2009
I recently wrote about the battle for conservatorship of Peter Falk, the former Columbo star. The court has since appointed Falk's wife as conservator, with his daughter receiving a 30 minute visitation every other month. The actor quickly slipped into...

California's Care Custodian Statute

Posted on June 10, 2009
David Horton (Lecturer in Residence, Berkeley Law) has recently published an article entitled The Uneasy Case for California's "Care Custodian" Statute, 12 Chap. L. Rev. 47 (2008). Here are some excerpts from the introduction: Probate Code section 21350 presumptively voids...

Establishing a Tax-Friendly Domicile

Posted on June 09, 2009
A recent NY Times article discusses abandoning an old domicile and establishing a new one. The author writes: Lawyers often advise their clients not to migrate or stay put solely for tax reasons, but all other things being equal, you...

Twenty-Three-Year-Old Inherits Millions

Posted on June 09, 2009
When Paul Raymond, a porn and property millionaire from London, died a year ago, he left his entire personal estate worth �75 million to his 23 year-old grand-daughter and her teenage sister. For more information about the older heiress, dubbed...

Housekeeper Testifies in Trial of Astor's Son

Posted on June 09, 2009
Mrs. Astor's housekeeper of 40 years recently testified about paintings taken by Anthony Marshall while Astor was still living. The housekeeper testified that she witnessed Marshall remove a painting and witnessed Astor and Marshall discussing another painting...

Enhanced FDIC insurance extended to January 1, 2014

Posted on June 09, 2009
The following information is posted on the FDIC's website: Deposits at FDIC-insured institutions are now insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2013. On January 1, 2014, the standard insurance amount will return to $100,000 per...

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