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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

Charitable Lead Trusts -- Taking advantage of the bear market

Posted on February 11, 2009
Our current bad economy can be leveraged to save a significant amount of estate taxes by prudent use of charitable lead trusts. This technique is described in Mike Spector, Giving Smarter While Helping Your Estate, Wall St. J., Feb. 10,...

Dying is insufficient "notice to vacate"

Posted on February 10, 2009
Death may not end one's legal responsibilities. The following situation is described in Frank C. Giradot, Rent demanded from family of Covina massacre victims, DailyBulletin.com, Feb. 4, 2009: Alice Ortiz was murdered on December 24, 2008. Alice was renting an...

Undue influence -- how is it handled in other countries?

Posted on February 10, 2009
Ronald Scalise (McGlinchey Stafford Professor of Law, Louisana State University) has recently published his article entitled Undue Influence and the Law of Wills: A Comparative Analysis, 19 Duke J. Comp. & Int'l L. 41 (2008). Here is an excerpt from....

Should the GSTT grandfather exemption be eliminated?

Posted on February 10, 2009
Should the grandfather exemption for the generation-skipping transfer tax be eliminated? (Wealth transfers that skip generations are exempt from GST tax if made from trusts that on September 25, 1985 were both (1) in existence and (2) irrevocable.) Edward A...

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Misfiled disclaimer deemed ineffective

Posted on February 10, 2009
In the case of In re Estate of Boren, 268 S.W.3d 841 (Tex. App. ? Texarkana 2008, pet. denied), Beneficiaries signed disclaimers of all property to which they would be entitled from Testatrix?s estate prior to her death. On the...

"Honestly Dearest, You're Dead"

Posted on February 09, 2009
Novelist Jack Fredrickson has recently released his newest book entitled Honestly Dearest, You're Dead. Here is a summary of the plot from Publishers Weekly:When an attorney informs PI Vlodek Dek Elstrom that he's been named executor of the estate of...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on February 09, 2009
Here are the top downloads from December 11, 2008 to February 9, 2009 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 198 Estate Tax...

Unsuitability of Named Executor

Posted on February 09, 2009
In the case of In re Estate of Boren, 268 S.W.3d 841 (Tex. App. ? Texarkana 2008, pet. denied), the trial court determined that the named independent executor was unsuitable under Probate Code � 78(e). The appellate court reviewed the...

Should survivors take on personal liability for a decedent's debts?

Posted on February 09, 2009
Financially, death is like the final bankruptcy. The decedent's creditors submit their claims and the personal representative pays them to the extent possible with the decedent's assets. But, if the estate is insolvent, creditors go unpaid. An argument is now...

Day 92 -- Write Your Own Will

Posted on February 08, 2009
One of my students, Charlie Malolo (J.D. Candidate, Texas Tech University School of Law) recently sent me a form will which provides a simple, albeit unusual, dispositive scheme for your property. [If you click on the thumbnail to the left,...

Face Transplant Update -- All is going well

Posted on February 08, 2009
Earlier on this blog, I reported on the first face transplant performed in the United States. Although one person suggested that the patient be given the option of assisted-suicide, it appears that the patient is happy and doing well. The...

Computation of Family Allowance

Posted on February 07, 2009
In Estate of Wolfe, 268 S.W.3d 780 (Tex. App.?Fort Worth 2008, no pet. h.), Surviving Spouse requested a family allowance of $132,444. Executor and Beneficiary objected claiming that she had sufficient separate property and thus was not entitled to a...

Digital Wills

Posted on February 07, 2009
Joseph Karl Grant (Associate Professor of Law, Capital University Law School) has recently published his article entitled Shattering and Moving Beyond the Gutenberg Paradigm: the Dawn of the Electronic Will, 42 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 105 (2008). Here is an...

First Annual Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal Seminar

Posted on February 06, 2009
The Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal at the Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock, Texas is hosting the First Annual Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal Seminar on Friday, February 20, 2009, in the Bill...

Frozen man actually wealthy and made large chartiable gift

Posted on February 06, 2009
Perhaps you read about the tragic story of Marvin E. Schur, the 93-year old gentleman who froze to death inside his home because the power company limited his use of electricity after Marvin ran up an unpaid bill of over...

Same-sex marriage -- a comprehensive analysis

Posted on February 06, 2009
Meghan McCalla (Article Editor, Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal) has recently published her comment entitled The "Socially Endorsed, Legally Framed, Normative Template": What Has In re Marriage Cases Really Done for Same-Sex Marriage?, 1 Est...

Off Topic -- The Rise of the Machines: Should it be criminal to abuse a machine?

Posted on February 06, 2009
I think it is safe to say that everyone agrees that abuse of humans and animals is criminal conduct. But, what about the abuse of a machine? As machines, such as the toy Tickle Me Elmo, take on human characteristics,...

Tylenol Case Reopened

Posted on February 05, 2009
Many law professors use the tragic case of Janus v. Tarasewicz, 482 N.E.2d 418 (Ill. App. Ct. 1985) to teach the concept of survival, especially because it is included in many leading casebooks such as Jesse Dukeminier, Stanley M. Johanson,...

The trustee's duty to disclose under Texas law

Posted on February 05, 2009
Frank Messina (Comment Editor, Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal, Texas Tech University School of Law) has recently published his comment entitled To Affirmatively Disclose Or To Passively Disclose, That Is the Texas Trustee?s Question: What Duty Of Disclosure...

Prof. James' Alzheimer's book lauded

Posted on February 05, 2009
Vaughn E. James (Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law) recently published book entitled The Alzheimer's Advisor -- A Caregiver's Guide to Dealing with the Tough Legal and Practical Issues has been chosen among the best two dozen...

Is Texas "bad parent" disinheritance statute unconstitutional?

Posted on February 05, 2009
Elizabeth Henderson (Article Editor, Texas Tech Law Review) has recently published her paper entitled Two Constitutional Wrongs Don't Make Forfeiture Right: Does � 41(e) of the Texas Probate Code Violate the Texas Constitution?, Addendum, Texas Tech Law Review...

Siblings of same-sex partner not entitled to notice of probate of will

Posted on February 04, 2009
In a recent case, Surrogate Judge Kristin Booth Glen ruled that a same-sex spouse was the surviving souse and sole beneficiary of his deceased spouse's estate. See Matter of the Estate of H. Kenneth Ranftle, 4585-2008 (Manhattan, NY). Here is...

Estate Planning Basics

Posted on February 04, 2009
A recent New York Times articles does a nice job of explaining the significance of estate planning and urging readers to take appropriate steps. See Paul Sullivan, Estate Planning: What You Need to Know, NY Times, Jan. 26, 2009:Estate planning...

Could a 10 year old make a valid will?

Posted on February 04, 2009
A remarkable story recently made headlines -- a 10 year old girl was granted a divorce in Yemen after enduring a marriage filled with physical and sexual abuse. See Vivienne Walt, A 10-Year-Old Divorc�e Takes Paris, Time.com, Feb. 3, 2009....

The Vagina-Kidney Interface

Posted on February 04, 2009
In what is being called as a "first-ever procedure," a living kidney donor had one of her kidneys removed through her vagina. Here are some details from Surgeons remove healthy kidney through donor's vagina, CNN.com, Feb. 3, 2009:Although the procedure...

Famous Last Words

Posted on February 03, 2009
So, by what last words do you want to be remembered? Is it something like, "The brakes aren't working! * * *" or "I have been... and always shall be... your friend. Live long... and prosper." In Famous Last Words...

50th Anniversary of "The Day the Music Died"

Posted on February 03, 2009
Writing this blog from Lubbock, Texas, today is especially signficant as the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly (a Lubbock native), Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.), and the plane's pilot. In a...

Scam targets law professors

Posted on February 03, 2009
Scams are all too common and try to take advantage of the unsophisticated. The latest scam message I received is targeted at law professors and attempts to take advantage of both their egos and desire for fortune. Here is the...

Off Topic -- Judge shows fondness for Fab 4

Posted on February 03, 2009
Judge Gregory Todd of the 13th Judical District Court of Montana demonstrated his love of the Beatles in an opinion involving a burglary. Here is the opinion in State v. McCormack, No. DC 06-0323 (Feb. 26, 2007): Mr. McCormack, you...

Should publicity rights be transferable by will?

Posted on February 02, 2009
Joshua C. Tate (Assistant Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law) has recently posted on SSRN his article entitled Immortal Fame: Publicity Rights, Taxation, and the Power of Testation. Here is the abstract of his article: Publicity rights, or...

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