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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

Steps to Prepare for Alzheimer's

Posted on November 08, 2010
For adult children, taking on the role of financial caretaker for a parent is often the first step of the role reversal. Losing autonomy is devastating for the parent with encroaching dementia, so these matters need to be handled delicately...

Tax Law Update

Posted on November 08, 2010
David A. Handler (attorney, Chicago, IL) recently published his Tax Law Update, Trusts & Estates (Oct. 2010). The updates he discusses include: Private Letter Ruling 201029014 (July 23, 2010). The IRS explained that the trustee?s participation determines whether trust activity...

Transfer to Special Needs Trust Allowed for Over-65 Medicaid Applicant

Posted on November 08, 2010
The Tennessee Department of Human Services found that 92-year-old Ruby Beach made some improper transfers during the look-back period, and assessed a 14.7 month ineligibility period for Medicaid benefits. One of these transfers was a $5,000 transfer into a pooled...

Lame-Duck Congress Faces the Estate Tax Issue Soon

Posted on November 08, 2010
After their Tuesday election victory, Republican House leaders promised a move toward less economic uncertainty and more fiscal discipline. With the lame-duck Congress facing the issue of the estate tax soon, they have the chance to work toward both these...

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Tips for Selecting Trustees

Posted on November 07, 2010
Ben Mattlin (financial author) recently published his article entitled How to Select Trustees, Financial Advisor (October 2010). The introduction is below: In recent years, trusts have become a popular financial planning tool. Whether they are for wealth transfers, estate planning,...

Top SSRN Downloads

Posted on November 07, 2010
Here are the top downloads from September 7, 2010 to November 6, 2010 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 198 Wills and...

Prospective Overruling in Trusts and Estates Cases

Posted on November 06, 2010
Gil J. Ghatan recently published a note entitled The Incentive Problem with Prospective Overruling: A Critique of the Practice, 45 Real Prop. Tr. & Est. L.J. 179 (2010). The abstract available on SSRN is below: This article critiques the practice...

Canadian Couple Gives Away Lottery Winnings

Posted on November 06, 2010
Allen and Violet Large, a retired Canadian couple, won over $11 million in the lottery in July. After receiving phone calls from people asking for money and realizing that crooked people would try to take advantage of them, the couple...

CLE on Will Alternatives

Posted on November 05, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference on November 23 entitled Asset Titling and Other Will Alternatives. The program description is below: A plethora of factors determine choice of estate planning tools for each client...

Charitable Trust Enforcement Rights

Posted on November 05, 2010
Joshua C. Tate (Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law) recently published his article entitled Should Charitable Trust Enforcement Rights be Assignable?, 85 Chi.-Kent. L. Rev. 1045 (2010). A summary is below: In recent years, scholars have given...

Getting Clients to Face Mortality is Difficult

Posted on November 05, 2010
Although it can be difficult for estate planning attorneys to create complex plans, sometimes the biggest challenge is helping clients get moving in the first place. Donald Weigandt, a wealth advisor in California, said that people don?t look forward to...

Killer Forfeits $9 Million Inheritance to Victim's Family

Posted on November 05, 2010
Robert Reldan, now 70 years old, was convicted of murdering two women in the 1970s. While serving his life sentence at Trenton?s New Jersey State Prison, he inherited a $9,000,000 trust fund from his aunt?the same aunt he conspired to...

Attorney Suspended for Failing to File Medicaid Application

Posted on November 04, 2010
Maria Cangialosi hired attorney Michael Napolitano to file her Medicaid application. Napolitano repeatedly told Maria that he had filed her application and was awaiting a response from the state. After finding out that Napolitano had never filed the application at...

Problems with Donor Intent

Posted on November 04, 2010
Susan N. Gary (Orlando J. and Marian H. Hollis Professor of Law, University of Oregon School of Law) recently published her article entitled The Problems with Donor Intent: Interpretation, Enforcement, and Doing the Right Thing, 85 Chi.-Kent. L. Rev. 977...

Convincing Clients to Convert to a Roth in 2010

Posted on November 04, 2010
Although most wealthy clients understand the benefit of converting their IRAs into a Roth IRA, they hesitate to do so because of the income tax consequences. Some ideas that can help you convince your clients to convert this year are...

CLE on Special Needs Trusts

Posted on November 04, 2010
The National Business Institute is sponsoring a 90-minute national teleconference entitled Basics for Establishing Special Needs Trusts on November 15. The program description is below: Delve into a focused instruction on the requirements and mechanics of financial planning with special...

CLE on Estate Planning for Pet Owners

Posted on November 03, 2010
The ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law is sponsoring a 90-minute teleconference and live audio webcast entitled Ethical Issues in Estate Planning for Pet Owners on November 9. The program information is below: The program will focus...

Charitable Deductions

Posted on November 03, 2010
Ray D. Madoff (Professor of Law, Boston College Law School) recently published her article entitled What Leona Helmsley Can Teach Us About the Charitable Deduction, 85 Chi.-Kent. L. Rev. 957 (2010). The author's summary is below: Leona Helmsley named a...

Fall AALS Trusts & Estates Newsletter -- Call for Updates

Posted on November 03, 2010
The following message is posted on the request of Prof. William P. LaPiana, New York Law School: It?s time once again to ask you to send news items to be included in the section newsletter, the fall edition of which...

Confusion Over Money is a Warning Sign of Alzheimer's

Posted on November 03, 2010
Arthur Packel was an attorney, and his wife cared for their home and family. One day, the homeowner?s association called requesting their fees. After looking into it, Mrs. Packel discovered that Arthur had stopped paying the homeowner?s association and their...

Delaware's Wilmington Trust Company Agrees to Sell Itself for $351 Million

Posted on November 03, 2010
Wilmington Trust, the 107-year-old bank that financed companies during the Great Depression, agreed to sell itself to New York-based M&T Bank. Although Wilmington was the leading bank in Delaware, it too was hit by hard times. Due to souring loans,...

Series Premiere of The Will: Family Secrets Revealed Tonight

Posted on November 03, 2010
The series premiere of The Will: Family Secrets Revealed on Investigation Discovery is TONIGHT at 9:00 p.m. (ET). The program description is below: Investigation Discovery invites viewers on an emotional journey of family members dealing with the aftermath of a...

Inheritance Rights of Posthumously Conceived Children

Posted on November 02, 2010
Morgan Kirkland Wood (2011 J.D. Candidate, University of Georgia Law) recently published a note entitled It Takes a Village: Considering the Other Interests at Stake When Extending Inheritance Rights to Posthumously Conceived Children, 44 Ga. L. Rev. 87 (2010)...

What Trust Companies are Charging

Posted on November 02, 2010
The Trust Advisor Blog conducted its trust industry survey for the third quarter of 2010. It found that providers charge about similar prices for similar services. It also asked Rafi Mohammed, author of The Art of Pricing, for his insight...

Annuity Purchased After Eligibility Determination is Available Resource

Posted on November 02, 2010
After Glenda Morris applied for Medicaid, Oklahoma told her that she needed to spend down her share of assets to $2,000. She purchased burial plots and her husband spent $41,000 on an irrevocable annuity. The state denied Glenda benefits, and...

O'Quinn Estate is Harder to Manage than Executor Expected

Posted on November 02, 2010
T. Gerald Treece, a professor at South Texas College of Law, has spoken out about the challenges he has faced while serving as executor of John O?Quinn?s estate. In the year since O?Quinn?s death, Treece has invested many hours in...

Ways to Avoid the GST Tax

Posted on November 01, 2010
In addition to the estate tax returning on January 1, the GST tax will return as well. The GST tax applies to gifts to relatives two or more generations below the donor or to nonrelatives 37 � years younger than...

Implications of Violating Income-Reporting Duties

Posted on November 01, 2010
Jay A. Soled (Professor, Rutgers Business School) recently published his article entitled Implications of Discovering Unreported Income, Improper Deductions, and Hidden Assets Upon a Taxpayer?s Death, 44 Ga. L. Rev. 697 (2010). The introduction is below: If, as this Article...

Keeping In-Laws Out of the Family Estate

Posted on November 01, 2010
When a child falls in love and plans to get married, the child?s parents may not share the love?or want to share their wealth. A prenuptial agreement is one way to keep an in-law out of the family estate, but...

Return of the Estate Tax Has Some Planning Death

Posted on November 01, 2010
U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R) says that some of her Wyoming constituents plan to discontinue life-extending medical treatment because they are fretting about the reinstatement of federal estate taxes. Although Lummis declined to name any of these constituents, she did...

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