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Full-Text Articles in Law

A Comment On Unification, Grayson M.P. Mccouch Aug 2015

A Comment On Unification, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

Grayson McCouch

This Article discusses recent proposals aimed at unifying the law of wills and nonprobate transfers. The author notes that default rules of construction present the strongest case for unification, but contends that distinctions between wills and nonprobate transfers remain important in the areas of formalities and restrictions affecting third-party rights. The author concludes that the policy goal should be to allow wills and nonprobate transfers to operate smoothly as complementary methods of deathtime wealth transmission.


Estate Tax Repeal: Through The Looking Glass, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch Aug 2015

Estate Tax Repeal: Through The Looking Glass, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

Grayson McCouch

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 promises dramatic reductions in income and estate taxes over a nine-year phase-in period, culminating in 2010 with complete repeal of the estate tax and introduction of a new carryover basis regime for inherited property. The Act's sunset provision automatically terminates these substantive changes at the end of 2010 and reinstates prior law for 2011 and subsequent years. In effect, the sunset provision transforms the large-scale tax cuts into a temporary measure and leaves open the question of whether to make those cuts permanent. Since the Act was signed into law, …


Who Killed The Rule Against Perpetuities?, Grayson M.P. Mccouch Aug 2015

Who Killed The Rule Against Perpetuities?, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

Grayson McCouch

This article examines the relationship between the federal wealth transfer taxes and the rule against perpetuities. The decline of the RAP is often attributed primarily to the GST tax amendments enacted in 1986. However, while perpetual trusts were available long before 1986, their estate tax avoidance possibilities were not widely used. Even after 1986, simple repeal of the RAP leaves perpetual trusts exposed to potential estate taxation. In addition, settlors should consider non-tax considerations in assessing the attractions of perpetual trusts.


Probate Law Reform And Nonprobate Transfers, Grayson M.P. Mccouch Nov 2014

Probate Law Reform And Nonprobate Transfers, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

Grayson McCouch

The advent of widespread, large-scale probate avoidance has added a new dimension to the project of probate law reform. When the Uniform Probate Code made its debut in 1969, its primary goal was to modernize traditional probate procedures and make them more uniform, flexible, and efficient. The Code's reforms were in part a response to the rise of will substitutes which offered a ready means of transferring property at death outside the probate system. In the intervening years, however, will substitutes have continued to proliferate, while traditional probate procedures have resisted comprehensive reform. The probate system has not become obsolete …


Family Limited Partnerships: Discounts, Options, And Disappearing Value, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch Nov 2014

Family Limited Partnerships: Discounts, Options, And Disappearing Value, Karen C. Burke, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

Grayson McCouch

Family partnerships have been become increasingly popular as a means of avoiding estate and gift taxes. As other estate freezing techniques have been closed off by statutory anti-abuse rules, estate planners have increasingly resorted to partnerships as a vehicle for transferring assets within a family at deeply discounted values. Discounts ranging from one-third to over one-half of the value of the underlying assets are routinely claimed, and often allowed, based on lack of marketability and lack of control, even where these disabilities have no lasting or ascertainable economic effect. Nevertheless, the use of family partnerships to suppress value for transfer …