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Integrating Doctrine And Diversity Speaker Series: How Does Diversity, Equity, Inclusion And Belonging Pedagogy Fit In Business Issues And Financial Affairs Classes? Leading With Deib In Wills, Trusts, Estates, Insurance, Contracts, And Taxation Law Classes, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

How Gender And Other Identity Factors Influence Attitudes Toward Will Making: Lessons From Australia, Bridget J. Crawford, Tina Cockburn, Kelly Purser, Ho Fai Chan, Stephen Whyte, Uwe Dulleck

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This essay aims to stimulate interest in further empirical study of attitudes toward will making by reporting the results of a 2022 survey conducted in Australia of the general population (n=1202) and legal professionals (n=112). We asked participants for their views about the ideal age at which to begin the will-making process and the relative contributions of the client and attorney to any resulting will. There was a discernible gender-based difference in views on both questions. Women preferred to initiate those conversations approximately six years earlier than men did and, especially at earlier life stages, preferred less professional input into …

Louisville’S Cj Ryan To Join Indiana Law In January, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Adding to an already impressive list of new faculty, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law is pleased to announce CJ Ryan, of the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, will join the Law School for the start of the spring 2024 semester.

In addition to his role on the Brandeis faculty, Ryan is an affiliated scholar at the American Bar Foundation.

A Behavioral Economics Analysis Of Will Making Preferences: When To Begin And Who Should Have The Most Input, Bridget J. Crawford, Tina Cockburn, Kelly Purser, Ho Fai Chan, Uwe Dulleck

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to plan for death, including the transmission of property through a valid will. Surprisingly little is known, however, about when people tend to make wills, how they go about doing so, and whether those practices vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. To begin building a foundation of knowledge, a research team comprised of United States and Australian lawyers and economists recently conducted the first-ever behavioral economics empirical study exploring these questions. This Article reports the results of the team's survey of both members of the Australian general public and estate planning lawyers in …

The Islamisation Of The English Trust: The Hibah Trust In Malaysia, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Malaysia, being a former English colony, inherited a corpus of English law which includes equity and trusts. In recent times, major banks, financial institutions, and trust companies have reimagined the English trust in combination with Islamic law, by offering an innovation called the hibah trust. This instrument represents the Islamisation of the English trust concept where the Islamic idea of the hibah, an inter vivos gift and the English trust is combined as a wealth management offering to clients. This article explores how the hibah trust works, reasons why institutions may be offering this hybrid instrument, and potential challenges to …

Rethinking Party Autonomy In Trust Law, Stewart E. Sterk

Articles

No abstract provided.

Amicus Curiae Brief State Of Utah Et. Al. V Walsh Et. Al., Ethan Halman Gonzalez

Honors Theses

In accordance with Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, this amicus curiae is submitted in the defense of Walsh and the Department of Labor in releasing the prudence and loyalty in selecting plan investments and exercising shareholder rights rule in November of 2022. These brief mainly focuses on the arbitrary and capricious standard, the major questions doctrine, and the legal standing the Department of Labor has to issue rules that apply to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Advance Care Planning Is Critical To Overall Wellbeing, Barbara Zabawa

Faculty Works

Wellness is growing market in the United States. McKinsey and Company estimates the spend on wellness products and services to exceed $450 billion in the United States and to grow at more than five percent annually.1 Despite this impressive growth, wellness products and services are falling short of meeting many consumers’ wellness needs.2 Those who feel least satisfied with what wellness has to offer yearn for a more holistic approach to wellness, with a need for more products and services that address sleep and mindfulness concerns.3 Arguably at the heart of these more holistic approaches, particularly those …

Proposing A Model Antilapse Clause, Raymond C. O'Brien

Scholarly Articles

The complexity of state antilapse statutes exacerbates the task of many estate planners seeking to give prudent expression to the postmortem wishes of a client. These statutes vary as to which predeceasing beneficiaries they should apply, who should be the substitute takers to benefit instead of these lapsed beneficiaries, and how to treat beneficiaries who are treated as predeceasing because of renunciation agreements, final decrees of divorce, or, when the beneficiary kills, exploits, or abuses the one from whom the beneficiary would take. Within the modern statutory framework, there exists an abundant array of testamentary devices by which a transferor …

Laws Governing Restrictions On Charitable Gifts: The Consequences Of Codification, Nancy Mclaughlin

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Over the last two decades we have seen marked changes in the laws governing donor-imposed restrictions on charitable gifts. These changes have occurred primarily as a result of the adoption in many states of the Uniform Trust Code (the UTC) and the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA). This Essay explains that codification in the UTC and UPMIFA of liberalized versions of cy pres and deviation, as well as other related changes to the common law, have had unintended negative consequences. Those negative consequences include a lack of coherence in the law, an elevation of form over substance …

Tenancy By The Entirety Property And Transfers To Trusts, Julie M. Cheslik

Faculty Works

Lawyers practicing in the area of matrimonial law encounter the structuring of property transactions as their clients contem­plate marriage, during the marriage, and upon dissolution of the marriage. At all three periods in the life of a marriage, whether for creditor asset protection purposes, estate planning purposes, or dissolution purposes, whether and how to deviate from the state's default property laws is of utmost concern for the matri­monial lawyer. Of special concern is how default laws intended to protect the spouses' marital estate from creditors - including the tenancy by the entirety estate - may be implicated or abro­gated by …

Against A Uniform Law On The Income Taxation Of Trusts, Michelle S. Simon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In many areas, uniformity of state law is both practical and desirable. The Uniform Commercial Code, for example, brought harmony to conflicting state laws regarding the sale of goods and secured transactions, smoothing the way for interstate commerce. The law of trusts and estates is another area to which the Uniform Law Commissioners have recently turned their attention. Given the multitude of conflicts in state law regarding intestacy, fiduciary powers, and remote notarization, greater consistency between the states would be welcome. One area that should be off-limits to uniform lawmaking is the state income taxation of trusts. Despite complex and …

Third-Party Releases Under The Bankruptcy Code After Purdue Pharma, Jeanne L. Schroeder, David G. Carlson

Articles

The biggest bankruptcy case ever (as measured by unsecured claims against a debtor-in-possession) is In re Purdue Pharma, LLC. The bankruptcy court affirmed a plan discharging the Sackler family (equity owners and often officers of Purdue) of all “derivative” claims that belonged to the debtor-in-possession. The settlement was bought for a substantial sum payable over time by the Sacklers. A debtor-in-possession is the sole owner of a derivative claim and has the power to bind all the creditors to a settlement. Under the Bankruptcy Code, a plan discharging derivative claims is confirmable. In fact, as we will, show, a great …

Creating A Trust Through Delegation, Raymond C. O'Brien

Scholarly Articles

Aging in America has precipitated increasing use of planning for incapacity devices, which include forms creating powers of attorneys ("POAs'). Simple forms may be found online, or they may become part of a sophisticated estate planning portfolio drafted by professionals. Resultingly, to support portability, enforceability, and protection against financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws approved the Uniform Power of Attorney Act in 2006 ("UPOAA "), which has been adopted by more than half of United States jurisdictions. One of the Act's provisions requires an express grant of authority contained within the principal's …

A New Feudalism: Selfish Genes, Great Wealth, And The Rise Of The Dynastic Family Trust (Dft), Eric Kades

Faculty Publications

Today’s record levels of economic inequality are infecting our future as the top 0.01% bequeath vast wealth to their descendants. With the death of the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP), this inequality has the potential to harden social class lines—not just for a generation or two, but forever. Although it may sound implausible, interviews with estate lawyers serving very high-net-worth clients reveal that some members of the wealthiest tier of testators are already exploiting the RAP’s elimination, along with a tax loophole, to establish dynasty trusts that will financially empower their bloodline as long as it continues. Recent work in evolutionary …

Holding Residential Property On Inter Vivos Trusts In Singapore: Transfers Of Equity Interests, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Following amendments to the ACD regime in Singapore, transferring equity interests to and from a trust with no beneficial owners will attract ACD, as will the exercise of a power of appointment by a trustee to grant equity interests to a beneficiary. Renunciation of interests in a bare trust will also attract ACD. Together with the introduction of ABSD (Trust), it is now impractical to use trusts to hold residential properties for succession planning purposes. Remaining options are to gift the properties without any strings attached or bequeath the properties in a will and risk subsequent changes to death taxation.

Holding Residential Property On Inter Vivos Trusts In Singapore: Transfers Of Interests, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As a response to the “missing beneficial owner” problem highlighted by the Zhao Hui Fang case, amendments have been made to Singapore’s stamp duty regime. ABSD will now be levied at 35% on transfers of residential property to trustees, with a remission available if certain conditions are met. These conditions effectively mean that residential property held on inter vivos trusts in Singapore must be given to beneficiaries without conditions or powers of revocation or variation. This has major ramifications for succession planning, since such restrictions largely defeat the purpose of using a trust to hold property in the first place.

Generalized Creditors And Particularized Creditors: Against A Unified Theory Of Standing In Bankruptcy, David G. Carlson, Jeanne L. Schroeder

Articles

Courts have struggled toward a unified theory to explain when the trustee has exclusive jurisdiction to sue a third party for harms done to a bankrupt debtor, and when creditors have exclusive jurisdiction to sue the third party. Courts have proclaimed that when every creditor can sue the third party, then none of them can, and the right belongs solely to the trustee. Creditor rights are “generalized.” If only a proper subset of creditors can sue the third party, then the trustee is not able to subrogate to the subset. Such creditors are “particularized.” This paper proclaims the test a …

A Trap For The Unwary: Enforcing Writs Of Seizure And Sale Against Joint Tenancies, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Joint tenancies are a common method of holding properties in Singapore, and yet, the issue in relation to enforcing writs of seizure and sale against a judgment debtor who owns a property on a joint tenancy with another is fraught with great legal and procedural uncertainty. This paper seeks to cut through the thicket of confusion by unpacking the various legal and procedural difficulties surrounding enforcing a judgment via a writ of seizure and sale against a judgment debtor who owns property as a joint tenant with another. Specifically, this article seeks to offer solutions to the practical difficulties of …

How Should Inheritance Law Remediate Inequality?, Felix B. Chang

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Essay argues that trusts and estates (“T&E”) should prioritize intergenerational economic mobility—the ability of children to move beyond the economic station of their parents—above all other goals. The field’s traditional emphasis on testamentary freedom fosters the stickiness of inequality. For wealthy settlors, dynasty trusts sequester assets from the nation’s system of taxation and stream of commerce. For low-income decedents, intestacy splinters property rights and inhibits their transfer, especially to nontraditional heirs.

Holistically, this Essay argues that T&E should promote mean regression of the wealth distribution curve over time. This can be accomplished by loosening spending in ultrawealthy households and …

What To Do With Leftovers: Collecting Earmarked Donations Through Mobile Payment Apps, Mary Scott Polk

GGU Tax & Estate Planning Review

With the rise in mobile payment applications, charitable donations using these platforms are increasing; equally, the use of a conduit between a donor and a charity to solicit and collect donations for the charity’s benefit is growing. If a charity is overfunded or the charitable purpose is no longer available, the conduit is caught holding a pool of designated donations without the ability to contact the donors for permission for a similar or alternate use. Using the Internal Revenue Code requirements, the authority and regulations are not apparent for a charitable contribution through a conduit, particularly not for a conduit’s …

A New Feudalism: Selfish Genes, Great Wealth, And The Rise Of The Dynastic Family Trust (Dft), Eric Kades

Connecticut Law Review

Today’s record levels of economic inequality are infecting our future as the top 0.01% bequeath vast wealth to their descendants. With the death of the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP), this inequality has the potential to harden social class lines—not just for a generation or two, but forever. Although it may sound implausible, interviews with estate lawyers serving very high-net-worth clients reveal that some members of the wealthiest tier of testators are already exploiting the RAP’s elimination, along with a tax loophole, to establish dynasty trusts that will financially empower their bloodline as long as it continues. Recent work in evolutionary …

Property Law For The Ages, Michael C. Pollack, Lior Jacob Strahilevitz

Articles

Within the next forty years, the number of Americans over age sixty-five is projected to nearly double. This seismic demographic shift will necessitate a reckoning in several areas of law and policy, but property law is especially unprepared. Built primarily for young and middle-aged white men, the common law of property has been critiqued for decades for the ways in which it oppresses or simply leaves behind people based on their race, sex, Native heritage, and more. This Article contributes a new focus on property law’s treatment of people based on their advanced age. Burdened by higher relocation costs, more …

Estate Planning For Cannabis Business Owners: An Introduction, Bridget J. Crawford, Jonathan G. Blattmachr

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As more states legalize cannabis sales, estate planners may increasingly be called upon to advise clients with interests in cannabis-related businesses. This essay seeks to assist estate planners in two ways. First, it aims to raise general awareness of cannabis business owners' unique concerns. Second, the essay provides an overview of some of the fundamental issues about which cannabis business owners are likely to seek estate planning advice: business formation matters, wealth transfers, the ability of trusts to own cannabis-related businesses, and gift, estate, and income tax considerations.

In most states that permit legal cannabis sales, there is limited (or …

Comparing Family Property Disputes In English And Singapore Law: "Context" Is Everything, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines why Singapore law has not followed English law in the area of beneficial ownership of family property. It points out that the landmark cases in the two jurisdictions are underpinned by different family paradigms.The English landmark cases are based on the unmarried cohabitants paradigm and the legal rules that have emerged from these cases are aimed at, whether successfully or not, ensuring a fair division of the family home upon the breakdown of these relationships. In contrast, the Singapore seminal judgments are underlaid by contests between children over their parents’ property which raised questions as to the …

Ruesch V. Comm’R, Alexis Pickins

GGU Tax & Estate Planning Review

Nature of Case: Whether the U.S. Tax Court has jurisdiction to decide Ms. Ruesch’s underlying liability for penalties assessed by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS); and whether Ms. Ruesch’s claim against the IRS is moot due to the IRS’s reversal of their classification of her as seriously delinquent?

The two important issues at dispute are: (1) whether the U.S. Tax Court has jurisdiction to decide Ms. Ruesch’s underlying liability for penalties assessed by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS); and (2) whether Ms. Ruesch’s claim against the IRS is moot due to the IRS’s reversal of their classification of her as …

Chadwick V. Comm’R, Jerica Barber

GGU Tax & Estate Planning Review

Nature of Case: Whether written supervisor approval is required for trust fund recovery penalties to be collected against a responsible person required to submit employment taxes when penalties assessment recommendation forms were submitted by IRS revenue officers?

Using Tax Law To Perpetuate Gentrification: Vinegar Hill Lives Again In Charlottesville, Kelsey Massey

GGU Tax & Estate Planning Review

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted by the Trump administration, created the largest government-sponsored subsidy for urban renewal through the Opportunity Zones program. This tax expenditure is designed to delay and even avoid capital gains taxes to incentivize development in areas deemed to be in economic distress. While the program’s stated intent is to revitalize neighborhoods, build affordable housing, or promote small businesses, the selection of qualified areas is based on the income rate of residents. That is to say, a subsidy program focused on the physical place improvements has based its designation criteria on local resident’s income. …

Dead Men (And Women) Should Tell Tales: Narrative, Intent, And The Construction Of Wills, Karen J. Sneddon

Articles

The will is one of the most personal legal documents that an individual may ever create. The will is written in first person, present tense. Yet most wills reveal little of the person, the personality, or the personal. The inclusion of the testator’s relationships with people, entities, and property does little to convey the testator’s wishes, hopes, or fears. Some may assert that as a formal legal document, the will should be impersonal and be built using standardized, formulaic phrasing. Not only does such position overstate the accuracy of standardized, formulaic phrasing, but such position also ignores the foundational principle …

These Are A Few Of My Least Favorite Things, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The Uniform Probate Code ("UPC") can trace its origins back to a Model Probate Code promulgated by the American Bar Association ("ABA")'s section on Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law in 1946. In 1962, the Section on Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law, along with National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws began work on what was to become the original UPC. The National Conferences and the ABA's House of Delegates approved the UPC in 1969.

The 1969 UPC was an attempt to modernize some of the traditional rules and provide a degree of uniformity for the American law …