Law Commons^™

Estate Planning Malpractice: Is Strict Privity Here To Stay?, Angela M. Vallario

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Under Maryland case law, a plaintiff in an estate planning malpractice action must be in strict privity with the attorney who drafted the will. To date, Maryland has not extended the third-party beneficiary exception to the estate planning arena.

Legatees specifically identified in a will by name or class are generally precluded from bringing a cause of action against the attorney for the attorney's alleged negligence, because in Maryland in order to recover for legal malpractice, a plaintiff must:show: "(1) the attorney's employment; (2) his neglect of a reasonable duty; and (3) loss to the client proximately caused by that …

Last Gasp Estate Planning: The Formation Of Family Limited Liability Entities Shortly Before Death, Walter D. Schwidetzky

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Family limited partnerships have been popular gift and estate tax planning vehicles for many years. In recent years, family limited liability companies (LLCs) have also become common, particularly in those states that have updated their statutes to take the check-the-box regulations into account. LLCs with more than one member are usually classified as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. In a typical structure, when there is adequate planning, the donors form a limited partnership or an LLC (jointly, 'family limited liability entity' or FLLE), to which they contribute assets expected to appreciate in value. This article will focus on such …

Living Trusts In The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: A Good Thing Gone Bad, Angela M. Vallario

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An elderly man recently lost his wife and visits the lawyer's office for assistance in the administration of her estate. After the attorney expresses her condolences, she asks if his wife had a will. The client reaches into a brown shopping bag and retrieves a two-and-a-half inch black binder containing several trusts. The elderly gentleman and his deceased wife were told this would eliminate the expensive legal nightmare of probate. Unfortunately, like many others, this couple was victimized by a trust mill.

Death By A Thousand Cuts: The Rule Against Perpetuities, Angela M. Vallario

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This article suggests the policy and social justifications against dead hand control far outweigh transfer tax advantages provided to wealthy settlors and the potential revenue expected to be generated by the abolishment legislation. The abolishment legislation may be readily adopted by other jurisdictions in light of the legislatures' failure to recognize the consequences of unlimited dead hand control.

This article recognizes that the Rule is complicated, and Rule violations present harsh consequences for practitioners and their clients. In fact, violations of the Rule, due to its complexity, have been held as an attorney error, not subject to a malpractice claim. …