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Full-Text Articles in Estates and Trusts

The Digital Death Conundrum: How Federal And State Laws Prevent Fiduciaries From Managing Digital Property, Christina L. Kunz, Damien A. Riehl, James D. Lamm, Peter J. Rademacher Jan 2014

The Digital Death Conundrum: How Federal And State Laws Prevent Fiduciaries From Managing Digital Property, Christina L. Kunz, Damien A. Riehl, James D. Lamm, Peter J. Rademacher

Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses four types of fiduciaries, each of which is affected by the vast growth in and the need to manage digital property. The article begins by defining digital property and discussing why it must be managed. The article then discusses how digital property affects powers of attorney, conservatorships, probate administration, and trusts. After illustrating the problems that digital property creates for each fiduciary, the article shifts to resolving these problems. It begins by debunking purported solutions by both private and governmental entities. It concludes by offering a holistic approach to resolving the conflicts facing account holders, fiduciaries, and …


Trust And Fiduciary Duty In The Early Common Law, David J. Seipp Jan 2011

Trust And Fiduciary Duty In The Early Common Law, David J. Seipp

Faculty Scholarship

Trust is an expectation that others will act in one’s own interest. Trust also has a specialized meaning in Anglo-American law, denoting an arrangement by which land or other property is managed by one party, a trustee, on behalf of another party, a beneficiary.1 Fiduciary duties are duties enforced by law and imposed on persons in certain relationships requiring them to act entirely in the interest of another, a beneficiary, and not in their own interest.2 This Essay is about the role that trust and fiduciary duty played in our legal system five centuries ago and more.