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Full-Text Articles in Estates and Trusts
A Comment On Unification, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
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.
Probate Law Reform And Nonprobate Transfers, Grayson M.P. Mccouch
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 …