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Recent Articles in Estates and Trusts

Repulsed By Rap? Renewal Options Are Singing A Different Tune: An Analysis Of Bleecker Street Tenants Corp. V. Bleeker Jones, Llc, Jonathan M. Vecchi Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

Repulsed By Rap? Renewal Options Are Singing A Different Tune: An Analysis Of Bleecker Street Tenants Corp. V. Bleeker Jones, Llc, Jonathan M. Vecchi

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Trimble V. Gordon: An Unstated Reversal Of Labine V. Vincent?, John A. Boyd Pepperdine University

Trimble V. Gordon: An Unstated Reversal Of Labine V. Vincent?, John A. Boyd

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Book Review, David McKibbin III Pepperdine University

Book Review, David Mckibbin Iii

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


In Search Of A Less Tentative Totten, R. Wayne Estes Pepperdine University

In Search Of A Less Tentative Totten, R. Wayne Estes

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


From Here To Eternity: The Folly Of Perpetual Trusts, Lawrence W. Waggoner BLR

From Here To Eternity: The Folly Of Perpetual Trusts, Lawrence W. Waggoner

University of Michigan Program in Law and Economics

Trusts that can operate for as many as a thousand years or even forever, typically for the benefit of the settlor’s descendants living from time to time, now and in the future, are all the rage in banking and estate-planning circles. Before 1986, when Congress passed the federal generation-skipping transfer tax (GST tax), settlors had little incentive and probably little desire to establish perpetual trusts, even though they were permitted to do so under the law of Wisconsin, South Dakota, or Idaho. The GST tax created an artificial incentive for the wealthy to establish such trusts.

The origin of ...


Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund Pepperdine University

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Citizenship for Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas

Professor Kristine S. Knaplund

Abstract

The United States has long followed the English common law view that citizenship can be attained at birth in two ways: by being born in the U.S. (jus soli), or by being born abroad as the child of a U.S. citizen (jus sanguinis). The first, jus soli, is now part of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the ...


Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund Pepperdine University

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Citizenship for Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas

Professor Kristine S. Knaplund

Abstract

The United States has long followed the English common law view that citizenship can be attained at birth in two ways: by being born in the U.S. (jus soli), or by being born abroad as the child of a U.S. citizen (jus sanguinis). The first, jus soli, is now part of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the ...


Killers Shouldn't Inherit From Their Victims . . . Or Should They?, carla spivack Oklahoma City University

Killers Shouldn't Inherit From Their Victims . . . Or Should They?, Carla Spivack

Carla Spivack

The article offers a profound reassessment of so-called “Slayer Rules,” laws that, in all states, bar killers from inheriting from their victims. For the first time in the literature, this piece questions the underlying rationale for these rules by examining the context of family violence and mental illness in which these killing occur, and argues that, given that context, these rules are often neither legally nor morally justified.

My argument is as follows: at first glance, the idea behind Slayer Rules seems reasonable, indeed, morally obvious: a killer should not be able to profit from his or her crime. This ...


Formalities And Formalism: A Critical Look At The Execution Of Wills, Charles I. Nelson, Jeanne M. Starck Pepperdine University

Formalities And Formalism: A Critical Look At The Execution Of Wills, Charles I. Nelson, Jeanne M. Starck

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


How To Accomplish A Successful Tax-Free Pension Plan Rollover, Steven T. Graham Pepperdine University

How To Accomplish A Successful Tax-Free Pension Plan Rollover, Steven T. Graham

Pepperdine Law Review

Advising a client how to accomplish a tax-free rollover from one pension plan to another has been an area of confusion for the general practitioner. In order to end this confusion the author examines recent statutory amendments, Internal Revenue Service rulings and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The author then outlines, in conjunction with the recent changes in the law, potential pension plan rollover scenarios that can aid the client. After a thorough discussion of the available rollovers and the benefits and drawbacks of each, the author concludes with a chart designed to provide quick identification of the most ...


Oral Will Contracts And The Statute Of Frauds In California, 1896-1980: A Summary And Evaluation , Marc P. Bouret Pepperdine University

Oral Will Contracts And The Statute Of Frauds In California, 1896-1980: A Summary And Evaluation , Marc P. Bouret

Pepperdine Law Review

There is no longer any certainty that one can successfully argue that purely oral mutual promises to bequeath property are unenforceable due to the Statute of Frauds. The author traces the trends in the oral will contract area during the past eighty years. He then analyzes various exceptions to the Statute of Frauds which have developed to allow oral will contracts to be enforced during the lifetime of the promisor, or more frequently after his or her death.


Illegitimate Harm: Law, Stigma, And Discrimination Against Nonmarital Children, Solangel Maldonado University of Florida Levin College of Law

Illegitimate Harm: Law, Stigma, And Discrimination Against Nonmarital Children, Solangel Maldonado

Florida Law Review

No one would dispute that for most of U.S. history, nonmarital children suffered significant legal and societal discrimination. Although many individuals believe that the legal disadvantages attached to “illegitimate” status have disappeared in the last forty years, this Article demonstrates that the law continues to discriminate against nonmarital children in a number of areas, including intestate succession, citizenship, and child support. Societal biases against nonmarital children also remain. A majority of Americans believe that the increase in nonmarital births is a significant societal problem and almost 50% believe that unmarried women should not have children. Some courts are aware ...


The Right Of Publicity: "You Can't Take It With You", Timothy C. Williams Pepperdine University

The Right Of Publicity: "You Can't Take It With You", Timothy C. Williams

Pepperdine Law Review

The "right of publicity," a progeny of the right to privacy, has evolved into a valuable property right of the rich and famous. However, indecisive courts and disinterested legislatures have failed to arrive at any consensus on whether the "right of publicity" should be descendible and inheritable upon its owner's death. This comment seeks to evaluate the sundry arguments and policies concerning this issue, and to advocate a freely descendible 'right of publicity."


It Pays To Give It Away - Sometimes: Inter Vivos Charitable Remainder Unitrusts In Estate Planning, Robert G. Popovich Pepperdine University

It Pays To Give It Away - Sometimes: Inter Vivos Charitable Remainder Unitrusts In Estate Planning, Robert G. Popovich

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


It's All Mine - Or At Least Part Of It Is: A California Look At Property Apportionment Between The Families Of An Interstate And An Intestate's Predeceased Spouse, Robert G. Popovich Pepperdine University

It's All Mine - Or At Least Part Of It Is: A California Look At Property Apportionment Between The Families Of An Interstate And An Intestate's Predeceased Spouse, Robert G. Popovich

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Descendible Right Of Publicity: Has The Time Finally Come For A National Standard?, J. Steven Bingman Pepperdine University

A Descendible Right Of Publicity: Has The Time Finally Come For A National Standard?, J. Steven Bingman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


What Happens To Our Facebook Accounts When We Die?: Probate Versus Policy And The Fate Of Social-Media Assets Postmortem, Kristina Sherry Pepperdine University

What Happens To Our Facebook Accounts When We Die?: Probate Versus Policy And The Fate Of Social-Media Assets Postmortem, Kristina Sherry

Pepperdine Law Review

More than 580,000 Facebook users in the U.S. will die this year, raising numerous legal questions as to the disposition of their Facebook pages and similar “digital assets” left in a state of legal limbo. While access to and ownership of decedents’ email accounts has been philosophized for nearly a decade, this Comment focuses on the additional legal uncertainties posed by “digital death” in the more amorphous realm of “social media.” Part II explores the implications of digital death by conceptualizing digital assets and surveying the underlying legal principles of contractual policies, probate, property, and privacy concerns. Part ...


The Role Of Aspiration In Corporate Fiduciary Duties, Julian Velasco College of William & Mary Law School

The Role Of Aspiration In Corporate Fiduciary Duties, Julian Velasco

William and Mary Law Review

Corporate law is characterized by a pervasive divergence between standards of conduct and standards of review. Courts often opine on the relatively demanding standard of conduct, but their judgments must be based on the more forgiving standard of review. Commentators defend this state of affairs by insisting that it provides guidance to directors without imposing ruinous liability. However, the dichotomy can lead many, especially those who focus on the bottom line, to call into question the meaningfulness of standards of conduct. Of particular concern is the increasing popularity, in legal and scholarly circles, of the notion that fiduciary duty standards ...


Interpreting I.R.C. § 67(E): The Supreme Court's Attempt To Nail Investment Advisory Fees To The "Floor", Lindsay Roshkind University of Florida Levin College of Law

Interpreting I.R.C. § 67(E): The Supreme Court's Attempt To Nail Investment Advisory Fees To The "Floor", Lindsay Roshkind

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Case For The Retention Of The State Death Tax Credit In The Federal Transfer Tax Scheme: "Just Say No" To A Deduction, John M. Janiga, Louis S. Harrison Pepperdine University

The Case For The Retention Of The State Death Tax Credit In The Federal Transfer Tax Scheme: "Just Say No" To A Deduction, John M. Janiga, Louis S. Harrison

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.