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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Probate Definition Of Family: A Proposal For Guided Discretion In Intestacy, Susan N. Gary
The Probate Definition Of Family: A Proposal For Guided Discretion In Intestacy, Susan N. Gary
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Intestacy statutes may not match the wishes of many people who die intestate. Changes to the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) include or exclude potential takers, as the drafters attempt to bring the UPC provisions closer to the intent of more intestate decedents. As the UPC tries to fine-tune the intestacy statutes, however, family circumstances continue to get more and more complicated. Families headed by unmarried couples, blended families with children from multiple marriages, and families in which adults raise children who are not legally theirs, have become commonplace. For some decedents, non-family friends and caregivers may be more important than …
Deliberative Accountability Rules In Inheritance Law: Promoting Accountable Estate Planning, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy
Deliberative Accountability Rules In Inheritance Law: Promoting Accountable Estate Planning, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In the last few decades, the emerging trend in trust and estate law has been a steady loosening of the limitations on testamentary freedom. The 1990 Uniform Probate Code pioneered some of these developments. Construction rules are no exception. It is widely accepted that testamentary construction rules should track the owner's presumed intent. In this Article, I argue that there is also room, alongside these intent-furthering rules, for intent-defeating rules in inheritance law. A property owner lacks incentives to internalize the relational, familial, or economic effects of her allocation. Such rules, termed deliberative accountability rules, are therefore designed to foster …
Toward Economic Analysis Of The Uniform Probate Code, Daniel B. Kelly
Toward Economic Analysis Of The Uniform Probate Code, Daniel B. Kelly
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Insights from economics and the economic analysis of law may be useful in analyzing succession law, including intestacy and wills as well as nonprobate transfers such as trusts. After surveying prior works that have examined succession from a functional perspective, I explore the possibility of utilizing tools like (i) transaction costs, (ii) the ex ante/ex post distinction, and (iii) rules versus standards, to illuminate the design of the Uniform Probate Code. Specifically, I investigate how these tools, which legal scholars have employed widely in other contexts, may be relevant in understanding events like the nonprobate revolution and issues like "dead …
Non-Judicial Estate Settlement, John H. Martin
Non-Judicial Estate Settlement, John H. Martin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Estate settlement through probate procedures satisfies no one. The public is hostile to the delay, expense, and lack of privacy that accompanies probate. Attorneys respond to public dissatisfaction by counseling probate avoidance. Legislatures facilitate some settlements by enacting simplified procedures for low-value estates. In large measure, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) was a response to criticisms leveled at probate. Alternative settlement procedures are offered by the UPC, including informal testacy determinations and informal appointment procedures. These alternatives, however, remain imbedded in a judicial system, with it procedural rigidities. The UPC informal settlement alternatives did not silence the criticism. The continued …
Shattering And Moving Beyond The Gutenberg Paradigm: The Dawn Of The Electronic Will, Joseph Karl Grant
Shattering And Moving Beyond The Gutenberg Paradigm: The Dawn Of The Electronic Will, Joseph Karl Grant
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Legislators in Nevada have already acted to modernize the law of wills. This Article advocates that other states follow their lead and depart from what is described as the "Gutenberg Paradigm" by adopting similar legislation and embracing electronic technology. Part One of this Article explores the history of print, Johann Gutenberg's role in this development, and the emergence of the "Gutenberg Paradigm." Part Two examines the history and policy underpinnings of will execution formalities, and the role of the "writing" requirement. Part Three explores the use of electronic wills as conforming and nonconforming testamentary instruments. More specifically, Part Three highlights …
Bankruptcy Proceedings For Insolvent Decedents' Estates, Richard V. Wellman
Bankruptcy Proceedings For Insolvent Decedents' Estates, Richard V. Wellman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Under present law, bankruptcy proceedings cannot be instituted by or against insolvent decedents' estates. Creditors of insolvent decedents must look to state probate laws for satisfaction. But these laws are more concerned with the control of solvent estates than with the affairs of the impecunious. Also, transfers of wealth at death by nonprobate means are coming to be the rule rather than the exception, and it is frequently very difficult for creditors of decedents to obtain satisfaction of unsecured claims from nonprobate assets. This article advocates the extension of bankruptcy laws to insolvent decedents' estates and explores problems and solutions …
The Impact Of The Uniform Probate Code On Court Structure, Ralph P. Dupont
The Impact Of The Uniform Probate Code On Court Structure, Ralph P. Dupont
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
After considering the present pattern of probate court structure in the United States, this article considers the need for probate court reform as reflected in the deficiencies of the present system. It further indicates that a realistic choice of court structure by legislatures will ultimately be made from among three options: (1) to enlarge the jurisdiction of the present probate court of the state more nearly to approximate the form currently obtaining in several states; (2) to appoint a new body of probate judges and thus create an entirely new court; and (3) to enlarge the jurisdiction of the present …
Intestate Succession Under The Uniform Probate Code, Thomas J. Mulder
Intestate Succession Under The Uniform Probate Code, Thomas J. Mulder
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The pervasive social policy underlying the Anglo-American law on succession of property at death is freedom of testation. Our law makes meaningful one's right to decide who shall inherit his property by providing a legal instrument, the will, to distribute property to chosen recipients. When a man dies without having exercised this right, however, the laws of intestate succession determine who shall receive his property, and in what shares it shall be received. In effect, the laws of intestate succession are an estate plan written for the decedent by his state legislature. These laws do not function as a restriction …