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Estates and Trusts

Selected Works

2015

Probate

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Trusting Trust, Deborah Gordon Dec 2014

Trusting Trust, Deborah Gordon

Deborah S Gordon

What is a trustee and how should we understand her duties? The existing literature typically identifies the trustee in the role of agent, partner or contracting party. This Article re-envisions the trustee in the role of the legal system’s most trusted type of decision-maker: the common law judge. Rather than argue for a top-down recreation of the trustee’s role, this Article contends that valuable lessons can be learned by reconceptualizing how trustees, settlors, and beneficiaries view themselves and each other. Using traditional literature about great judging as a touchstone, the Article argues that those qualities essential to principled adjudication — …

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Balancing Testamentary Incapacity And Undue Influence: How To Handle Will Contests Of Testators With Diminishing Capacity, Richard B. Keeton Dec 2014

Balancing Testamentary Incapacity And Undue Influence: How To Handle Will Contests Of Testators With Diminishing Capacity, Richard B. Keeton

Richard B. Keeton, Esq.

Will contests involving testators with diminishing capacity present a number of challenges to attorneys and courts. One such challenge is the fact finding process to balance concurrent allegations of testamentary incapacity and undue influence. While a lack of testamentary incapacity and undue influence are two distinct grounds for avoiding a will, many courts have had conflicting opinions on whether a finding of undue influence is dependent upon a finding of requisite testamentary capacity or whether the two findings are mutually exclusive. This article attempts to provide a general understanding of basic concepts and theories relating to will contests of testators …

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