Estates and Trusts Commons^™

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keep Suing All The Lawyers: Recent Developments In Claims Against Lawyers For Aiding & Abetting A Client’S Breach Of Fiduciary Duty, Katerina P. Lewinbuk

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Lawyers have increasingly become subject to liability under various legal theories, ranging from traditional legal malpractice or negligence liability claims to various third-party actions. Most recently, state and federal courts across the country have recognized attorney liability for aiding and abetting a client’s breach of fiduciary duty. This Article will address the current status of the cause of action for a lawyer’s aiding and abetting her client’s breach of fiduciary duty, explain the commonalities and distinguish nuances as outlined by particular states, examine recent decisions by federal courts that have recognized the cause of action, and culminate in its conclusion …

The Limited Duties Of Lawyers To Protect The Funds And Property Of Nonclients, Vincent R. Johnson

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Issues arise daily in law practice about the duties owed by lawyers to nonclients with respect to funds or property entrusted to them. In resolving those issues, care must be exercised when interpreting state versions of Model Rule 1.15, the American Bar Association’s pattern ethics rule on safekeeping of funds and property. Otherwise, a lawyer’s duties to third persons may too readily encroach on the performance of obligations owed to clients, as well as on the legitimate interests of lawyers themselves.

As numerous authorities have recognized, lawyers are obliged to protect the property interests of third persons only if they …

Wrongful Death Conflicts For Plaintiffs' Attorneys, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Speaking From The Grave. Should Copyright Listen?, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

Should authors be able to control the use of their work after they die? It’s a question that touches deep personal and public concerns. It resonates with longstanding debates in literary studies over the “death of the author” and “authorial intent,” and is an issue that Professor Eva Subotnik tackles in her latest article, Artistic Control After Death (forthcoming in the Washington Law Review).

Currently, U.S. copyright expires 70 years after the author’s death so that control of an author’s copyrights extends far into the future. Long after an author creates a work, often decades after publication and the work’s …

Commentaries On The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct, Thomas Andrews, Karen Boxx

Books

This Fifth Edition of the ACTEC Commentaries continues the tradition of providing guidance on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct particular to estate and trust practitioners. The Fifth Edition update to the Commentaries takes account of amendments to the Model Rules adopted since the 2005 Fourth Edition, including those proposed by the American Bar Association Commission on Ethics 20/20 as adopted by the ABA in 2012 and 2013. It is current through August 31, 2015 as there have been no amendments to the Model Rules since 2013.

In addition to these updates, we have added Commentary and Annotations to four …

Running Past Landmines--The Estate Attorney's Dilemma: Ethically Counseling The Client With Alzheimer's Disease, Joseph Karl Grant

Journal Publications

This Article examines the ethical dilemmas faced by attorneys who represent clients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. To do so, this Article raises three (3) hypothetical case studies,and applies the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel ("ACTEC") Commentaries, where appropriate, to those hypothetical case studies. Additionally, this Article proposes initiatives to ameliorate the lack of awareness and discussion of Alzheimer's disease in the law school curriculum, and finally, modest initiatives that the practicing bar can embrace to further a discussion and awareness among practicing attorneys about the ethical dilemma attorneys face in …

A Distinction Without A Difference? An Examination Of The Legal And Ethical Difference Between Asset Protection And Fraudulent Transfers Under Virginia Law, Elizabeth Southall

Law Student Publications

“A distinction without a difference”—a colloquial expression employed by one wishing to recognize that while a linguistic or conceptual distinction exists between any number of options, any such distinction lacks substantive practical effect. To allege that a situation presents “a distinction without a difference” is to suggest that any difference between a given set of options is a logical fallacy—purely a creature of erroneous perception. When it comes to concepts of asset protection planning and fraudulent transfer law, one must ask whether the law draws a distinction where there is no difference....This essay identifies these distinctions. Part II provides a …

Incomplete Protection: Exoneration Clauses In New York Trusts And Powers Of Attorney, Ilene S. Cooper, Robert M. Harper

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fiduciary Duties And Exculpatory Clauses: Clash Of The Titans Or Cozy Bedfellows, Louise Lark Hill

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Centuries ago, when land represented the majority of wealth, the trust was used primarily for holding and transferring real property. As the dominant form of wealth moved away from family land, the trust evolved into a device for managing financial assets. With this transformation came the use of exculpatory clauses by both amateur and professional trustees, providing an avenue for these fiduciaries to escape liability for designated acts. With the use of exculpatory provisions, discussion abounded about whether fiduciary duties were mandatory or subject to modification. The latter view eventually prevailed, with the majority of jurisdictions viewing fiduciary duties as …

To Opine Or Not To Opine, That Is The Question: A Discussion Of A Patent Agent's Representation Of Others Before The United States Patent And Trademark Office In Light Of Revised Rules Of Patent Ethics And Professionalism, Nathan D. Renov

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

No abstract provided.

Integrating Catholic Social Thought In Elder Law And Estate Planning Courses: Reflections On Law, Age And Ethics, Lucia A. Silecchia

Scholarly Articles

A course in elder law or estate planning encompasses many of the most profound issues that arise in human life: the contemplation of mortality, ambivalent attitudes toward property and its proper distribution, complexities in family relationships, obligations to support loved ones, anticipation of physical or mental challenges, and reflections on one’s desired legacy to loved ones. Although there is much in the Catholic tradition and in the Scriptures themselves that speaks to these questions in an indirect way, this has not often been fully explored because this field may not, on its face, have an obvious connection to religious tradition. …

Conflicts Of Interest, Ellen Y. Suni

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Drafting Attorneys As Fiduciaries: Fashioning An Optimal Ethical Rule For Conflicts Of Interest, Paula A. Monopoli

Faculty Scholarship

The American Bar Association recently revised the ethical rules that govern lawyers. Its Ethics 2000 Commission proposed a number of changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including revisions to the rules that affect how the profession handles conflicts of interest in the area of attorneys who draft instruments that name themselves as fiduciaries. The intersection of these changes, with their subsequent clarification by an ABA opinion issued in May 2002, has broad implications for attorneys practicing in this area. Given the increasing elderly population, the trillions of dollars that they are transferring to their baby-boomer children, and the …

Shape Up Or Ship Out: Accountability To Third Parties For Patent Ambiguities In Testamentary Documents, Angela M. Vallario

All Faculty Scholarship

The attorney's preparation of a testamentary document (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a will or revocable trust) should clearly and accurately reflect the client's last wishes. Although these testamentary documents should reflect the client's intent, they often fall short of accomplishing that goal. There are numerous examples of will and trust construction cases that exhaust tremendous resources in an effort to ascertain the client's wishes or intent. Many of these cases involve the construction of patent and/or latent ambiguities which should have been resolved by appropriate drafting. This article's scope is limited to patent ambiguities caused by the attorney's negligence …

Estate Planning Malpractice: Is Strict Privity Here To Stay?, Angela M. Vallario

All Faculty Scholarship

Under Maryland case law, a plaintiff in an estate planning malpractice action must be in strict privity with the attorney who drafted the will. To date, Maryland has not extended the third-party beneficiary exception to the estate planning arena.

Legatees specifically identified in a will by name or class are generally precluded from bringing a cause of action against the attorney for the attorney's alleged negligence, because in Maryland in order to recover for legal malpractice, a plaintiff must:show: "(1) the attorney's employment; (2) his neglect of a reasonable duty; and (3) loss to the client proximately caused by that …

A Sanist Will?, Pamela R. Champine

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fiduciary Duty: A New Ethical Paradigm For Lawyer/Fiduciaries, Paula A. Monopoli

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Lawyers' Ethical Dilemmas: A "Normal" Relationship When Representing Demented Clients And Their Families, Robert B. Fleming, Rebecca C. Morgan

Georgia Law Review

The Anglo-American legal system, based as it is on an adversary system of justice, assumes that two or more legal combatants, capably arguing their respective positions, can best ensure that the correct answer will become apparent to a neutral decisionmaker, the judge. The system assumes competent parties with adept legal representation, presenting their respective sides of the case with little involvement by the judge. This ideal can be difficult, even impossible, to reach when one party is demented.' Indeed, in such a case the problem with this traditional legal model is even deeper-there may be no clear adversarial distinction between …

Probate From The Ground Up, Oregon Law Institute, Shirley A. Bass, Stephen E. Kantor, Ron D. Bailey, Dean T. Sandow, Mark M. Williams, James R. Cartwright, Carolyn W. Miller, Richard A. Pagnano

Oregon Law Institute, 1998

Course Materials from the May 15, 1998 Program in Portland

Handling Claims For Minor And Disabled Plaintiffs: Coordinating All Aspects Of The Case, Oregon Law Institute, Elizabeth Welch, Robert P. Jones, Doug M. Fellows, Elden M. Rosenthal, Donna R. Meyer, Jack Meligan, Jane Paulson, Cynthia L. Barrett, Beth Gafur, Jude Mollgaard, Richard H. Mills, David Rollins

Oregon Law Institute, 1998

Course Materials from the April 10, 1998 Program in Portland

The Morality Of Choice: Estate Planning And The Client Who Chooses Not To Choose, Janet L. Dolgin

Seattle University Law Review

The Symposium focuses around two hypotheticals. The question posed about each-whether it is ethical for an estate lawyer to represent spouses, one of whom chooses subservience to the interests of the other-provokes discussion of a broad set of concerns about the scope and meaning of the contemporary family, and about the appropriate parameters of legal representation of family members.

Love Among The Ruins: The Ethics Of Counseling Happily Married Couples, Teresa Stanton Collett

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores the professional tension experienced by lawyers when clients embrace an ideal of marriage as "the two shall become as one," in a legal system that has repudiated this understanding in favor of the "reality" of marriage as an association dedicated to the individual fulfillment of the man and woman involved. Part II describes the three purposes of estate planning that define the parameters of any proposed representation. Estate planning lawyers assist clients in minimizing taxes, directing gifts to particular beneficiaries, and insuring the continuing care of loved ones. The decision to accept or reject proposed representation often …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.