Estates and Trusts Commons^™

Probate Standing, David Horton

Michigan Law Review

Few topics in civil justice have sparked as much criticism as the standing doctrine. The U.S. Constitution and some of its state counterparts require plaintiffs to allege that they suffered an “injury-in-fact” that the defendant caused and that a court can redress. A veritable ocean of commentary argues that this requirement [is confusing, ahistorical, and unmoored from its objectives.

Yet a different manifestation of the standing doctrine has long lurked in obscurity. Standing issues are also common in state probate courts, where the transmission of assets from the dead to the living can affect a variety of parties. But in …

Maine's Living Will Act And The Termination Of Life-Sustaining Medical Procedures, Eric R. Herlan

Maine Law Review

The Maine Legislature recently enacted a law authorizing the execution and use of living wills. The execution of a living will, essentially a document of "informed consent," allows a person to preserve in a legally recognized form his desire that, once he has been diagnosed to have a terminal medical condition and is no longer competent to make treatment decisions, the doctor should discontinue all life-sustaining procedures. With the passage of this act, Maine has joined thirty-four other states and the District of Columbia in enacting living will provisions. In addition, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws …

Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, And Fiduciary Administration, Mary F. Radford

Mercer Law Review

This Article discusses significant cases decided by the Georgia appellate courts during the period of June 1, 2023, through May 31, 2024, and significant Georgia legislation enacted in that same period that relate to Georgia probate and trust law, guardianship, and estate planning. The cases discussed fall under three categories: wills and the administration of decedents’ estates (including cases relating to testamentary capacity, inheritance by children born out of wedlock, undue influence, and the disposition of a decedent’s remains); trusts and trustees (specifically a trustee’s entitlement to have attorney fees paid from the trust when defending against charges of maladministration …

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, Allison A. Tait, Hunter M. Glenn

University of Richmond Law Review

This year could be considered quiet in both legislative and judicial activity, lacking as it was in any substantial new legislative enactments or major opinions from the Supreme Court of Virginia on core wealth transfer issues. Nevertheless, a set of modest legislative changes helped bring the rules for revocable trusts in line with the rules for wills, standardizing estate planning and wealth transfer regulation, while other changes also brought clarity to existing rules by amplifying procedures and providing additional de- tail for administrative processes. In the judicial setting, while guidance for this practice area was primarily provided by the Court …

Outlier On Lgbtq Rights: Japanese Ban On Same-Sex Marriage And Its Contradiction In The Age Of Globalization, Yumi Higashi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Japan is the only Group of Seven country yet to recognize same-sex marriage. Despite strong public support for marriage equality, the conservative dominance of the Japanese legislature and the Japanese courts’ deferential approach have stalled the change. This Note will analyze the legal issues and implications of Japan’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage and Japan’s worldwide inheritance tax regime, with an emphasis on cross-border succession and estate planning. Specifically, the Note argues that the United States, as the only country with which Japan has a treaty in estate, inheritance, and gift tax, should renegotiate the treaty as it could have …

Trust And Estates Attorney Panel And Networking Reception, Trusts And Estates Law Society (Tels), Cori A. Robinson, Daniel B. Axman, Mindy H. Stern, Saverio (Sam) Cereste, Stewart E. Sterk

2024–2025 Flyers

The event took place on November 12 at 6:00 PM in Room 1008 and featured a panel of attorneys discussing their career paths and developments in the field. Panelists included Cori A. Robinson, Daniel B. Axman, Mindy H. Stern, and Saverio (Sam) Cereste. The discussion was moderated by Professor Stewart Sterk of Cardozo School of Law.

Looking Through Trusts, Adam S. Hofri, Mark Bennett

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

As everyone knows, trusts are often used to avoid or subvert different rules of law. To combat such avoidance, jurisdictions enacted anti-avoidance rules; yet many of these rules do not fully prevent trusts-based avoidance, or in some cases reflect some jurisdictions’ acceptance of such avoidance. We review the anti-avoidance rules applied by Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand to try and stymie trusts-based avoidance in three subject areas: distribution of family property on divorce or separation, taxation of income accrued in settlor-controlled trusts, and means-tested eligibility for welfare benefits. We find that anti-avoidance doctrines are often less …

Cy Pres Silliness: Remedies That Do Not Remediate The Harm, Phil Pillari

Northwestern University Law Review

Class actions play an important role in civil litigation, but they suffer from a serious problem. No matter how many plaintiffs are in the class, the individual claims are often miniscule, which can make distributing the inevitable settlement futile. Very few people make a claim, and it often costs more to mail the check than the check is worth. To solve this problem, Steven Shepherd proposed importing the cy pres doctrine (a trusts and estates device that allows courts to rewrite an unenforceable trust) into the class actions context. Shepherd’s framework instructs courts to devise the next best alternative for …

Hidden Until The End: The Need To Inform Medicaid Enrollees Of Estate Recovery Costs Before Their Death, Ashley Bassel Griffith

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the Medicaid estate recovery program and argues that its current notice framework fails to provide meaningful disclosure to Medicaid enrollees regarding the financial consequences of long-term services and supports (LTSS) coverage. Although Medicaid insures approximately one in five individuals in the United States, it uniquely requires certain beneficiaries—primarily individuals age fifty-five or older receiving LTSS—to repay covered costs from their estates after death. Federal law mandates recovery but does not require states to inform applicants or enrollees of anticipated or accrued estate recovery costs during their lifetimes. As a result, families frequently receive notice of substantial recovery …

In Re Estate Of Crossguns, 24-Ap-03 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Sept 23, 2024), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court affirmed a trial court order finding the appointment of decedent’s son as personal representative of decedent’s estate after appellant claimed Tribal Court erred when it proceeded with a hearing to determine the heirs of Decedent’s estate for lack of jurisdiction. Issues of Tribal Court jurisdiction and the validity of a decedent’s will are questions of law and will be reviewed de novo. The Blackfeet Tribal Law and Order Code, Ch. 3, Sec. 4 provides that the Blackfeet Tribal Cour has civil subject matter jurisdiction over probate proceedings.

University Of The District Of Columbia Law Review, University Of The District Of Columbia Law Review

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Curious Case Of The James Brown Estate, Lee-Ford Tritt

UF Law Faculty Publications

Great musicians are larger than life, and the most iconic of them become members of an elite musical monarchy: Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, and Prince Rogers Nelson was Prince. Similarly, James Brown, the inventor of funk music, landed a seat at this table of legendary musicians. Although lacking a royal honorific, James Brown was "the Godfather of Soul." The Godfather of Soul, though, shared more than musical prowess with these other iconic musicians. The estates of James Brown, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and Prince all continue to face legal obstacles—years …

Broken Kinship: Family Property Disputes And The Common Intention Constructive Trust In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There has been a proliferation of common intention constructive trust claims in Singapore. The main reason is that families have acquired real estate using their collective earning power without explicitly considering the individual entitlement of each family member. When a dispute arises, the claim is often pleaded as a common intention constructive trust. The complication with applying the law on the common intention constructive trust is that this is an English doctrine developed to deal with a different social context i.e. the breakdown of the relationship between cohabiting couples. In Singapore, the common intention constructive trust applies primarily in a …

Dol Fiduciary Rule 3.0 Strikeout, Base Knock, Or Home Run?, Antolin Reiber

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Money Is Morphing - Cryptocurrency Can Morph To Be An Environmentally And Financially Sustainable Alternative To Traditional Banking, Clovia Hamilton

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Survey Evidence In Trademark Actions, Ioana Vasiu And Lucian Vasiu

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance And Compelled Speech: Do State-Imposed Board Diversity Mandates Violate Free Speech?, Salar Ghahramani

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Real Persons Are The Corporations We Made Along The Way, Leonard Brahin

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Decoding Cryptocurrency Taxes: The Challenges For Estate Planners, Max Angel

Duke Law & Technology Review

In this article, Angel explores the unique challenges of estate planning with cryptocurrency, which include accurately valuing those assets, preserving their value, and addressing the complex tax implications of transferring cryptocurrency to heirs.

Sicelo Edgar Mpanza N.O V Jabulile Lucy Mpanza And Others (28/2023) [2023] Szsc 59 (18/122023), Phakama C. Shili, Simangele D. Mavundla

SAIPAR Case Review

This case note provides a critical analysis of the landmark Eswatini Supreme Court case of Mpanza v Mpanza as it pertains to nullification of colonial legislative provisions that discriminate against individuals who were married under customary law during their lifetime by exempting their estates from the jurisdiction of the Master of the High Court. Section 68 of the Administration of Estates Act of 1902 regulates the administration of the estates of Africans who die having contracted a customary marriage and encompasses specific clauses that establish the exclusion of the estates from the jurisdiction of the Master of the High Court. …

Unintended Consequences Of Fetal Personhood Statutes: Examples From Tax, Trusts, And Estates, Bridget J. Crawford, Alexis C. Borders, Katherine Keating

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The laws of taxation, trusts, and estates are new fronts in the culture wars over abortion. After the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, some anti-abortion states enacted fetal personhood statutes that have the potential to unsettle and destabilize longstanding legal doctrines that otherwise create predictability and stability in the laws of taxation and succession. This Article makes three principal claims: descriptive, predictive, and normative. First, the Article explores how Dobbs opened the door for states like Georgia to treat zygotes-embryos-fetuses as “dependents” for state income tax purposes. Second, the Article identifies some of the …

Speed Networking Event, Cardozo Trusts And Estates Law Society

2023–2024 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Is A Will Better Than Intestacy?, Kristine S. Knaplund

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Artful Imbalance: How The Us Tax Code And State Trust Laws Enable The Growth Of Inequality Through High-Value Art Collections, Mimi Strauss

Brooklyn Law Review

The United States has become the leading jurisdiction for those who wish to buy and store high-value art and NFTs, pay as few taxes as possible, and ultimately secure their wealth for generations. This “onshore” tax crisis is the result of tax loopholes, money laundering, the securitization of art and NFTs, and the state-by-state trust system. These forms of tax dodging—both legal and illegal—contribute to wealth inequality and deplete the welfare state. As natural disasters and pandemics become ever more present, the United States will rely more heavily on taxes, and that burden should be carried by everyone, not just …

Not Such Massively Discretionary Trusts: Proper Purposes Doctrine And Protectors As Means Of Control, Man Yip, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Innovation in drafting trust deeds has been central to international trust practice resulting in the discretionary trusts being the norm in modern wealth management. In a seminal article, Lionel Smith observes that these trust drafting practices have ‘led to an increase in the dispositive discretions held by trustees’. His analysis deprecates this development where the ‘trustees’ dispositive discretions effectively govern the whole trust structure’—which he labels ‘massively discretionary trusts’. Smith goes on to detail the various legal risks entailed in massively discretionary trusts which generally arise from the fact that the explicitly identified residuary or default beneficiaries are usually not …

The New Undue Influence, David Horton, Reid K. Weisbord

Utah Law Review

The doctrine of undue influence has long been the problem child of inheritance law. Undue influence, a hazy combination of fraud and duress, supposedly invalidates bequests that a beneficiary obtained by overriding the volition of a vulnerable testator or settlor. But because relationships are complex, concepts like free will are slippery, and challenges to do native transfers are litigated after the owner dies, courts struggle to apply the rule. Making matters worse, fact finders exploit the principle’s vagueness to protect a decedent’s family at the expense of non-traditional relationships. As a result, scholars have criticized undue influence fordecades, with some …

Equity And Trusts, Hang Wu Tang, Yong Seng Tay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Ivanishvili, Bidzina v Credit Suisse Trust Ltd' ("Ivanishvili") is a landmark trust case which makes major contributions to the law on trustee's duties in a settlor reserved power trust, anti-Bartlett clauses and constraints on the trustee's right to amend the trust deed. An appeal has been allowed in part by the Court of Appeal in Credit Suisse Trust Limited v Ivanishvili, Bidzina. The Court of Appeal's decision will be considered in next year's review. The present review of this case focuses on the decision of Patricia Bergin IJ. Mr Bidzina Ivanishvili ("Plaintiff"), his wife and their three children, were the …

Henderson And The Objective Observer Standard: The Future Of Race-Conscious Standards Post-Students For Fair Admissions, Gabriela Dionisio

Seattle University Law Review

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, which struck down race-conscious admissions policies. Within just a year after its ruling, Students for Fair Admissions has already had a sweeping impact, reaching beyond higher education. Although the Supreme Court did not indicate whether Students for Fair Admissions applies to sectors beyond higher education, law firms, and other employers have already modified their diversity policies and initiatives, erasing race and company diversity considerations. Given those dramatic changes, there is growing fear that Students for Fair Admissions …

Same Crime, Different Time: Sentencing Disparities In The Deep South & A Path Forward Under The Fourteenth Amendment, Hailey M. Donovan

Seattle University Law Review

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. The American obsession with crime and punishment can be tracked over the last half-century, as the nation’s incarceration rate has risen astronomically. Since 1970, the number of incarcerated people in the United States has increased more than sevenfold to over 2.3 million, outpacing both crime and population growth considerably. While the rise itself is undoubtedly bleak, a more troubling truth lies just below the surface. Not all states contribute equally to American mass incarceration. Rather, states have vastly different incarceration rates. Unlike at the federal level, …