Estates and Trusts Commons^™

Symposium: The Winds Of Change In Wills, Trusts, And Estate Planning Law, Law Review Editor

Vanderbilt Law Review

The articles in this Symposium illustrate three different aspects of change. The essay by Professor Fellows provides an analysis and criticism of one very important change, the trend toward the use of a legislative rather than judicial forum to create new law. In the second article, Professor Rein discusses adoption and proposes a mechanism by which the laws of succession can be modernized better to reflect the social phenomenon of adoption,whether of children or adults, legal or equitable. Professor Miller and Mr. Rainey in their article examine the premises that have prompted the increasing use of a revocable trust rather …

Procedures For Terminating Small Trusts, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

Trusts sometimes become too small for effective administration. This article discusses various provisions-statutory, common law, and drafting for terminating them. I.

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, Twenty-Sixth Annual Survey Of Developments In Virginia Law, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

The Virginia General Assembly continued its increased legislative activity in the area of wills, trusts, and estates during the past year by passing three major acts: Exempt Property and Allowances; Acts Barring Property Rights; and the Virginia Small Estate Act. In addition to these major bills, seven additional acts enacted by the General Assembly and four cases decided by the Supreme Court of Virginia involved issues important to both the general practitioner and the specialist in wills and trusts. This article reviews these legislative and judicial developments, with emphasis on the three most important legislative enactments.

The "Plain English" Trust, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Johnson argues in favor of, and then provides an example of, a trust drafted in "plain English."

Arkansas And The Uniform Probate Code: Some Issues And Answers, Richard V. Wellman

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Imperfect Gifts As Declarations Of Trust: An Unapologetic Anomaly, Sarajane N. Love

Scholarly Works

This article will address circumstances under which 'gifts' of personalty, made without legal supervision by lay people, should be construed as declarations of trust in order to carry out the wishes of the property owner. The declaration of trust doctrine may salvage some attempted gift transactions because the property which is the subject of the trust need not be delivered to the trust beneficiary.

Federal Gift And Estate Tax - Interest-Fre Loans - Intrafamily Interest-Free Loans Are Not Taxable Transfers For Purposes Of I.R.C., Lee H. Stein

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Taxation Of Distributions From Accumulation Trusts: The Impact Of The Tax Reform Act Of 1976, David T. Link, Michael J. Wahoske

Journal Articles

The complex rules governing the taxation of income from trusts and estates have at times been described as incomprehensible. Perhaps the most confusing of these are the accumulation distribution throwback rules. In an effort to alleviate some of this confusion, Congress included accumulation trusts within the purview of the Tax Reform Act of 1976. Though Congress claimed that the rules are now "considerably simplified," it is not without some effort that one is able to translate the statutory language into a form useful to the practitioner.

Given the complexity of the rules, it is necessary to begin with a caveat. …

Prudence, Information, And Trust Investment Law, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Professors Langbein and Posner recently proposed that fiduciaries be allowed to invest in market funds under a relaxation of the prudent investor standard. But a relaxation of the selectivity requirements may be destructive of capital market efficiency and perhaps of the capital markets themselves.

Report Of Third Annual Seminar On Estate Planning, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law, Joseph C. Oldham, J. E. Banahan, John Peter Frank, T. O. Jack Hall, Timothy R. Futrell, Michael W. Mcgrath Jr., Edward A. Rothschild, John G. Atchison Jr., W. Van Meter Alford, Scott T. Smith, Russell H. Riggs, Stephen J. Vasek Jr.

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Reports from the UK/CLE Third Annual Seminar on Estate Planning held July 23-24, 1976.

Virginia Survey Of Law: Property Section; Trusts And Estates Section, Lynda L. Butler

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Second Annual Seminar On Estate Planning, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law, John T. Bondurant, Edwin H. Perry, P. Michael Davis, Philip W. Moss, Frederick W. Whiteside, Robert M. Bath, William V. Phelan, John Peter Frank Iii, Gladney Harville, William S. Dillon, Eugene F. Scoles, Edward A. Rothschild

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Schedule and materials from the Second Annual Seminar on Estate Planning held by UK/CLE on July 18-19, 1975.

Charitable Remainder Trusts: A Study Of Current Problems, Anthon S. Cannon Jr.

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Prudence In Trust Investment, Thomas D. Johnston

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I of this article presents a brief history of the prudent man standard and explores the meaning of "prudence." Part II discusses the shift in legal theory to include equities as prudent investments. Part III articulates the weaknesses in the method currently used by courts to assess investment prudence in view of the exigencies confronting today's trustee-investor. Finally, part IV shows that the same factors which justified the creation of the Prudent Man Rule and its expansion to include equities will support its modification to encompass modern investment theories and techniques.

Trusts And The Doctrine Of Estates, Olin L. Browder Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The "doctrine of estates" is the common law system for the classification of divided ownership. Its primary purpose is to differentiate the legal consequences of the variety of concurrent, present, and future estates, but it also serves to differentiate the dispositive language required to create or transfer such estates. The doctrine of estates, therefore, embraces a sizable part of the law of conveyancing, including the large body of doctrine known as rules of construction.

In modern practice the classification and construction of present and future interests usually occurs with respect to beneficial interests in trust. It has not been sufficiently …

Report Of Seminar On Estate Planning, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law, Donald Macdonald, William B. Peden, Cynthia H. Camuel, Williasm S. Dillon, William P. Sturm, J. E. Banahan, John Peter Frank Iii, Edward A. Rothschild, Ronald S. Leventhal, Michael Winston

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Reports from the UK/CLE Seminar on Estate Planning held July 19-20, 1974.

Delegation Of Investment Powers By Charitable Trustees, Richard B. Urda Jr.

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Over the past few years the activities of philanthropic organizations have been undergoing considerable critical scrutiny. Congressional committees, private commissions, and individuals have extensively analyzed institutionalized charity. An area of particular concern involves problems created by the investment policies of charitable organizations. One investment problem that has not received much attention, however, is the plight of the natural person trustee of a charitable trust who, in general, is legally prohibited from delegating his responsibility for investment of trust funds. Almost one-third of all charitable foundations take the legal form of trusts. Of the foundations organized as charitable trusts, over 60 …

Descendible Future Interests In Georiga: The Effect Of The Preference For Early Vesting, Verner F. Chaffin

Scholarly Works

In past issues of the Review Professor Chaffin has illuminated many areas of Trust and Estates Law. In this Article he treats the inscrutable area of descendible future interests. Future interests which do not terminate at death obviously result in nonpossessory property passing through the estates of their holders. This Article first shows the unhappy consequences of such passage of property. It then points out not only that most draftsmen and testators are unaware of the undesirable consequences of creating descendible future interests, but also that many such interests exist as a result of Georgia's constructional preference for early vesting …

The Real Estate Investment Trust: State Tax, Tort, And Contract Liabilities Of The Trust, Trustee, And Shareholder, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Comment will attempt to alert potential investors in and trustees of REITs to the full extent of the liabilities that they could suffer for contract debts incurred in the name of the trust and torts committed by trust personnel. Since state tax considerations also play a significant role in investment decisions, the manner in which each state taxes the REIT and its shareholders on income derived from property and business in that state will also be investigated. Finally, a rational path out of the morass created by current state law will be articulated in order to prompt renewed discussion …

The Indiana Trust Code -- Application To Pre-Existing Trusts, T. Bryan Underwood

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Private Trusts For Indefinite Beneficiaries, George E. Palmer

Michigan Law Review

Recently, in McPhail v. Doulton (In re Baden's Deed Trusts), the House of Lords reached a decision that marks an important change in the English law of trusts which could be important also for American law. It held that there is a single test of validity for private trusts and for powers of appointment where the issue is whether the beneficiaries of the trust or the objects of the power are sufficiently definite, and that this single test is that applicable to powers of appointment. For nearly 170 years, since the decision in Morice v. Bishop of Durham, …

Beneficiary's Code Remedy Against Converting Trustee And Bankruptcy Policy, R. Clifford Potter

Indiana Law Journal

Recent Developments

Kahn, Colson, & Craven: Federal Taxation Of Estates, Gifts, And Trusts, Richard D. Hobbet

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Federal Taxation of Estates, Gifts, and Trusts by Douglas A. Kahn, Earl M. Colson, and George Craven

How To Avoid Problems With Your Will, By Robert A. Farmer; Probate Can Be Quick And Cheap, By William F. Fratcher, William W. Oliver

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Recent Patterns Of Testate Succession In The United States And England, Olin L. Browder Jr.

Michigan Law Review

This study purports to be in part a comparison of American and English testamentary practices. The virtual absence in England of estate records as we know them imposed limitations on the attainment of this objective. For present purposes, data concerning English practices were derived almost entirely from one hundred English wills selected at random from those filed during the year 1963 in the Principal Probate Registry in London. To the extent that these wills came from all over England and Wales, they can be regarded as representative of English practices generally. But the much smaller size of the sample in …

Federal Estate Taxation - Charitable Transfer - Deductibility Of Certain Bequests - Estate Of Edna Allen Miller, 48 T . C. 251 (1967), Homer L. Elliott

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Herman L. Trautman, W. Harold Bigham

Vanderbilt Law Review

THE BEST OF TRUSTS AND ESTATES-ESTATE PLANNING

There are one hundred and four articles arranged in eight chapters entitled, "Estate Planning-A Panoramic View," "Using the Marital Deduction, "Income Tax Planning, " "Making the Most of Gifts,""Minimizing Administration Problems," "How to Handle Business Interests," "Arranging Life Insurance," and "Drafting Wills and Trusts." The citation and date of the original publication of each article is stated, and in many instances there is an addendum by the author which brings the article up to the date of the book. In addition there are excellent introductory commentaries by the editors at the beginning of …

Abstracts Of Recent Cases, Robert Bruce King

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trusts--Power Of Revocation--Various Methods, Judith Herndon

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Decedents' Estates, Trusts And Future Interests -- 1963 Tennessee Survey, Herman L. Trautman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Three interesting cases represent significant developments in the laws concerning the distribution of amounts received by the administrator in wrongful death actions, two' of which arose under the Tennessee wrongful death statute and the other arising under the Federal Employers' Liability Act. The two cases arising under the Tennessee statute were problems of somewhat first impression,reasoned upon analogy, and the case arising under the federal statute resulted in the Tennessee Supreme Court overruling its prior decision.