Property Law and Real Estate Commons^™

Dispositions Of Property To Unincorporated Non-Profit Associations, Harold A.J. Ford

Michigan Law Review

It now becomes necessary to examine the cases in which the disposition could not be treated as one to the existing members. This treatment will disclose that some courts have been prepared to regard some dispositions to associations as being for the purposes of the association. The only way in which property may be devoted to a purpose without conferring beneficial interests on particular individuals is by a trust. Accordingly in many instances the disposition takes effect as a trust.

Transfers Of Joint Property In Contemplation Of Death: A Call For Immediate Statutory Revision, L. Hart Wright

Michigan Law Review

For years the Tax Court sided with the government and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in asserting that the contemplation-of-death provision of the estate tax act was sufficiently elastic to include the tax concept of ownership reflected in the joint-property provision of the same act. The alliance between those tribunals on this point was recently broken, however, when the Tax Court shifted to the competing view supported by taxpayers and the appellate court for the Ninth Circuit. It now believes that the two provisions mentioned above are complete strangers even though at one time these two were …

Model Will, With Explanatory Comments, Of The Father Of A Closely-Knit Family Group, Designed To Minimize Family Estate And Income Taxes, William J. Bowe

Vanderbilt Law Review

I, Marital Deduction Sprinkle, of Special Power, Tax haven, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all wills and codicils heretofore made by me.

Tangible Personal Property

All of my tangible property of every nature and wheresoever situated, except any such property being used by any business in which I may be interested, I give and bequeath to my wife, Mary, outright, if she survives me; if she fails to survive me, I give and bequeath said personal property to those of my …

Descent And Distribution - Effect Of Advancements, Debts And Releases When Expectant Distributee Predeceases Intestate, Eric E. Bergsten

Michigan Law Review

The law of advancements is part of the law of intestate succession. But the right of retainer, which allows an offset against a distributee's share of the estate for a debt owed by the distributee to the decedent, is merely a method of debt collection and historically has not been considered as a part of the law of inheritance. For this and other reasons, the law applicable to advancements in this situation is better treated separately from that concerning debts of predeceased expectant heirs. There are also sufficient differences between the treatment given a release and that of either an …

Determination Of Heirship, Paul E. Basye

Michigan Law Review

Nearly a hundred years have elapsed since the Supreme Court emphatically voiced its conviction as to the necessity of having some method for making a final determination concerning the devolution of the ownership of property upon the death of its owner.

Book Reviews, Arthur M. Sammis, Michael H. Cardozo, George T. Frampton, Percy Bordwell, S. E. Thorne, Herbert A. Kuvin, W. Bryan Bolich, Joseph Dainow, Robert B. Looper

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Wills Branch Of The Worthier Title Doctrine, Joseph W. Morris

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this article to examine the history and origin of the wills branch of the worthier title doctrine, to ascertain the extent of its application and the manner of its application, to determine the legal consequences flowing therefrom, and to consider the desirability of its continued existence.

Descent And Distribution - Ancestral Property - Exclusion Of Next Of Kin Other Than Half Bloods, George F. Lynch

Michigan Law Review

The decedent died intestate owning land which he had inherited from his father. His only next of kin were four blood aunts and uncles on his mother's side, and three blood aunts and uncles on his father's side. The paternal aunts and uncles contended that the land descended to them alone by virtue of a section of the Alabama code, which provides: "There is no distinction made between the whole and the half blood in the same degree, unless the inheritance came to the intestate by descent, devise or gift, from or of some one of his ancestors; in which …

Book Reviews, Donald H. Wollett, Peter Ward, John E. Mcaniff, Arthur H. Sherry, Bertel M. Sparks, A. L. Eno Jr., Charles O. Galvin, Emerson G. Spies, Benjamin Carlin, Charles H. Miller, Erwin C. Surrency, Albert B. Jones, W. Friedmann, Alfred I. Maleson, Douglas H. Parker, Clarence F. Hyrne Jr., Elvin R. Latty

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Real Property - Elimination Of The Straw Man In The Creation Of Joint Estates In Michigan, Edward H. Hoenicke S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

That joint ownership is a popular form of holding title to real property is undeniable. A husband and wife are especially likely to consider this form of ownership as "natural" and desirable because it emphasizes the concept of marriage as a partnership and gives both partners control over and ownership in the family property. In addition to these factors, joint ownership is popular because of the right of survivorship which is incident to it. In this feature the layman sees, or thinks he sees, the opportunity to avoid a probate proceeding, the estate tax, and the lawyer's fee. It is …

Wills - Revocation By Change In Circumstances - Effect Of A Separation And Property Settlement Agreement, Paul R. Haerle

Michigan Law Review

Testator's will, executed in 1944, named his wife executrix and sole devisee. One month before his death in 1952 he entered into a detailed separation and property settlement agreement with her in which, though not referring directly to the will, the wife released any present, future or after-acquired interest in the same realty as was devised in the will. The widow's offering of the will for probate was contested by the heirs. The lower court directed a verdict for the contestants on the ground that the agreement operated to revoke the will. On appeal, held, reversed. Since neither a …

Devolution Of Rights Under An Unexercised Option To Purchase Land, Eugene C. Roemele Iii

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Legal Effect Of Contracts To Devise Or Bequeath Prior To The Death Of The Promisor: I, Bertel M. Sparks

Michigan Law Review

Questions involving the rights, duties, powers, privileges, and immunities of parties to contracts to devise or bequeath are frequently raised prior to the death of the party promising to make the devise or bequest. In essence the problem is one of analyzing the legal relationships existing prior to the date set for performance. An analysis of these relationships is undertaken in this article. Vital questions concerning the formation of such contracts and their enforcement after the promisor's death are considered only when they appear essential to the development of the main theme which concerns the contract's effect prior to the …

Wills, Estates And Trusts -- 1954 Tennessee Survey, William J. Bowe

Vanderbilt Law Review

Freedom of Testation: Other than the statutory forced share of a spouse' testators have almost unlimited freedom in the disposition of their property. A devise or bequest will be held invalid only when it runs counter to some well established rule of public policy. Thus gifts in violation of the rule against perpetuities, against accumulations or against restraints on alienations are void. Further, the courts will strike down capricious or whimsical bequests, as well as those which are conditioned upon the performance of illegal or tortious acts. But in absence of any violation of public policy a testator is free …

Creation Of Joint Rights Between Husband And Wife In Personal Property: Ii, R. Bruce Townsend

Michigan Law Review

The net effect of the general legislation pertaining to the creation of joint tenancy has been to make lawyers sensitive to language expressing an intent to create joint tenancy, tenancy by the entireties and other types of survivorship rights which may or may not fall within the foregoing concepts. And so the law has busied itself with the task of giving technical meanings to words used by members of the public in their efforts to create joint rights in property-a task that has not been fully appreciated by people who acquire personal property from bankers, brokers, clerks and the like …

Future Interests - Restraints On Alienation - Same Rules Applicable To Restraints On Future And Possessory Interests, Chester F. Relyea S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Testator devised real estate to his wife for life, remainder to his children, "with the following understanding," that should any child attempt to dispose of his interest before the death of the testator's wife, that child would forfeit his share and it would go to the remaining children. After the death of the testator, but before the death of his widow, one son conveyed away his interest in the property. In a suit for the partition of the real estate devised by the testator; held, on appeal, restraints on the alienation of vested estates in fee simple are against …

Advancements: Iii, Harold I. Elbert

Michigan Law Review

Many states have statutes which provide that support, maintenance and education of a child will not be considered an advancement unless the parent intended it as such. The Kentucky statute is typical and it reads in part as follows: " . . . the maintaining or educating or the giving of money, to a child or grandchild without any view to a portion or settlement in life, shall not be deemed an advancement." Most states do not have statutes of that type but by judicial decision reach a result that is in accord with the statutory provision just quoted.

Perpetuities And Other Restraints: A Study Of The Michigan Statutes And Decisions Relating To Perpetuities And Other Devices Which Fetter The Alienability Of Property, Against The Background Of The Laws Of England And Other American Jurisdictions, William F. Frachter

Michigan Legal Studies Series

The central theme of this study comprises the judicial and legislative rules developed to restrict attempts by men of property to endow their families in perpetuity, usually with land, in such manner that each successive living generation can neither part with the property nor prevent unborn generations from succeeding to it. Part One deals with attempts to accomplish this object by bestowing the whole title on each living generation but denying each such generation the power to dispose of the property or to prevent its· descent to the next generation. In this part the principal restrictive rules are judicial, the …

Wills - Enforcement Of Parol Contract To Devise Real Property, John S. Slavens S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs and decedent made an oral agreement whereby plaintiffs agreed to pay decedent a yearly sum and to make repairs on certain real estate in return for which decedent agreed to devise the real estate to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs had been in possession of the property for several years and had vastly improved its value when decedent died, devising the property to third parties. Plaintiffs brought this action for specific performance against the devisees. The trial court, satisfied that the oral contract had been established, entered the decree for specific performance. On appeal, held, affirmed. A person can make a …

The Non-General Power Of Appointment -- A Creature Of The Powers Of Appointment Act Of 1951, Allan Mccoid

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the course of the past fifty years, during which estate planning has become a specialty rather than one of many jobs handled by the general practitioner, the power of appointment has become an increasingly popular form of gift. The two great advantages which have been claimed for the power are the introduction of great flexibility into the estate plan and the reduction of the tax burden on the property as it passes from one generation to another. It was presumably with both of these objectives in mind that Professor William J. Bowe made a suggestion last year as to …

Is The Rule Against Perpetuities Doomed?, Lewis M. Simes

Michigan Law Review

Few rules of the common law have shown such amazing vitality as the rule against perpetuities. Emerging in the Duke of Norfolk's Case in 1682, as a rule to restrict unbarrable entails in land, it is now applied, not only to interests in land, legal and equitable, but also to personal estate, tangible and intangible, including beneficial interests in trusts. It is regarded as a part of the common law of nearly every English speaking country, except a few of the United States where statutory substitutes have been provided. Since 1930, statutory substitutes have been abolished and there has been …

Advancements: Ii, Harold I. Elbert

Michigan Law Review

A voluntary inter vivos transfer by a parent to a child is not an advancement so long as the transferor lives. The purpose of the doctrine is to equalize an intestate' s property among his children. It is auxiliary to the distribution of his estate that the question of advancement is raised. The death of the transferor is not enough to give rise to the doctrine. The person seeking to charge the intestate's heirs with an advancement must prove several additional facts. The legislation of each state determines what must be proved in order to charge the transferee with an …

Securities - Application Of Antideficiency Judgment Statute To Second Purchase Money Trust Deed Where Security Is Exhausted By Foreclosure Of First Deed, John Houck S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

To secure the purchase price of land, defendant executed a promissory note and first deed of trust in favor of a savings and loan association, and a second note and deed in favor of plaintiff-vendor. On default of both obligations, the savings and loan association foreclosed upon the land. The resulting sale completely exhausted the security, and plaintiff brought the present action upon his note. Defendant interposed section 580b of the California Code of Civil Procedure, which specifies that "no deficiency judgment shall lie in any event after any sale of real property for failure of the purchaser to complete …

Advantages And Limitations Of A Power Of Consumption In Testamentary Transfers Of Property

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Harold W. Holt, Harold G. Wren (Reviewer), Walter Chandler (Reviewer), Harold W. Hannah (Reviewer)

Vanderbilt Law Review

Marital Property in Conflict of Laws By Harold Marsh, Jr. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1952. Pp.

reviewer: Harold Wright Holt

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Life Insurance and Estate Tax Planning By William J. Bowe Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, November 1952 Revision. Pp. 109.$2.10

reviewer: Harold G. Wren

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Caruthers' History of a Lawsuit Seventh Edition by Sam Gilreath Cincinnati: The W. H. Anderson Company, 1951. Pp. 1088. $17.50.

reviewer: Walter Chandler

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Legal Status of the Tenant Farmer in the Southeast By Charles S.Mangum Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1952.Pp. viii, 478, $7.50.

reviewer: Harold W. Hannah

Retroactive Legislation Affecting Interests In Land, John Scurlock

Michigan Legal Studies Series

Professor Scurlock's monograph covers an area of the law which is commonly by-passed in treatises and in classroom instruction. If we could merely tear Maitland's "seamless web" of the law and retain all the shreds, no part of the legal system would escape us. What we actually do, however, is to set up, in a more or less arbitrary fashion, numerous centers of legal classification, such as contracts, torts, property and constitutional law, to which closely related legal materials are attracted as to a magnet. But those legal materials which stand midway between two centers of attraction are likely to …

Kentucky Decisions On Future Interests (1938-1953), W. Lewis Roberts

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Real Property-Tenancy By Entireties-Creation By Deed From Husband To Husband And Wife, Richard P. Matsch S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

H owned real estate in fee simple. His wife, W, joined with him in a warranty deed conveying the land to themselves with the expressed intention of creating a tenancy by entireties. H died and his heirs challenged W's right to take the fee by survivorship. The trial court held that a tenancy by entireties had been created and the wife properly took the fee. On appeal, held, affirmed, one judge dissenting. An Arkansas statute providing that a married man may convey "the interest specified in the deed" directly to his wife permits a husband, already owner …

Tax Planning For Nontaxable Estates, William J. Bowe

Vanderbilt Law Review

Owners of modest estates are always greatly relieved to learn of the liberal federal estate tax exemption of $60,000. Freed from the burden of federal estate tax planning they frequently turn their attention to methods of transferring property which will avoid the heavy cost and delay incident to probate administration. Joint ownership, gifts of remainder interests, donee-beneficiary contracts, revocable trusts are among the more common devices available. Use of any one of these plans may accomplish a shift in possession and enjoyment of property upon the death of the planner with no delay and minimum expense.

But the income tax …

The Rule Against Perpetuities And Its Application To A Private Trust, Reuben M. Payne

Cleveland State Law Review

The creator of a trust of any complexity or length of duration usually attempts to create future contingent interests under the trust, or interests to take effect after the termination of the trust. In making provisions for such contingent future interests, the settlor must be careful to respect the Rule Against Remoteness of vesting, if he would have his trust secure against attack. Thus, if S wishes to create a trust by his will in favor of his children and grandchildren, providing for grandchildren who may be born after S's death, it is obvious that he desires to provide for …