Taxation-Federal Estate and Gift Commons^™

Change Is Constant In Estate Planning: Reflections Of An Actec Law Journal Editor, Bridget J. Crawford

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Discretionary Trusts: An Update, Richard C. Ausness

ACTEC Law Journal

In the past, settlors tended to limit a trustee's discretion by setting forth a specific formula for the distribution of trust assets. Nowadays, however, settlors often prefer to vest more discretion in their trustees. This is partly due to the fact that beneficiaries tend to live longer and, therefore, trusts inevitably last longer, thereby requiring trustees to respond to changing conditions. In addition, settlors often believe that vesting increased discretion on the part of trustees will discourage beneficiaries from bringing expensive and disruptive challenges to their decisions.

Nevertheless, the trend toward increased discretion is not without its problems. First of …

Et Tu (A)(2)? Blattmachr & Gans Dismantle Tax Court's Powell Analysis, N. Todd Angkatavanich, James I. Dougherty, Eric Fischer

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Powell And Section 2036: Our Reply, Mitchell M. Gans, Jonathan G. Blattmachr

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Comment On Modernizing New York Trust Law, C. Raymond Radigan, Jennifer F. Hillman

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Trust Flexibility And The Role Of Courts In Limiting Property Forms, Carla Spivack

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Response: A Modern Assessment Of Intestacy Law, James G. Pressly Jr., J. Grier Pressly Iii

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Response To Democracy And Trusts, Jake Calvert

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Commentary, Ronald H. Jensen

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The New York Revised Statutes' Trust Code And The Path Of The Common Law, Alfred L. Brophy

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Powers Of Attorney Under The Uniform Power Of Attorney Act Including Reference To Virginia Law, F. Philip Manns Jr.

ACTEC Law Journal

The Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA), approved in 2006, slightly amended in 2008 and more significantly amended in 2016, has been adopted by 27 U.S. jurisdictions. The UPOAA promotes uniformity in language delineating an agent's powers and mandates that third parties accept notarized powers of attorney. Under the UPOAA, an instrument simply granting an agent authority to do "all acts that a principal could do," vests that agent with broad powers: the precise delineation of those powers is produced by about a dozen pages of UPOAA text automatically incorporated by reference into such "all acts" instruments. However, the UPOAA …

Intestacy, Wills, And Intent: A Short Comment On Wright & Sterner, David Horton

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"Undemocratic" Trusts And The Numerus Clausus Principle, E. Gary Spitko

ACTEC Law Journal

In Democracy and Trusts, Professor Carla Spivack argues that, pursuant to the numerus clausus principle, a court is empowered to impair legislation authorizing a certain trust form where the legislation was not the product of "democratic decision-making." This imaginative claim is predicated upon two antecedent claims. First, Professor Spivack argues that the numerus clausus principle should apply to equitable interests. Second, she argues that the numerus clausus principle does not invest legislatures with the sole authority to determine allowable property forms; rather, courts also have an important role to play in composing the list of property forms. This review essay …

Elegy, William P. Lapiana

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Response To Professor Horton, Mr. James Pressly And Mr. J. Grier Pressly, Danaya C. Wright, Beth Sterner

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

My Response To Beyer And Bove, Richard C. Ausness

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Brief Review Of Professor F. Philip Manns, Jr., Powers Of Attorney Under The Uniform Power Of Attorney Act Including Reference To Virginia Law, Howard M. Zaritsky

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reactions To Discretionary Trusts: An Update By Richard C. Ausness, Gerry W. Beyer

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Commentary On Discretionary Trusts: An Update By Richard C. Ausness, Alexander A. Bove Jr.

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Undue Influence: The Gap Between Current Law And Scientific Approaches To Decision-Making And Persuasion, Dominic J. Campisi, Evan D. Winet, Jake Calvert

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Explaining The "Inexplicable": A Response To Powers Of Attorney Under The Uniform Power Of Attorney Act Including Reference To Virginia Law By Philip Manns, Jr., Andrew H. Hook, Jessica A. Hayes

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Upoaa & Vaupoaa: My Response, F. Philip Manns Jr.

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Over My Dead Body: Preventing And Resolving Disputes Regarding The Disposition Of The Dead, Shawn Irwin Walker

ACTEC Law Journal

The death of a loved one can be one of the most difficult times of a person's life. This difficulty is multiplied when disputes arise regarding the final disposition of the loved one's bodily remains. There are unique issues that exist in disputes when human remains are involved that do not necessarily exist in other disputes that occur after death. Resolving these disputes involves looking to varying state laws that often use a status-based scheme that prioritizes who controls the remains. When a dispute exists regarding the disposition of remains there are a number of vehicles and avenues parties could …

Family Limited Partnerships And Section 2036: Not Such A Good Fit, Mitchell M. Gans, Jonathan G. Blattmachr

ACTEC Law Journal

The IRS has struggled to close down abusive family limited partnerships. At first unreceptive to IRS arguments, the courts eventually embraced section 2036 as an estate-tax tool for attacking such partnerships. Because the section was not designed to apply to partnerships, difficulties have arisen as the courts have struggled with the fit. In its most recent encounter, the Tax Court in Powell grappled with a fit-related issue that implicates the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Byrum. The Powell court, it will be argued, misread Byrum, conflating the majority opinion with the dissent – and converting the rule-based approach …

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Social Control Of Wealth In Antebellum New York, William P. Lapiana

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Democracy And Trusts, Carla Spivack

ACTEC Law Journal

Spendthrift trusts which shield assets from creditors have been an ongoing problem for the law since their advent in the nineteenth century. Other, very recent, forms of trust are an even bigger problem: they take the notion of asset protection much farther, allowing settlors to protect not only the beneficiary’s assets, but their own, from creditors; these are called “self-settled asset protection trusts". Moreover, more and more states allow so-called “dynasty trusts” which allow settlors and beneficiaries to maintain assets in trust tax free for generations, overturning long-settled principles of the common law such as the Rule Against Perpetuities. All …

Honoring Probable Intent In Intestacy: An Empirical Assessment Of The Default Rules And The Modern Family, Danaya C. Wright, Beth Sterner

ACTEC Law Journal

This article provides preliminary analysis of an empirical study of nearly 500 wills probated in Alachua and Escambia Counties in the State of Florida in 2013. The particular focus of the study is to determine if there are noticeable patterns of property distribution preferences among decedents based on their diverse family relationships. Earlier empirical studies of distribution preferences indicated that a majority of married decedents wanted to give all or most of their estates to their surviving spouses. As a result of these studies, most states amended their probate codes to give surviving spouses a sizable percentage of a decedent …

In Memoriam Dennis Belcher: Lessons I Learned At The Feet Of The Master, Dana G. Fitzsimons Jr.

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.