A New Feudalism: Selfish Genes, Great Wealth, And The Rise Of The Dynastic Family Trust (Dft),
2022
University of Connecticut
A New Feudalism: Selfish Genes, Great Wealth, And The Rise Of The Dynastic Family Trust (Dft), Eric Kades
Connecticut Law Review
Today’s record levels of economic inequality are infecting our future as the top 0.01% bequeath vast wealth to their descendants. With the death of the Rule Against Perpetuities (RAP), this inequality has the potential to harden social class lines—not just for a generation or two, but forever. Although it may sound implausible, interviews with estate lawyers serving very high-net-worth clients reveal that some members of the wealthiest tier of testators are already exploiting the RAP’s elimination, along with a tax loophole, to establish dynasty trusts that will financially empower their bloodline as long as it continues. Recent work in evolutionary …
Post-Pandemic Estate Planning: Analyzing The Recent Changes In Remote Notarization Laws,
2022
Seattle University School of Law
Post-Pandemic Estate Planning: Analyzing The Recent Changes In Remote Notarization Laws, Matthew Fiedler
Seattle University Law Review
This Note explores estate planning in the post-pandemic landscape. Part I of this Note discusses how the resistance to remote technology in estate planning is rooted in traditional notions of formalism. Part II introduces a discussion regarding the use of remote technology, including its benefits and drawbacks. Part III articulates the current legal requirements to validly notarize signatures on various estate planning documents in Washington state. This part also discusses the extent of electronic or remote notarization allowed in the wake of emergency orders issued by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee in response to the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, Part …
Table Of Contents,
2022
Seattle University School of Law
Butler V. Gavek, 245 A.3d 750 (R.I. 2021),
2022
Candidate for Juris Doctor, Roger Williams University School of Law
Butler V. Gavek, 245 A.3d 750 (R.I. 2021), David Braga
Roger Williams University Law Review
No abstract provided.
Wills & Trusts,
2022
Texas Tech University School of Law
When Beneficiaries Predecease: An Empirical Analysis,
2022
Emory University School of Law
When Beneficiaries Predecease: An Empirical Analysis, Adam J. Hirsch
Emory Law Journal
Under current law, bequests to beneficiaries who predecease the testator “lapse” to the beneficiary of the residuary, unless they are preserved for the descendants of predeceased beneficiaries under an “antilapse” statute. The beneficiaries covered by antilapse statutes vary from state to state, but in most states today the statutes apply only to blood relatives of the testator as distant as first cousins. This Article examines the public policy of antilapse statutes, assessing them by undertaking the first-ever survey of popular preferences concerning the matter. Harvesting evidence for five types of beneficiaries, the study finds that the prevailing structure of antilapse …
Legacies Of A Pandemic: Remote Attestation And Electronic Wills,
2022
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Legacies Of A Pandemic: Remote Attestation And Electronic Wills, Richard F. Storrow
Mitchell Hamline Law Review
No abstract provided.
Restricting Funeral Expense Deductions,
2022
Southern Illinois University School of Law
Restricting Funeral Expense Deductions, William A. Drennan
Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)
During the Middle Ages, the wealthy often requested burial in mass graves with their fellow mortals, as a sign of humility. But since the rise of the cult of the individual during the Renaissance, individual burial plots have been an expression of prestige, wealth, and social status for some. For example, Leona Helmsley, real estate baroness and “Queen of Mean,” dedicated $3 million upon her death for the care and maintenance of her 1300 square foot, $1.4 million mausoleum. Respectful disposition of the body is a hallmark of civilization and a common law requirement of estate administration, but an extravagant …
The Future Of Electronic Wills In Rhode Island After Covid-19,
2022
Roger Williams University
The Future Of Electronic Wills In Rhode Island After Covid-19, Crystal L. Collins.
Roger Williams University Law Review
No abstract provided.
2021 Surveys Of Rhode Island Law,
2022
Roger Williams University
2021 Surveys Of Rhode Island Law
Roger Williams University Law Review
No abstract provided.
On Disgorgement And Punitive Damages In Trust Law,
2022
Notre Dame Law School
On Disgorgement And Punitive Damages In Trust Law, Daniel B. Kelly
Journal Articles
Private and charitable trusts hold trillions of dollars in assets. Trustees manage, invest, and distribute these assets, subject to fiduciary duties, including the duty of loyalty and prudence. But the remedies for fiduciary breach, and their justifications, are convoluted. The conventional view, especially in law and economics, is to characterize most fiduciary relationships, including trusts, as contractual and most fiduciary duties as implicit contract terms. One might suppose, then, that the optimal remedy for fiduciary breach would be the same as the usual remedy for contractual breach: damages. But the traditional equitable remedies in fiduciary law, and modern remedies in …
Fringe Inheriting: Probate Avoidance At Both Ends Of The Wealth Spectrum,
2022
University of Richmond - School of Law
Fringe Inheriting: Probate Avoidance At Both Ends Of The Wealth Spectrum, Allison Anna Tait
Law Faculty Publications
The principal system in the United States for transferring wealth from one generation to the next - the probate system - is a historically and steadfastly public one. Probate is a set of public processes and a court system created to situate and facilitate wealth transfer, giving legal imprimatur to the distribution of family money. Nevertheless, while the probate system may be the central and most conventional system for transferring wealth, not all families and individuals avail themselves of the system. The broad swath of families who avail themselves of the services and certain benefits of the probate system are, …
Prepaid Death,
2022
University of Georgia School of Law
Kumble V. Voccola, 253 A.3d 1248 (R.I. 2021),
2022
Candidate for Juris Doctor, Roger Williams University School of Law
Kumble V. Voccola, 253 A.3d 1248 (R.I. 2021), Aryamen Andrew Omshehe
Roger Williams University Law Review
No abstract provided.
Disinheritance, Discrimination, And The Case For Including Adult Independent Children In Dependants’ Relief Schemes: Lawen Estate V Nova Scotia,
2021
University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law
Disinheritance, Discrimination, And The Case For Including Adult Independent Children In Dependants’ Relief Schemes: Lawen Estate V Nova Scotia, Jane Thomson
Dalhousie Law Journal
In 2019 a Superior Court in Nova Scotia excluded adult independent children as “Dependants” under Nova Scotia’s Testator’s Family Maintenance Act. The decision was based on a finding that testamentary autonomy is a constitutional right protected by s. 7 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This article explains why the constitutional decision in Lawen Estate v Nova Scotia was incorrect. It also demonstrates why the inclusion of adult independent children in dependants’ relief schemes is not only benign in most instances, but may play a role in preventing the perpetuation of discrimination in the private law. This article also …
Trusts From A To Z: Legal Ethics,
2021
University of South Dakota School of Law
Trusts From A To Z: Legal Ethics, Thomas Simmons
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, And Fiduciary Administration,
2021
Mercer University School of Law
Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, And Fiduciary Administration, Mary F. Radford
Mercer Law Review
This Article discusses significant cases decided by the Georgia Court of Appeals during the period of June 1, 2020, through May 31, 2021, pertaining to Georgia fiduciary law, guardianship, and estate planning. This Article also describes the highlights of legislation contained in a comprehensive bill that revised and clarified the laws relating to wills, trusts, and the administration of estates and that became effective January 1, 2021.
Electronic Wills: Why Would Georgia Choose To Delay The Inevitable?,
2021
Mercer University School of Law
Electronic Wills: Why Would Georgia Choose To Delay The Inevitable?, Jacob C. Wilson
Mercer Law Review
This Comment assesses the changes in Georgia’s laws regarding the formalities of wills and analyzes how acceptance of an electronic will in Georgia would be an acceptable response to the changing times. Part I analyzes how Georgia’s wills statutes have changed and discusses how the wills law came into fruition today. Part II analyzes the Electronic Wills Act, states that have passed statutes considering the Act, and a review of Georgia’s legislative approach to the Act. Part III reviews an in-depth analysis of (a state) that has passed the Electronic Wills Act that operates in a strict compliance jurisdiction. Part …
Socially Distant Signing: Why Georgia Should Adopt Remote Will Execution In The Post-Covid World,
2021
University of Georgia School of Law
Socially Distant Signing: Why Georgia Should Adopt Remote Will Execution In The Post-Covid World, Jessie Daniel Rankin
Georgia Law Review
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and other state governors issued emergency executive orders authorizing the attestation and execution of wills, trusts, and other testamentary documents through the use of audio-video technology. Most states have traditionally required that such testamentary documents be signed in the physical presence of two or more witnesses to be valid. Georgia’s executive order permits these witnesses to instead observe the signing via video-conferencing software, alleviating the requirement that the witnesses be physically present with the testator. This authorization, however, only exists through this executive order and could lapse or be …
Wills, Trusts, And Estates,
2021
University of Richmond
Wills, Trusts, And Estates, Katherine E. Ramsey, Sarah J. Brownlow
University of Richmond Law Review
The 2021 Virginia General Assembly did not pass any major laws governing estates or trusts this year. However, it did pass several legislative efforts related to the field and of which practitioners should be aware. Perhaps the most relevant update given the COVID-19 pandemic was the Legislature’s effort to modernize procedures for electronic notarizations and electronic recording of documents. Another new law was designed to improve retirement savings participation rates in the Commonwealth by requiring certain employers to enroll their employees by default in a new, state-facilitated individual retirement account program. The Legislature also passed several bills designed to make …
