Deliberative Accountability Rules In Inheritance Law: Promoting Accountable Estate Planning,
2012
Academic Center of Law & Business
Deliberative Accountability Rules In Inheritance Law: Promoting Accountable Estate Planning, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In the last few decades, the emerging trend in trust and estate law has been a steady loosening of the limitations on testamentary freedom. The 1990 Uniform Probate Code pioneered some of these developments. Construction rules are no exception. It is widely accepted that testamentary construction rules should track the owner's presumed intent. In this Article, I argue that there is also room, alongside these intent-furthering rules, for intent-defeating rules in inheritance law. A property owner lacks incentives to internalize the relational, familial, or economic effects of her allocation. Such rules, termed deliberative accountability rules, are therefore designed to foster …
Non-Judicial Estate Settlement,
2012
Pettit College of Law, Ohio Northern University
Non-Judicial Estate Settlement, John H. Martin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Estate settlement through probate procedures satisfies no one. The public is hostile to the delay, expense, and lack of privacy that accompanies probate. Attorneys respond to public dissatisfaction by counseling probate avoidance. Legislatures facilitate some settlements by enacting simplified procedures for low-value estates. In large measure, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) was a response to criticisms leveled at probate. Alternative settlement procedures are offered by the UPC, including informal testacy determinations and informal appointment procedures. These alternatives, however, remain imbedded in a judicial system, with it procedural rigidities. The UPC informal settlement alternatives did not silence the criticism. The continued …
The Probate Definition Of Family: A Proposal For Guided Discretion In Intestacy,
2012
University of Oregon School of Law
The Probate Definition Of Family: A Proposal For Guided Discretion In Intestacy, Susan N. Gary
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Intestacy statutes may not match the wishes of many people who die intestate. Changes to the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) include or exclude potential takers, as the drafters attempt to bring the UPC provisions closer to the intent of more intestate decedents. As the UPC tries to fine-tune the intestacy statutes, however, family circumstances continue to get more and more complicated. Families headed by unmarried couples, blended families with children from multiple marriages, and families in which adults raise children who are not legally theirs, have become commonplace. For some decedents, non-family friends and caregivers may be more important than …
Toward Equality: Nonmarital Children And The Uniform Probate Code,
2012
University of Maryland School of Law
Toward Equality: Nonmarital Children And The Uniform Probate Code, Paula A. Monopoli
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article traces the evolution of the Uniform Probate Code's (UPC) broad equality framework for inheritance by nonmarital children in the context of the wider movement for legal equality for such children in society. It concludes that the UPC is to be lauded for its efforts to provide equal treatment to all nonmarital children. The UPC's commitment to such equality serves an expressive function for state legislatures and courts to follow its lead. The UPC has fulfilled its promise that all children regardless of marital status shall be equal for purposes of inheritance from or through parents, with one exception: …
Wandering Far Afield With Defined Value Clauses,
2012
University of Baltimore School of Law
Wandering Far Afield With Defined Value Clauses, Wendy G. Gerzog
All Faculty Scholarship
The Wandry decision extends the application of defined value clauses beyond those family limited partnership cases that transfer any excess value to a charity. In Wandry, the Tax Court reads Procter narrowly and ignores the fundamental rationale of Robinette.
Why In Re Omegas Group Was Right: An Essay On The Legal Status Of Equitable Rights,
2012
Cornell Law School
Why In Re Omegas Group Was Right: An Essay On The Legal Status Of Equitable Rights, Emily Sherwin
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Institutionalizing Mediation: The Role Of Lawyers And Bar Associations ,
2012
Pepperdine University
Institutionalizing Mediation: The Role Of Lawyers And Bar Associations , Ronald R. Volkmer
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
The world of trusts and estates is changing before our eyes - the "multidiscipline practice" trend may radically change the traditional practice of the probate bar. There is one constant, however, besides change and that is conflict. That conflict is oftentimes lurking beneath the surface when a lawyer becomes involved in the estate planning process. All of the technical knowledge you may possess about the legal system and its rules is valuable and necessary. But, the estate planning lawyer is preeminently a counselor at law. In the strongest possible way I urge students to become aware of conflict management skills …
Mediation And Jury Trials As Means Of Resolving Will Contests ,
2012
Pepperdine University
Mediation And Jury Trials As Means Of Resolving Will Contests , Ronald Chester
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
In the vast range of human problems that law seeks to govern, there are certain areas in which legalisms and legal thinking are not particularly useful. It is my belief that one of these areas is that of will contests, in which nonlawyer dispute resolution seems particularly effective.
Mediation Of Probate Matters: Leaving A Valuable Legacy ,
2012
Pepperdine University
Mediation Of Probate Matters: Leaving A Valuable Legacy , Lela Porter Love
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
Mediation has the power to bring parties to a different level of understanding about their underlying situation and about each other, to re-establish family harmony and to resolve both monetary and relationship issues that probate matters generally involve. To realize these advantages, this paper makes two suggestions. First, attorneys should urge testators to consider dispute resolution provisions in their will. Such provisions allow the testator to weigh in with a directive that the family pull together and attempt to resolve its conflicts creatively. A dispute resolution clause can also provide a vehicle to express and encourage family values connected with …
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mediation In Probate, Trust, And Guardianship Matters ,
2012
Pepperdine University
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mediation In Probate, Trust, And Guardianship Matters , Mary F. Radford
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
Mediation is the ADR process by which a neutral third party works with disputants to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. Mediation is arguably the oldest and most popular ADR technique in use today. Part I of this essay discusses the commonly accepted advantages of mediation as an alternative to litigation, and, in some instances, questions whether those advantages become disadvantages in the context of probate, trust, and guardianship cases. Part II examines the use of mediation as a component of the actual estate planning process rather than as an alternative to litigation.
The Greatest Heritage Is The Love Of A Family: The Larson Case And The Mediation Of Probate Disputes,
2012
Pepperdine University
The Greatest Heritage Is The Love Of A Family: The Larson Case And The Mediation Of Probate Disputes, Susan N. Gary
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
In 1981, two brothers, Ben and William Larson, began litigation that would last for four years. By the time the lawsuit ended, the "winning" brother was dead, and the other brother was bitter and estranged from the family of his only sibling. Although one can only speculate, had the brothers chosen mediation, rather than litigation, to resolve their dispute, both brothers might have achieved a better outcome.
West Virginia Courts Attempting To Equitably Distribute Defined Benefit Pension Plans During Divorce Proceedings: An Examination Of The Immediate Offset And Deferred Distribution Methods,
2012
West Virginia University College of Law
West Virginia Courts Attempting To Equitably Distribute Defined Benefit Pension Plans During Divorce Proceedings: An Examination Of The Immediate Offset And Deferred Distribution Methods, Alex Greenberg
West Virginia Law Review
No abstract provided.
Defined Value Clauses And Fair Market Value,
2012
University of Baltimore School of Law
Defined Value Clauses And Fair Market Value, Wendy G. Gerzog
All Faculty Scholarship
In Hendrix the Tax Court considered the issues of whether defined value clauses were the result of arm’s-length transactions and whether they were void as against public policy. The underlying dispute was whether the taxpayers’ transfers of the John H. Hendrix Co. stock were valued at fair market value. With a decision favoring the taxpayers, the defined value clauses in both McCord and Hendrix impede the accurate valuation of taxable gifts to family members and of deductible charitable gifts.
Interstate Competition And State Death Taxes: A Modern Crisis In Historical Perspective ,
2012
Pepperdine University
Interstate Competition And State Death Taxes: A Modern Crisis In Historical Perspective , Jeffrey A. Cooper
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.
In The Aftermath Of The Terri Schiavo Case: Resolving End-Of-Life Disputes Through Alternative Dispute Resolution,
2012
Pepperdine University
In The Aftermath Of The Terri Schiavo Case: Resolving End-Of-Life Disputes Through Alternative Dispute Resolution, Alisa L. Geller
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
Imagine yourself the proud parent of an adult daughter. You have spent many years nurturing your precious child so that she may excel in the world. Just as all of your dreams for her are coming true, the news no parent wants to hear was delivered. Your daughter lost control of her car, the vehicle overturned and she was found lying face down in a ditch. You gasped. You expected the worst. A tragic end to a life yet lived. Then, the good news was delivered. You breathed a sigh of relief. You learned she survived. She was in a …
A Holistic Approach To Estate Planning: Paramount In Protecting Your Family, Your Wealth, And Your Legacy,
2012
Pepperdine University
A Holistic Approach To Estate Planning: Paramount In Protecting Your Family, Your Wealth, And Your Legacy, Melissa Street
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
This comment will take an in-depth look at the art of holistic estate planning. Part II will walk through an overview of how the holistic estate planning process works. Part III will discuss certain familial circumstances that have the most to gain from the holistic approach. Part IV will give a brief overview of other alternatives to litigation and their disadvantages. Part V will conclude this article.
Front Matter,
2012
Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Major Reforms Of The Property Restatement And The Uniform Probate Code: Reformation, Harmless Error, And Nonprobate Transfers,
2012
Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
Major Reforms Of The Property Restatement And The Uniform Probate Code: Reformation, Harmless Error, And Nonprobate Transfers, John H. Langbein
ACTEC Law Journal
In late 2011, the American Law Institute published the third and final volume of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers. In March 2012, the Restatement's two reporters, Professors Lawerence W. Waggoner and John H. Langbein, presented the Joseph Trachtman Memorial Lecture at the annual meeting of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in Miami Beach. Introducing the two lecturers, ACTEC President Mary Radford described them as "two icons in our field, [who] have had a hand in every major development in trust and estate law that has occurred over the past three decades..." In …
What's In The Third And Final Volume Of The New Restatement Of Property That Estate Planners Should Know About,
2012
Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
What's In The Third And Final Volume Of The New Restatement Of Property That Estate Planners Should Know About, Lawrence W. Waggoner
ACTEC Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Summary Of In Re Estate Of Melton, 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 4,
2012
Nevada Law Journal
Summary Of In Re Estate Of Melton, 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 4, Eric Carson
Nevada Supreme Court Summaries
The Court considered an appeal from a district court order granting that, contrary to testator’s intent, the estate rightfully passed to testator’s heirs.
