CONTENTS
ListofIllustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: FREEDOM OF DISPOSITION
A. The Power to Transmit Property at Death
Lawrence M. Friedman, Dead Hands: A Social History of Wills, Trusts, and Inheritance Law
1. Freedom of Disposition and the Dead Hand Shapirav.UnionNationalBank
2. Justifying Freedom of Disposition
a. The Donor’s Prerogative
Adam J. Hirsch & William K.S. Wang, A Qualitative Theory of the Dead Hand
Daniel B. Kelly, Restricting Testamentary Freedom: Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Justifications
b. Concentrations of Wealth Wojciech Kopczuk, What Do We Know About the Evolution of Top Wealth Shares in the United States?
Edward N. Wolff & Maury Gittleman, Inheritances and the Distribution of Wealth or Whatever Happened to the Great Inheritance Boom?
c. Human and Cultural Capital
Stephen J. McNamee & Robert K. Miller, Jr., The Meritocracy Myth
d. A Question of Tax Policy?
3. From Feudalism to a Constitutional Right
4. Posthumously Created Property Rights
ShawFamilyArchivesLtd.v.CMG Worldwide,Inc.
B. The Mechanics of Succession
1. Probate and Nonprobate Property
2. Probate Terminology
3. Probate Administration
a. Opening Probate and Choice of Law
b. Common Form and Solemn Form Probate
c. Formal and Informal Probate
d. Supervised and Unsupervised Administration
e. Barring Creditors
f. Closing the Estate
4. Can Probate Be Avoided?
C. Professional Responsibility
1. Duties to Intended Beneficiaries Simpsonv.Calivas
2. Joint Representation
A.v.B.
Chapter 2 INTESTACY: AN ESTATE PLAN BY DEFAULT
A. An Estate Plan by Default
1. Why Do So Many People Die Intestate?
2. The Purpose of Intestacy Statutes
3. Heirship and the Expectancy of an Heir Apparent
4. Applicable Law and the Uniform Probate Code
Uniform Probate Code §§ 2-101, 2-102, 2103, 2-105
B. The Structure of Intestate Succession
1. Surviving Spouse
a. The Spouse’s Share
b. Unmarried Cohabiting Partners
c. The Problem of Simultaneous Death
2. Descendants
a. Representation
b. Representation in Wills and Trusts
3. Ancestors, Collaterals, and Others
a. Parents
b. Other Ancestors and Collaterals
c. Laughing Heirs
d. Stepchildren and In-Laws
e. Half-Bloods
f. Escheat
4. Disinheritance by Negative Will
C. Transfers to Children
1. Adopted Children
a. Formal Adoption
Hallv.Vallandingham
b. Adult Adoption
c. Adoption and Wills and Trusts
Minaryv.CitizensFidelityBank& TrustCo.
d. Equitable Adoption
O’Nealv.Wilkes
2. Posthumous Children
3. Nonmarital Children
4. Reproductive Technology and New Forms of Parentage
a. Posthumously Conceived Children
Woodwardv.CommissionerofSocial Security
b. Posthumously Conceived Children and Wills and Trusts
c. Surrogacy and Opposite-Sex Married Couples
d. Assisted Reproduction and Same-Sex Couples
e. The 2008 Amendments to the UPC
5. Advancements and Hotchpot
a. Advancements at Common Law
b. Hotchpot
c. Advancements in Modern Law Uniform Probate Code § 2-109
6. Guardianship and Conservatorship of Minors
a. Guardian of the Person
b. Property Management Options
D. Bars to Succession
1. The Slayer Rule InreEstateofMahoney The Unworthy Heir
2. Disclaimer
a. From Common Law to Statutory Law
b. Avoiding Taxes
c. Avoiding Creditors
d. Disclaimers to Qualify for Medicaid
Chapter 3 WILLS: FORMALITIES AND FORMS
A. Execution of Wills
1. Attested Wills
a. The Core Formalities Uniform Probate Code § 2-502
b. The Functions of Formalities
John H. Langbein, Substantial Compliance with the Wills Act
c. The Strict Compliance Rule
Stevensv.Casdorph
The Meaning of “Presence”
The “Signature” Requirement
d. Interested Witnesses and Purging Statutes
(1) From Disqualification to Purging
(2) The Trend Away from Purging
e. Model Execution Ceremony
The Self-Proving Affidavit
Safeguarding a Will
f. Ad Hoc Relief from Strict Compliance
InrePavlinko’sEstate InreSnide
g. The Substantial Compliance Doctrine
The Unfulfilled Promise of Substantial Compliance
From Substantial Compliance to Harmless Error: Australia’s National Experiment
h. The Harmless Error Rule
Uniform Probate Code § 2-503
InreEstateofHall
InreProbateofWillandCodicilof Macool
Writings, Documents, and Electronic or Digital Wills
InreEstateofJavierCastro
2. Notarized Wills
Lawrence W. Waggoner, The UPC Authorizes Notarized Wills
3. Holographic Wills
a. Discerning Testamentary Intent
Ashbel G. Gulliver & Catherine J. Tilson, Classification of Gratuitous Transfers
InreKimmel’sEstate
b. Preprinted Will Forms
InreEstateofGonzalez
c. Signature and Handwriting
(1) Signature
(2) The Extent of the Testator’s Handwriting
d. Extrinsic Evidence
InreEstateofKuralt
B. Revocation of Wills
1. Revocation by Writing or by Physical Act
Uniform Probate Code § 2-507
a. Express and Implied Revocatory Writings
b. Formality in Revocation by Writing or Physical Act
Thompsonv.Royall
c. Presumption of Physical Act Revocation
Harrisonv.Bird
Lost Wills and the Presumption of Revocation
d. Harmless Error in Revocation
InreEstateofStoker
e. Partial Revocation by Physical Act
2. Dependent Relative Revocation
LaCroixv.Senecal
Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers § 4.3
3. Revival of Revoked Wills
Uniform Probate Code § 2-509
4. Revocation by Operation of Law
a. Divorce
Uniform Probate Code § 2-804
b. Marriage
c. Birth of Children
C. Components of a Will
1. Integration
InreEstateofRigsby
2. Republication by Codicil
3. Incorporation by Reference
a. Existing Writings
Uniform Probate Code § 2-510
Clarkv.Greenhalge
b. Subsequent Writings and Tangible Personal Property
Uniform Probate Code § 2-513
4. Acts of Independent Significance
Uniform Probate Code § 2-512
D. Contracts Relating to Wills
1. Contracts to Make a Will
Uniform Probate Code § 2-514
2. Contracts Not to Revoke a Will
Keithv.Lulofs
Chapter 4 WILLS: CAPACITY AND CONTESTS
A. Capacity to Make a Will
1. Mental Capacity
InreWright’sEstate
Wilsonv.Lane
2. Insane Delusion
InreStrittmater’sEstate
Breedenv.Stone
B. Undue Influence
1. What Is Undue Influence?
2. Undue Influence in the Cases
InreEstateofSharis
Presumptions and Burden Shifting in Undue Influence Cases
InreWillofMoses
Lipperv.Weslow
Bequests to Lawyers and Fiduciary
Appointments
3. Planning for and Avoiding a Will Contest
a. Warning Signs
b. Strategies
C. Duress
Lathamv.FatherDivine
Interference with Inheritance, Restitution and Unjust Enrichment, and Constructive Trust
D. Fraud
E. Tortious Interference with an Expectancy
Schillingv.Herrera
Chapter 5 WILLS: CONSTRUCTION
A. Mistaken or Ambiguous Language in Wills
1. Plain Meaning and No Reformation
Mahoneyv.Grainger
InreEstateofCole
2. Ad Hoc Relief for Mistaken Terms
Arnheiterv.Arnheiter
InreGibbs’Estate
3. Openly Reforming Wills for Mistake
Uniform Probate Code § 2-805
InreEstateofDuke
B. Death of Beneficiary Before Death of Testator
1. Lapsed and Void Devises
InreEstateofRussell
2. Antilapse Statutes
Uniform Probate Code § 2-605
a. Presumed Intent
b. Scope
c. Default Rules
d. Words of Survivorship Ruotolov.Tietjen
3. Class Gifts
a. What Is a Class? Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers §§ 13.1, 13.2
Dawsonv.Yucus
b. Application of Antilapse Statutes to Class Gifts
4. Summary Diagram
C. Changes in Property After Execution of Will
1. Ademption by Extinction InreEstateofAnton Uniform Probate Code § 2-606
2. Stock Splits and the Problem of Increase
3. Satisfaction of General Pecuniary Bequests
4. Exoneration of Liens
5. Abatement
Chapter 6 TRUSTS: CHARACTERISTICS AND CREATION
A. The Trust in American Law
1. Origins of the Trust
2. Sources of Law
Max M. Schanzenbach & Robert H. Sitkoff, The Prudent Investor Rule and Trust Asset Allocation: An Empirical Analysis
3. Vocabulary, Typology, and Illustrative Uses
4. Bifurcation of Ownership
5. A Trust Compared with a Legal Life Estate
a. Legal Life Estate
b. Equitable Life Estate—A Trust
6. Business Trusts
7. Foreign Trust Law
B. Creation of a Trust
1. Intent to Create a Trust
a. Testamentary Trust
b. Deed of Trust Jimenezv.Lee
c. Declaration of Trust
HebrewUniversityAss’nv.Nye (1961)
HebrewUniversityAss’nv.Nye (1966)
2. Trust Property
Unthankv.Rippstein
3. Ascertainable Beneficiaries
a. The Beneficiary Principle Clarkv.Campbell
b. Pet and Other Noncharitable Purpose Trusts
InreSearight’sEstate
4. A Written Instrument?
a. Oral Inter Vivos Trusts of Personal Property
Uniform Trust Code § 407 InreEstateofFournier
b. Secret Testamentary Trusts and the Wills Act Olliffev.Wells
c. Oral Inter Vivos Trusts of Land and the Statute of Frauds
Chapter 7 NONPROBATE TRANSFERS AND PLANNING FOR INCAPACITY
A. The Rise of Nonprobate Succession
John H. Langbein, Major Reforms of the Property Restatement and the Uniform Probate Code: Reformation, Harmless Error, and Nonprobate Transfers
B. Revocable Trusts
1. The Wills Act and a Present Transfer
2. Abandoning the Present Transfer Fiction Uniform Trust Code § 603 Fulpv.Gilliland
3. Revoking or Amending a Revocable Trust Uniform Trust Code § 602 Pattersonv.Patterson
4. The Subsidiary Law of Wills StateStreetBankandTrustCo.v.Reiser Clymerv.Mayo
5. Revocable Trusts in Contemporary Practice
a. The Pour-Over Will
b. Statutory Validation of a Pour Over into an Unfunded Revocable Trust
c. Deathtime Considerations
d. Lifetime Considerations
C. The Other Will Substitutes
1. Life Insurance Cookv.EquitableLifeAssuranceSociety
2. Pension and Retirement Plans
a. The Growth in Pension and Retirement Plans
John H. Langbein, The TwentiethCentury Revolution in Family Wealth Transmission
b. Types of Pension and Retirement Plans
c. Succession Issues for Pension and Retirement Accounts
Nunnenmanv.EstateofGrubbs Egelhoffv.Egelhoff
3. Pay-on-Death and Transfer-on-Death Contracts
Uniform Probate Code § 6-101
Multiple-Party Bank and Brokerage Accounts
Varelav.Bernachea
4. Nonprobate Transfer of Real Property
D. Planning for Incapacity
1. Property Management
a. Conservatorship
b. Revocable Trust
c. Durable Power of Attorney InreEstateofKurrelmeyer
2. Health Care
a. Default Law
b. Advance Directives
c. Physician Aid in Dying
3. Disposition of the Body
a. Post-Mortem Remains
b. Organ Donation
Chapter 8 LIMITS ON FREEDOM OF DISPOSITION: PROTECTION OF THE SPOUSE AND CHILDREN
A. Protection of the Surviving Spouse
1. The Elective Share of a Separate Property Surviving Spouse
a. Economic Partnership or Support Obligation?
Uniform Probate Code Article II, Part 2, General Comment
b. Unmarried Cohabiting Partners
c. Variation Across the States
d. Nonprobate Property
(1) Judicial Responses
Sullivanv.Burkin
(2) Statutory Reform
InreEstateofMyers
e. The Uniform Probate Code
f. Waiver by Premarital or Postnuptial Agreement
Uniform Premarital and Marital
Agreement Act § 9
Reecev.Elliott
2. Community Property
a. The Spread of the Community Property System
b. Management and Disposition of Community Property
3. Migrating Couples and Multistate Property Holdings
a. Moving from Separate Property to Community Property
b. Moving from Community Property to Separate Property
4. Miscellaneous Additional Rights
a. Social Security
b. Pension and Retirement Accounts
c. Homestead
d. Personal Property Set-Aside
e. Family Allowance
f. Dower and Curtesy
B. Intentional Omission of a Child
1. American Law
2. The Family Maintenance System of the Commonwealth
Lambeffv.FarmersCo-operative Executors&TrusteesLtd.
C. Protection Against Unintentional Omission
1. Spouse Omitted from Premarital Will Uniform Probate Code § 2-301
InreEstateofPrestie
2. Unintentional Disinheritance of a Child
Uniform Probate Code § 2-302
Grayv.Gray
InreEstateofJackson
Chapter 9 TRUSTS: FIDUCIARY ADMINISTRATION
A. From Limited Powers to Fiduciary Administration
1. From Conveyance to Management
John H. Langbein, Rise of the Management Trust
2. Trustees’ Powers
3. Fiduciary Governance
Robert H. Sitkoff, Trust Law as Fiduciary Governance Plus Asset Partitioning
B. The Duty of Loyalty
Hartmanv.Hartle
InreGleeson’sWill
InreRothko
C. The Duty of Prudence
1. The Distribution Function
a. Discretionary Distributions
Marsmanv.Nasca
b. Sole, Absolute, or Uncontrolled Discretion
c. Exculpation Clauses
d. Mandatory Arbitration
2. The Investment Function
a. From Legal Lists to the Prudent Investor Rule
Uniform Prudent Investor Act §§ 1, 2, 3, 4
Max M. Schanzenbach & Robert H. Sitkoff, The Prudent Investor Rule and Market Risk: An Empirical Analysis
b. Recurring Problems in Applying the Prudent Investor Rule
(1) The Duty to Diversify and Inception Assets
InreEstateofJanes
Compensatory Damages for Imprudent Investment
(2) The Terms of the Trust Woodv.U.S.Bank,N.A.
3. The Custodial and Administrative Functions
a. Duty to Collect and Protect Trust Property
b. Duty to Earmark Trust Property
c. Duty Not to Mingle Trust Funds with the Trustee’s Own
d. Duty to Keep Adequate Records of Administration
e. Duty to Bring and Defend Claims
4. Trustee Selection and Divided Trusteeship
a. Choosing a Trustee
b. Delegation by a Trustee Uniform Trust Code § 807
c. Division by a Settlor
(1) Co-Trustees
(2) Power of Appointment
(3) Directed Trusts
d. Private Trust Company
D. The Duty of Impartiality
1. Due Regard and the Terms of the Trust
2. The Principal and Income Problem InreHeller
E. The Duty to Inform and Account Uniform Trust Code § 813
1. Responding to a Request for Information Uniform Trust Code § 105 Wilsonv.Wilson
2. Affirmative Disclosure Allardv.PacificNationalBank
3. Accountings and Repose
a. Judicial Accountings NationalAcademyofSciencesv. CambridgeTrustCo.
b. Informal Accountings and Release
Chapter 10 TRUSTS: ALIENATION AND MODIFICATION
A. Alienation of the Beneficial Interest
1. Discretionary Trusts
a. Pure Discretionary Trust
b. Support Trust
c. Discretionary Support Trust
d. Collapsing the Categories Uniform Trust Code § 504
e. Protective Trusts
2. Spendthrift Trusts Uniform Trust Code §§ 502, 503 Scheffelv.Krueger
3. Self-Settled Asset Protection Trusts FederalTradeCommissionv.Affordable Media,LLC
4. Trusts for the State Supported a. Self-Settled Trusts
b. Trusts Created by Third Parties
B. Modification and Termination
1. Consent of the Beneficiaries
a. English Law
b. The ClaflinDoctrine InreEstateofBrown
c. The UTC and the Restatement (Third) of Trusts
Uniform Trust Code § 411
2. Deviation and Changed Circumstances
a. Traditional Law
b. Extension to Dispositive Provisions
Uniform Trust Code § 412 InreRiddell
c. Tax Objectives
3. Trust Decanting Harrellv.Badger
C. Trustee Removal
Uniform Trust Code § 706 Davisv.U.S.BankNationalAssociation
Chapter 11 TRUSTS: CHARITABLE PURPOSES, CY PRES, AND SUPERVISION
A. Charitable Purposes
ShenandoahValleyNationalBankv.Taylor
B. Cy Pres and Deviation
1. Cy Pres
a. Illegal, Impossible, or Impracticable InreNeher’sWill
b. Wasteful San Francisco Chronicle: The Buck Trust
2. Deviation
Philadelphia Story: The Barnes Foundation
3. Discriminatory Trusts
C. Enforcement of Charitable Trusts
1. Traditional Law
2. Settlor Standing
Smithersv.St.Luke’s-RooseveltHospital Center
3. Local Politics
The Sweetest Place on Earth: Hershey’s Kiss-Off
4. Persons with a Special Interest in the Trust
5. Federal Supervision
Hawaii Journal: The Bishop Estate
Chapter 12 TRUSTS: POWERS OF APPOINTMENT
A. Purposes, Terminology, and Types of Powers
1. Terminology and Relationships
a. The Parties
b. Creation
c. General and Nongeneral Powers
d. Time and Manner of Exercise
e. Ownership Equivalence
f. A Fiduciary Power of Appointment?
2. Tax Considerations
a. General and Nongeneral Powers
b. Flexibility Without Estate Tax Liability
3. Creditor Rights
IrwinUnionBank&TrustCo.v.Long
B. Exercise of a Power of Appointment
1. Manifestation of Intent
Bealsv.StateStreetBank&TrustCo.
2. Formal Requirements Imposed by the Donor
a. The Nature of the Instrument
b. Specific Reference Requirement
Uniform Probate Code § 2-704
3. Permissible Exercise of the Power
a. Appointment to an Object Timmonsv.Ingrahm
b. Appointment in Further Trust
Brownv.Miller
c. Creation of a New Power of Appointment
d. Exclusive and Nonexclusive Powers
e. Salvage Doctrines: Allocation and Capture
(1) Allocation
(2) Capture
4. Disclaimer, Release, and Contract
C. Failure to Exercise a Power of Appointment
1. General Power
Uniform Powers of Appointment Act § 310
2. Nongeneral Power
Uniform Powers of Appointment Act § 311
Chapter 13 TRUSTS: CONSTRUCTION AND FUTURE INTERESTS
A. Future Interests
1. Classification
2. Future Interests in the Transferor
a. Reversion
b. Possibility of Reverter
c. Right of Entry
3. Future Interests in Transferees
a. Remainders
(1) Vested and Contingent Remainders
(2) Vested Subject to Partial Divestment
(3) Vested Subject to Divestment or Contingent?
(4) Remainders and Reversions
b. Executory Interests
4. Future Interests Reform
B. Construction of Trust Instruments
1. Preference for Vested Interests
a. Acceleration into Possession
b. Transferability
(1) Inter Vivos Transfer
(2) Transfer at Death
c. Requiring Survival to Time of Possession
(1) The Traditional No-Survivorship Rule of Construction
Taitv.CommunityFirstTrustCo.
(2) Multigenerational Class Gifts and Other Exceptions
Clobberie’sCase
(3) The Survivorship-Plus-Antilapse Rule of UPC § 2-707
2. Gifts to Classes
a. Gifts of Income
Dewirev.Haveles
b. Gifts to Children, Issue, or Descendants
(1) Gift to Children
(2) Gift to Issue or Descendants
c. Gifts to Heirs
EstateofWoodworth
d. The Rule of Convenience
(1) Immediate Gifts
(2) Postponed Gifts
(3) Gifts of Specific Sums
Chapter 14 THE RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES AND TRUST DURATION
A. The Common Law Rule
1. History
a. Predicates to the Rule
b. The Duke of Norfolk’s Case
c. Toward Lives in Being Plus 21 Years
2. The Policy Against Remote Vesting
a. The Modern Purposes of the Rule
b. Why “Lives in Being Plus 21 Years”?
c. The Rule and Trust Duration
3. A Rule of Logical Proof
a. Some Life in Being
b. When the Lives in Being Are Ascertained
4. What Might Happen and the Fantastical Characters
a. The Fertile Octogenarian
b. The Unborn Widow
c. The Slothful Executor
d. The Magic Gravel Pit and Other Marvels
B. Perpetuities Reform
1. Saving Clauses
2. Reformation (or Cy Pres)
3. Wait-and-See
4. Abolition of the Rule Against Perpetuities
Robert H. Sitkoff & Max M. Schanzenbach, Jurisdictional Competition for Trust Funds: An Empirical Analysis of Perpetuities and Taxes
