United States Law/Trusts and Estates
Policy and Introduction edit
The field of trusts and estates is vitally important to all lawyers.
“ | In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. | ” |
— Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy |
Whether in their own lives or as an advocate, every lawyer will come into contact with the estate system. For students who go into this field, attorneys will plan, draft, and advise clients on the administration of wills and trusts. Practitioners who specialize in this field can expect to develop significant substantive experience in the complexities of estate planning, including the intricacies of state and federal wealth transfer taxation (i.e., gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxation). Many estate planning practitioners go on to additional study in Master of Laws programs (LL.M.s) in taxation.
In the United States, the intent of an estate planning attorney is to ensure their client's intent is carried out after the client is incapacitated or dead.
The economical, psychological, sociological, and political implications for wealth transfer in this country are immensely important topics, but beyond the scope of this course. Additionally, although a brief introduction into the federal taxation of wealth transfers is discussed, the specifics and intricacies of the federal Internal Revenue Code are not evaluated in detail and are better to left to a course in federal estate and gift taxation.
The inequality of income and wealth within the United States has been steadily growing. Correspondingly, the subject of inequality has been an increasing focus for research in recent years. The sources, status, and projections of wealth inequality in the country have been fiercely debated.
Testamentary Freedom and "Dead Hand" Control edit
Policy Limitations on Testamentary Freedom edit
Estate of Shapira v. Union National Bank (Ohio Ct. C.P. 1974) edit
Ohio Court of Common Pleas, Mahoning County, Probate Division
N.E.2d 825, 39 Ohio Misc. 28, 66 Ohio Op. 2d (O.O.2d) 268
January 22, 1947
Intestacy edit
Introduction edit
The Uniform Probate Code (UPC) Approach edit
The Restatement (3rd) Approach edit
Specific State Approaches edit
Wills and Testacy edit
Testamentary Capacity and Contests edit
Will Formalities edit
Construction and Interpretation edit
Probate Administration edit
Nonprobate Transfers edit
Nonprobate Assets edit
Nonprobate Contractual Devices edit
Spousal and Familial Protections edit
Spousal Protections edit
Dower and Curtsey edit
Community Property Protections edit
Omitted Spouse Protections edit
edit
The Augmented Estate edit
Descendant Protections edit
Omitted Child Protections edit
The Legitime System and Other Protections edit
Trusts edit
Creation of Trusts edit
Construction and Interpretation edit
Trust Administration edit
Alienation, Modification, and Termination edit
Charitable Purposes and the Cy Pres Doctrine edit
Specific Property Interests edit
Future Interests edit
Future Interests in Property edit
The Rule Against Perpetuities edit
Powers of Appointment edit
Fundamentals of the Taxation of Wealth Transfers edit
References edit
- ↑ Ascher, Mark L.; Clark, Elias; McCouch, Grayson M.P.; Murphy, Arthur W. (2013), Cases and Materials on Gratuitous Transfers (6th ed.), West Publishing Co., p. 1