Saturday, February 4, 2023

Vermont man accused of shooting WWII hero grandfather, murdering mom at sea demands grand jury minutes

Nathan Carman, who is facing federal charges for allegedly killing his mother, Linda Carman, during a fishing trip to obtain the family fortune, is demanding grand jury minutes according to the latest court filing. Carman is also accused of killing his grandfather, John Chakalos, in 2013 as part of a scheme to claim money from the family trust. At this time, he has not been charged with any crimes related to his grandfather’s death.
A demand for grand jury minutes…
Continue Reading Vermont man accused of shooting WWII hero grandfather, murdering mom at sea demands grand jury minutes

Late last year, the Department of Labor under President Biden promulgated a new rule on “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” superseding the Department’s 2020 rule. Reporting on the matter has suggested that the new Biden Rule encourages ESG investing, in contrast to the previous Trump Rule, which was reported as hostile towards ESG investing. These reports are incorrect.
Max M. Schanzenbach (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law) and Robert H. Sitkoff (Harvard Law School) have published a Summary of the Rule to clarify the effect of the new Rule and what…
Continue Reading ESG Investing After the DOL Rule on “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights”

Friday, February 3, 2023

64th Anniversary of “The Day the Music Died”

Writing this blog from Lubbock, Texas, today is especially significant as the 64th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly (a Lubbock native), Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.), and the plane’s pilot.
Like most Americans, Buddy Holly died intestate.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2023/02/64th-anniversary-of-the-day-the-music-died.html

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Rupert Murdoch, known as one of the most powerful men in the news, spent most of his career facing the threat to his control of News Corp in the form of his family. His sisters, three Australian women who have spent their lives away from the limelight, long could out-vote Murdoch. While they found a business arrangement that worked for the siblings, Murdoch eventually saw the advantage of buying them out in the 1990s. Now, a similar dilemma of succession faces the next generation of the family.  
Murdoch’s eldest son, Lachlan, is now chief executive of Fox Corporation and…
Continue Reading The Murdoch family trust: how the scions could battle for control

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Article: A Survey of Preferences for Estate Distribution at Death Part 2: Children and Other Beneficiaries

Yair Listokin (Yale Law School) and John Morley (Yale Law School) recently published a paper, A Survey of Preference for Estate Distribution at Death Part 2: Children and Other Beneficiaries, 2023. Provided below is an abstract to the Paper:
This is the second of two papers presenting the results of a nationally representative survey of 9,000 American adults in which we asked people how they want to distribute their property when they die. In the…
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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Pictures show empty, partially open casket thrown in north Houston ditch: ‘I feel violated’

Earlier this month, residents of a north Houston neighborhood made a disturbing discovery: an open casket sitting in a ditch.
Lloyd Tucker Jr. reported the casket to the police, hoping that it would be removed as soon as possible. Mr. Tucker discovered the casket outside his home and noted that it had not been there the night before. He believed it appeared to be tampered with and feared that someone was missing their casket. 
Police investigated the casket, noted that it was…
Continue Reading Pictures show empty, partially open casket thrown in north Houston ditch: ‘I feel violated’

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Woman fatally shoots dying husband at hospital, police say

Earlier this month, Ellen Gilland shot and killed her terminally ill husband, Jerry, inside a Daytona Beach, Florida hospital. Mr. Gilland had been ill for quite a while, and the duo planned to carry out the shootingtogether.
Ms. Gilland refused to leave the room for over four hours after the shooting, but eventually negotiated an exit with police. Several members of the hospital staff were evacuated, however nobody else was harmed in the shooting.
For more information see The Associated Press “Woman fatally shoots dying husband …
Continue Reading Woman fatally shoots dying husband at hospital, police say

Monday, January 30, 2023

Priscilla Presley contests Lisa Marie Presley’s will, claims ‘invalid’ signature

Priscilla Presely filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court late last week challenging the “purported 2016 amendment” to Lisa Marie Presley’s will. She is claiming that the signature appears inconsistent with Lisa Marie’s customary signature and was not properly notarized. The amendment ousted Priscilla as trustee of her daughter’s estate in favor of Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter, Riley Keough.
According to court documents, Priscilla and Lisa Marie’s former business manager, Barry Siegel, were named co-trustees of the estate in 1993. Priscilla was unaware of the amendment…
Continue Reading Priscilla Presley contests Lisa Marie Presley’s will, claims ‘invalid’ signature

Monday, January 30, 2023

Selected Statutes on Trusts and Estates — New Edition Available

Mark L. Ascher and Grayson M.P. McCouch recently published the 2023 edition of their Selected Statutes on Trusts and Estates. Here is the publisher’s description of the book:
This casebook statutory supplement meets the needs of students in basic and advanced courses on wills, trusts, decedents’ estates, fiduciary administration, and future interests, providing a compendium of essential uniform act provisions and official comments. It covers a wide range of topics, including: intestacy; wills; probate administration; nonprobate transfers; disclaimers; principal and income; prudent investments; perpetuities; trusts…
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Kelly M. Perez (J.P. Morgan) recently published an article, Grantor Trusts: The MVP of the IRC, 15 Est. Plan. & Comm. Prop. L.J. [91], 2023. Provided below is an introduction to the Article:
Since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), taxpayers have enjoyed the benefit of increased exclusion amounts for the combined gift and estate tax, and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax (collectively referred to herein as transfer taxes). The terms “lifetime exclusion” or “exclusion amount” generally refer to the amount that an individual can give or pass on to others during one’s…
Continue Reading Article: Grantor Trusts: The MVP of the IRC

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Pamela Anderson’s ex-husband leaves her $10M in will despite 12-day marriage: ‘Will always love Pamela’

Hollywood Producer, Jon Peters, responsible for hits like “Star is Born,” plans to leave a generous amount to his ex-wife, Pamela Anderson. “I will always love Pamela, always in my heart,” he said during an interview with Variety.
The pair first met at the Playboy Mansion and secretly married in Malibu, California in early 2020. The marriage lasted less than two weeks, with Ms. Anderson publicly stating “Life is a journey and love is a process… with that universal truth in…
Continue Reading Pamela Anderson’s ex-husband leaves her $10M in will despite 12-day marriage: ‘Will always love Pamela’

Friday, January 27, 2023

Article: The More the Merrier? Issues Arising from Co-Trustees Administering Trusts

David Johnson (Winstead PC) recently published an article, The More the Merrier? Issues Arising from Co-Trustees Administering Trusts, 15 Estate Planning Journal, 2023. Provided below is an introduction to the Article:
Settlors can draft a trust to have one trustee that has the sole authority and power to administer the trust. However, settlors can, and often do, require or allow a trust to be administered by co-trustees. Co-trustees generally have equal rights to administer the trust and should administer the trust in…
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Thursday, January 26, 2023

Wealth Tax Proposals Are Back as States Take Aim at Investment

Lawmakers from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Washington are coordinating efforts to introduce wealth tax legislation. This campaign is part of a broader national focus on taxing investments, entrepreneurship, and wealth.
The proposed legislation in New York would yield a nearly 30 percent tax on New York City’s wealthiest residents’ capital gains income. This would be about 50 percent higher than the 20 percent federal tax on long-term capital gains. 
Concerns have been raised in Washington, where a wealth tax is in…
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