Katherine M Arango, Trial and Heirs: Antemortem Probate for the Changing American Family, 81 Brooklyn Law Review 779 (2016). The idea of the ‘traditional family unit’ is changing at a rapid pace that requires the law to adapt to effectuate a testator’s intent when administering a will. With 16.3 million unmarried Americans cohabiting and one in five children born into such households, the need for a valid will to avoid intestacy is at an all-time high. Specifically, more families are living with stepchildren or same-sex partners. This makes traditional intestacy statutes, which are designed to protect a more traditional family unit, potentially dangerous for a testator with a nontraditional family. Some states, however, permit ante-mortem probate which allows a testator to probate his or her own will prior to death thus ensuring that the testator’s at-death property distribution plans are upheld … (more)
[Gerry W Beyer, JOTWELL, 5 May]
First posted 2017-05-05 11:50:14
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