Category Archives: Succession
Horton and Weisbord, ‘COVID-19 and Formal Wills’
ABSTRACT … This Essay argues that COVID-19 vividly highlights the shortcomings of formal wills. Indeed, the outbreak has exposed the main problem with the Wills Act: it makes will-making inaccessible. As a result, we urge lawmakers in states that cling to the statute to liberalize the requirements for creating a will. Our argument proceeds in […]
Melissa Clark, ‘Avoiding Grave Consequences: Electronic Wills as a Solution for Texas’
ABSTRACT There is a vast gap in Texas between testate and intestate individuals. Admitting electronic wills to probate may reduce that gap. This article analyzes the current electronic will statutes in effect and the newly created Uniform Electronic Will Act to propose a statute for Texas designed to further testator disposition of property, ensure compliance […]
Fellows and Spitko, ‘How Should Non-Probate Transfers Matter in Intestacy?’
ABSTRACT As American family structures have become more heterogeneous, status-based intestacy statutes have become less suited to promoting donative intent. Indeed, numerous scholars of wealth transfer law have noted the critical need for intestacy law reform to address the needs of decedents whose donative intent does not comport with traditional family norms. We propose addressing […]
Adam Hirsch, ‘Technology Adrift: In Search of a Role for Electronic Wills’
ABSTRACT This Article addresses the law and public policy of electronic wills. The Article analyzes state statutes that either apply explicitly, or might apply implicitly, to wills of this type and concludes that judicial approval of electronic wills is already within the realm of possibility even in the many states that do not expressly allow […]
Horton and Weisbord, ‘Heir Hunting’
ABSTRACT … The Article reaches three main conclusions. First, heir hunting is a booming business. Indeed, the Article unearths 219 agreements between heir hunters and heirs from twenty-seven American states and eleven foreign countries. Second, heir hunting can be socially valuable. Heir hunters sometimes locate long-lost relatives after everyone else has failed. Third, heir hunting […]
Joshua Hamlet, ‘Neglecting Responsibilities: The Uniform Probate Code’s Failure to Address Child Maltreatment and Poverty’
ABSTRACT When a child or adolescent passes away, parents are typically stricken with grief and unable to cope with the devastation. Unfortunately, the emotional toll is not the only challenge parents face. Some are forced to handle legal battles regarding the administration of their deceased child’s estate. Since the majority of children do not have […]
Barry Cushman, ‘The Decline of Revocation by Physical Act’
ABSTRACT The power to revoke one’s will by physical act was enshrined in Anglo-American law in 1677 by the Statute of Frauds. It remains the law in Great Britain, in such developed Commonwealth countries as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and in each of the United States of America. Yet the revocation of wills by […]
Dot Reid, ‘Why Is It So Difficult to Reform the Law of Intestate Succession?’
ABSTRACT When those interested in succession law look back in time the current period of its history in Scotland may be perplexing. We have been attempting to reform the law of succession for over thirty years, and although minor ‘technical’ changes have been made the substantive law remains as it has been since 1964. Despite […]
Alexandra Braun, ‘Symposium: Reforming Intestate Succession Law’
ABSTRACT Intestate succession law affects a considerable portion of society, and has serious implications for how wealth is distributed on death, including for questions of wealth equality. Yet, or perhaps precisely because of its importance, it is challenging to design a satisfactory set of intestacy rules, not least because of the need to balance manifold […]
David Horton, ‘Do-It-Yourself Wills’
ABSTRACT Although most testators hire lawyers, others draft their own wills. Some try to comply with the Wills Act, which requires testamentary instruments to be signed by the testator and by two witnesses. Some create holographic wills, which are valid in about half of American states, and must be in the testator’s handwriting rather than […]