Recent Articles

Ademption.  The importance of finding out what a testator would like to happen if the exact specifically gifted item is not the estate when the testator dies is the focus of Helen W. Gunnarsson’s article Ademption Preemption, 92 Ill. B.J. 617 (2004).

Charitable Lead Trusts.  In Obtaining a Better Benefit by Using a Grantor Charitable Lead Trust, 31 Est. Plan. 579 (2004), Matthew J. Madsen contends that a grantor charitable lead annuity trust should produce a better net present value benefit than a non-grantor or CLAT in many situations.

Corporate Trustees.  In their article, Regulatory Developments for Banks and Thrifts Conducting Trust and Fiduciary Activities, 59 Bus. Law. 1299 (2004), V. Gerard Comizio and Jeffrey L. Hare discuss how traditional banks are becoming more consumer-oriented in the face of rising competition from non-bank companies.

Family Limited Partnerships.  Rebecca B. Hawblitzel analyzes the effect that the landmark Strangi case has had on the way family limited partnerships can be used to plan estates and business affairs in her article A Change in Planning: Estate of Strangi v. Commissioner’s Effect on the Use of Family Limited Partnerships in Estate Planning, 57 Ark. L. Rev. 595 (2004).  Milton Childs advocates the use of FLPs to allow parents to retain control of the business while giving the children limited ownership in his article Using Family Limited Partnerships for Estate Planning, 5 Marq. Elder’s Advisor 193 (2004).

Forced Shares.  Shari A Levitan explains what an “elective share” is and what effect it may have on the estate of a deceased spouse in her article What are the Effects When a Surviving Spouse Opts for the Elective Share? 31 Est. Plan. 597 (2004).

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.  Thomas J. Murphy cautions that particular care must now be exercised when drafting documents that affect the release of health care information in his article Dealing with HIPPA:  Powers of Attorney, Record Releases, Court Orders, and Subpoenas, 5 Marq. Elder’s Advisor 183 (2004).

Illinois Update.  David Berek explains recent legislation in New Small Estate, Anti-Lapse, Health POA Provisions, 92 Ill. B.J. 601 (2004).

Intestate Succession.  In an article replete with sophisticated mathematical equations, Adam J. Hirsch analyzes Default Rules in Inheritance Law: A Problem in Search of Its Context, 73 Fordham L. Rev. 1031 (2004).  This article explains how inheritance defaults should be structured and how lawmakers should go about discovering benefactors’ probable intent.

Malpractice.  In Shape up or Ship out: Accountability to Third Parties for Patent Ambiguities in Testamentary Documents, 26 Whittier L. Rev. 59 (2004), Angela M. Vallario argues that third parties who lose their inheritances due to a patent defect should have legal recourse to be made whole.  Authors Mark Merric, Robert D. Gillen, and Jane Freeman caution that clients whose estate plans are impaired by the adoption of the Uniform Trust Code may seek recovery from the estate planner or trustee in their article Malpractice Issues and the Uniform Trust Code, 31 Est. Plan. 586 (2004).

Marketability Discount.  Recent Cases Suggest How to Maximize the Marketability Discount, 31 Est. Plan. 605 (2004), by Espen Robak explains how valuation experts can respond more effectively to the controversy.

Notarization.  Whether lawyers should notarize their clients’ estate planning documents such as wills and powers of attorney is debated in Helen W. Gunnarsson, What Limits on Lawyer-Notaries?, 92 Ill. B.J. 565 (2004).

Summer Homes.  Ken Huggins explores how to develop an agreement to help maximize the family’s enjoyment of its treasured summer home in his essay, Passing it on: The Inheritance, Ownership and Use of Summer Houses, 5 Marq. Elder’s Advisor 85 (2003).

Texas Probate Courts.  Joseph R. Marrs explores why tort litigants may find it advantageous to have their cases heard in probate courts in Playing the Probate Card: A Plaintiff’s Guide to Transfer to Statutory Probate Court, 36 St. Mary’s L.J. 99 (2004).

Trust Taxation.  David H. Kirk explores the brewing controversy over interpretation regarding the deductibility of miscellaneous itemized expenses in his note, To Be or Not to Be: A Trust’s Investment Expense Deduction Subject to the Two Percent Limitation Under I.R.C. Section 67, 1 Pitt. Tax Rev. 223 (2004).

Trustee’s Fiduciary Duties.  The possibility that an attorney hired by a trustee may owe fiduciary duties to the trust beneficiaries is analyzed in Robert S. Held, A Trust Counsel’s Duty to Beneficiaries, 92 Ill. B.J. 636 (2004).