Beneficiary Restrictions May Consume an Estate

James H. Cundiff (attorney & partner, Chicago) & Andrew D. Copans (attorney, Los Angeles) have published their article entitled In re Estate of Feinberg: When Legal Fees Consume an Estate–Restrictive Clauses are Moot, 35 ACTEC Journal 255 (2009).

The editor’s synopsis of the article is below:

The authors explore the boundaries of how far a testator can go in influencing the behavior of beneficiaries.  In so doing, they focus on a recent case in which, given very unique facts, a clause purporting to disinherit grandchildren who married outside the Jewish faith was ultimately upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court against public-policy challenges.  The authors also address the impact on the testator’s plan of the enormous financial and emotional costs of the litigation.