Article on Nebraska’s Real Property Transfer on Death Act and Power of Attorney Act

Ronald Volkmer (Creighton Law Review) recently published an articleentitled, Nebraska’s Real Property Transfer on Death Act and Power of Attorney Act: a new era begins, 46 Creighton L. Rev.499-561 (2013).  Provided below is an excerpt of the introduction:

The 2012 session of the Nebraska Unicameral witnessed the passage of two significant bills that are of major importance to Nebraska estate planning lawyers. Legislative Bill 536 enacted into Nebraska law the Nebraska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act ¹ (“Neb. TODA”); Legislative Bill 1113 enacted into law the Nebraska Uniform Power of Attorney Act ² (“Neb. UPOAA”). Both legislative bills contained an operative date of January 1, 2013. ³

These two Acts fit within the mainstream of twenty-first century estate planning practice. The Neb. TODA represents the most recent step taken by the Nebraska Unicameral in the movement toward legislative recognition of nonprobate transfers. ⁴ The Neb. UPOAA represents the reality of the modern day estate planning that addresses incapacity issues related to property management.

The changes in Nebraska law represented by passage of the two Acts are very different. The Neb. TODA authorizes a form of nonprobate transfer not previously allowed under Nebraska law; the Neb. UPOAA replaces existing Nebraska statutes ⁵ pertaining to so-called “durable powers” and replaces them with a comprehensive statute codifying the law of durable powers. The purpose of this Article is to examine the major impact that passage of the Neb. TODA and the Neb. UPOAA (“Nebraska Acts”) will have on Nebraska law and potential impact for the practice of estate planning lawyers in Nebraska. The Article will selectively examine the legislative process which led to the enactment of both Nebraska Acts and highlight Nebraska Unicameral amendments to the …