Publications > Probate & Property Magazine > 2013

March/April 2013

Before the Party's Over: The Arguments For and Against Pre-Death Will Contests

March/April 2013

Before the Party's Over: The Arguments For and Against Pre-Death Will Contests by David L. Skidmore, Laura E. Morris

Your client realizes that the terms of her will are likely to disappoint some of the potential objects of her bounty. Can you ask the probate court to take evidence as to the validity of the will now, during the client’s lifetime, and make a determination that will be binding on the interested parties after her death?

Departments
Features
  • When Babies Retire: Using Trusts as Beneficiaries of IRAs
  • By Bradley E.S. Fogel
    • To maximize tax savings, and employee generally defers distributions from his or her IRA as long as possible. After the employee’s death, the beneficiary of the IRA should similarly seek to defer payout of the IRA, but, of course, the opportunity for deferral is limited by the Internal Revenue Code’s required minimum distribution rules.
  • Green Leasing—It's Not Just About Capital Expenditures
  • By Richard J. Sobelsohn
    • As the number of landlords and tenants seeking “green leases” continues to grow, practitioners need to be fully invested in understanding sustainability issues that are likely to become mainstream practices of the future.
  • Drafting Grantor Trust Powers with an Exit Strategy
  • By Brandon A. S. Ross
    • Proposals for increasing taxes on wealthy Americans have sounded the alarm for estate planners to ensure that their clients have the flexibility to terminate grantor trust status for their irrevocable trusts to allow clients to decrease their tax burden.
  • Surviving a Short Sale: Guidelines for a Rewarding Short Sale Experience
  • By Philip J. Vacco
    • Because of the multitude of parties and economic interests involved, the dynamics of a short sale are entirely different from those of a conventional real estate transaction, but by employing special techniques, an attorney can learn to navigate a short sale with relative confidence and attain a high degree of success for the client.
  • Before the Party's Over: The Arguments For and Against Pre-Death Will Contests
  • By David L. Skidmore and Laura E. Morris
    • Your client realizes that the terms of her will are likely to disappoint some of the potential objects of her bounty. Can you ask the probate court to take evidence as to the validity of the will now, during the client’s lifetime, and make a determination that will be binding on the interested parties after her death?
  • The Pitfalls of U.S./UK Tax Planning—The U.S. Revocable Trust
  • By Geoffrey Todd and Amanda Edwards
  • Lifetime planning can be risky, especially when a U.S. attorney advises a client with UK origins or with strong connections with the UK on the possibility of creating a revocable living trust.

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