Estates & Trusts Law

Transfer on Death Deeds: It Is Time to Establish the Rules of the Game

Written by: Stephanie Emrick

Abstract A transfer on death deed is a form of deed that allows real property assets to pass at death outside of the probate process. Through the twentieth century, there has been a movement in the world of property law—dubbed “the nonprobate revolution”—that focuses on using will substitutes to transfer personal property assets at death […]

Congress and Commercial Trusts: Dealing with Diversity Jurisdiction Post-Americold

Written by: S.I. Strong

Abstract Commercial trusts are one of the United States’ most important types of business organizations, holding trillions of dollars of assets and operating nationally and internationally as a “mirror image” of the corporation. However, commercial trusts remain underappreciated and undertheorized in comparison to corporations, often as a result of the popular but mistaken belief that […]

E. Gary Spitko, The Will As An Implied Unilateral Arbitration Contract

68 Fla. L. Rev. 49 Abstract A consensus has begun to develop in the case law, the academic commentary, and the statutory reform movement that a testator’s provision in her will mandating arbitration of any challenge to the will should not be enforceable against a beneficiary who has not agreed to the arbitration provision, at […]

Reid Kress Weisbord, Trust Term Extension

Over the last thirty years, most jurisdictions in the United States have repealed or abrogated the Rule Against Perpetuities, which prohibits perpetual donor control over property. This, in turn, has led estate planning practitioners to consider whether a trust created to comply with the Rule could, after the Rule’s repeal, be extended in perpetuity to […]

Frances H. Foster, Should Pets Inherit?

63 Fla. L. Rev. 801 (2011)|  | | ARTICLE :: On August 20, 2007, billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley died, survived by her brother, four grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren, and her beloved companion of eight years, a white Maltese dog named Trouble. One week later came news that shocked the world. Helmsley left $12 million to Trouble.

Shannon Weeks McCormack, Too Close to Home: Limiting the Organizations Subsidized by the Charitable Deduction to Those in Economic Need

63 Fla. L. Rev. 857 (2011)|  | | ARTICLE :: The charitable deduction allows taxpayers to deduct amounts donated to organizations pursuing statutorily designated purposes from their otherwise taxable income. By lowering the after-tax cost of giving and encouraging taxpayers to donate more than they otherwise would, the charitable deduction subsidizes a broad variety of organizations. […]

Lauren A. Kirkpatrick, Treading on Sacred Ground: Denying the Appointment of a Testator's Nominated Personal Representative

63 Fla. L. Rev. 1041 (2011)|  | | PDF CASE COMMENT, Schleider v. Estate of Schleider, 770 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) :: Muriel’s mother had just died. She and her sister, Orit, had been fighting for years during their parents’ guardianship. Now Orit was bringing Muriel to court over who would act as […]

Solangel Maldonado, Illegitimate Harm: Law, Stigma, and Discrimination Against Nonmarital Children

63 Fla. L. Rev. 345 (2011)| |  | | ABSTRACT :: No one would dispute that for most of U.S. history, nonmarital children suffered significant legal and societal discrimination. Although many individuals believe that the legal disadvantages attached to “illegitimate” status have disappeared in the last forty years, this Article demonstrates that the law continues to […]

Martin H. Redish, Peter Julian & Samantha Zyontz, Cy Pres Relief and the Pathologies of Modern Class Action: A Normative and Empirical Analysis

62 Fla. L. Rev. 617 (2010) | | | | CASE COMMENT ::The purpose of the modern class action, a procedural aggregation device authorized by Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, is to collectivize individual claims into a single proceeding, with the overwhelming majority of the plaintiffs assuming a purely passive role […]

Melanie B. Leslie, The Wisdom of Crowds? Groupthink and Nonprofit Governance

62 Fla. L. Rev. 1179 (2010)| | | | ABSTRACT :: Scandals involving nonprofit boards and conflicts of interest continue to receive considerable public attention. Earlier this year, for example, musician Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti charity became the target of intense criticism after the charity disclosed that it had regularly transacted business with Jean and […]

Lydia Pallas Loren, Renegotiating the Copyright Deal in the Shadow of the “Inalienable” Right to Terminate

62 Fla. L. Rev. 1329 (2010)| | | | ABSTRACT :: Few people realize that many contracts that purport to transfer “all right, title and interest” in a copyright can be terminated by the author of the copyrighted work after thirty-five years (in some cases), after fifty-six years (in other cases), and sometimes even after […]

Lindsay Roshkind, Interpreting I.R.C. § 67(e): The Supreme Court's Attempt to Nail Investment Advisory Fees to the "Floor"

60 Fla. L. Rev. 961 (2008) | | | | TEXT :: In the process of statutory interpretation, a court must determine “whether the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous meaning with regard to the particular dispute in the case. [The court’s] inquiry must cease if the statutory language is unambiguous and the […]

Dustin G. Hall, Constitutional Law: What to Do When a State Fails to Take Notice that its Notice has Failed?

59 Fla. L. Rev. 453 (2007) | | | | TEXT :: After Petitioner paid off his mortgage, his annual property taxes went unpaid. Respondent, Commissioner of State Lands, subsequently certified Petitioner’s property as delinquent. Under the applicable state statute, Respondent sent, via certified mail, a notice of delinquency to Petitioner’s property. The notice indicated […]