Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Happy Armed Forces Day!!

A special thanks to all my readers who serve or who have served in the military -- your sacrifices and hard work do not go unnoticed and are greatly appreciated.

To read the complete text of the official Armed Forces Day Proclamation, see American Forces Press Service, President Issues Armed Forces Day Proclamation, Elites.tv, May 15, 2009.

Impact of Latent Cerebral Recovery Device on Estate Planners

David Russell, senior editor of The Mississippi Fiduciary blog, wrote on his blog about the Latent Cerebral Recovery (LCR) device developed in China. An excerpt of his posting is below:

A New England Journal of Medicine article reports today that a new device developed by Hungsing Labs in China, is capable of decoding brain cell activity after a person dies. In over two hundred clinical tests conducted on individuals only moments after pronounced dead, scientists were able to “ask the deceased” several questions related to their name, family, and other personal information, and decode the correct information after stimulating cells deep within the cerebral cortex. The device known as LCR (for Latent Cerebral Recovery) has already stirred controversy in China, where its use has prompted claims from family members that their loved one is not really dead, only in a deep state of sleep.* * *

Estate Planning lawyers see the tests as encouraging. “Over 50% of Americans die intestate,” says William Wrighter, JD, of Oak Grove, IL. “Imagine being able to execute a will even after someone was previously thought dead. It could open up a completely new area of estate law.”

Mr. Russell ends with an author’s comment: “to read the full story, don’t click anything. Just take note of today’s date and smile.”

Happy Easter!

Greetings,

To all my Christian readers, please accept my best wishes for a very Happy
Easter.

Gerry

Happy Passover!

 
To all my readers of the Jewish faith, a very Happy Passover.

Happy First Day of Spring!

   Happy First Day of Spring!!

Blog surpasses 2 million visitors!

Within the past few days, this blog received its two millionth visitor!!

I sincerely appreciate your support and readership!!

Happy St. Patricks' Day!!


   

Happy Presidents' Day

  
Happy Presidents' Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing you and your special someone a very Happy Valentine's Day,

Gerry

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Proper Drafting Techniques

Some writers argue that good writing is stifled by the use of "powerless language." According to the Chicago Lawyer, "the main forms of powerless speech are intensifiers, hesitations, hedges, disclaimers, tag questions and politeness. Those most commonly found in legal writing are the latter." The most common uses of powerless language are words like "very," "clearly," "obviously," and "surely." The use of these words can result in a weaker statement than if the author merely makes the assertion without the powerless language even though it seems counter-intuitive. Writers should also avoid the use of space fillers, such as "you know." It makes the author look less knowledgeable and a lack of preparation. Authors might want to consider to stop using disclaimers in his or her writing. Similar to space fillers, it discredits the author by making the author look uneducated. While it can difficult, the removal of powerless language from both a person's writing and speech can make all the difference is so many different aspects of being a lawyer. 

See Theresa Zagnoli, Communication Conundrum: Breaking A Bad Language Habit, Chicago Lawyer, Feb. 1, 2013.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

54th Anniversary of "The Day the Music Died"

Writing this blog from Lubbock, Texas, today is especially signficant as the 54th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly (a Lubbock native), Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.), and the plane's pilot.

Like most Americans, Buddy Holly died intestate.

Happy Groundhog Day!!

Best wishes for a Happy Groundhog Day!!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Died Intestate

Today we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the main leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. King devoted all of his income and talent to the movement. He died intestate, leaving less than $30,000 in his estate. Some of that money was already earmarked for the movement.

Additional information about Dr. King’s legacy is available on NPR’s Talk of the Nation entitled The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

1st Bi-Annual Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal Newsletter

The Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal has published the first issue of its new bi-annual newsletter. The newsletter lists the journal's accomplishments and activities from the preceding semester, its upcoming CLE, and most importantly a list of the articles the journal expects to publish in Book 1, Volume V. If you are interested in the articles that the journal publishes, the journal's past articles can be found in full through Volume IV on Westlaw or you can subscribe to receive paperback copies of the journal. If you are interested and enjoy the articles that the journal publishes, make sure to also visit The Codicil, the journal's online addendum.

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog wins "fan favorite" in ABA Journal Blawg 100’s Niche category

I was honored and humbled to learn earlier today that this blog was voted as the "fan favorite" in the ABA Journal's Blawg 100's Niche category.

I appreciate tremendously the support of my loyal readers, contributors, and assistants.

Thank you!!!!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2013!!!

Happy First Day of Kwanzaa

Good Morning,

Happy first day of Kwanzaa!

Gerry

Merry Christmas

Greetings,

To all my Christian readers, please accept my best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.

Gerry

Happy First Day of Winter

Good Morning,

Happy First Day of Winter!

Gerry