Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

2012 Excellence in Writing Awards for Probate & Property Magazine Announced

The editors of Probate & Property magazine have recently announced the winners of the magazine's 2012 Excellence in Writing Awards.

The Trust & Estate winners are as follows:

• Best Practical Use Article -- Christopher R. Hoyt, Retirement Assets to a Surviving Spouse -- Rollovers and Portability Are Your First Choice, January/February 2012.
• Best Cutting Edge Article -- Gerry W. Beyer & Naomi Cahn, When You Pass on, Don't Leave the Passwords Behind: Planning for Digital Assets, January/February 2012.
• Best Overall Article -- Tiffany B. Carmona and Tye J. Klooster, Wandry v. Commissioner: The "Secret Sauce" Estate Planners Have Been Waiting For?, November/December 2012.

List of Web-Savvy Professors for 2012 Announced

BestOnlineUniversities.com has recently released its list of Top 100 Web-Savvy Professors for 2012.

Thanks in great measure to the tremendous support of the readers of this blog, I am honored to be ranked #7 on this list.

As I have said before, I am humbled by the support of my readers and remain extremely appreciative.

AALS Section on Trusts & Estates Fall 2012 Newsletter

The AALS Section on Trusts & Estates has just released its Fall 2012 Newsletter with information about conferences, programs, scholarship, and other professional news of interest to the membership.

You may read this exciting Newsletter by following this link.

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog Named to ABA Journal's Blawg 100!

Thanks to your loyalty and support, I just received notice that this blog was named to the ABA Journal's Blawg 100 for the third consecutive year.

Thank you!!!

In the lines of Dancing with the Stars, I ask for your support for my blog to be a “people’s choice” winner.  The Journal is now conducting a popular vote to determine the most-liked blog in each of a dozen categories – I am in the Niche category.  You may vote by following this link:  http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100,

You do have to register, which is very easy, just provide username, screen name, email, and password.  Then go to the category "Niche" and click "Vote" on my Blog, Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog.

Thanks!!!

Prof. Robert Sitkoff Elected to Council of the American Law Institute

The following is adapted from the posting on the Harvard press release:

The American Law Institute has elected Robert H. Sitkoff, John L. Gray Professor of Law, to join its Council. The Council serves as the governing body of the ALI, the leading independent organization in the U.S. producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. The ALI publishes Restatements of the Law, model statutes, and principles of law that are enormously influential in the courts and legislatures, as well as in legal scholarship and education.

"I congratulate Rob on this eminent appointment and also congratulate the American Law Institute in recruiting him,” said HLS Dean Martha Minow. “His talents, knowledge, skills, and energy will ensure excellence and impact in the Council's valuable programs and projects."

On May 20, the day before his election to the Council, Sitkoff made a presentation to the ALI titled “The Prudent Investor Rule 20 Years On and After the Financial Crisis.” He was joined by Susan Gary, a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, Bevis Longstreth ’61 a retired partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, and Randall W. Roth, a professor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii.

In 1992, the ALI promulgated a new Prudent Investor Rule that has since been adopted by every state. Since the financial crisis of 2008, however, the Rule has come under increasing scrutiny. Bucking that trend, Sitkoff argued that that recent criticisms of the rule reflect a misunderstanding of the relevant law and economics of trust investment. In support of his argument, Sitkoff presented an empirical analysis of trust investment by professional trustees over the past two decades, including just before, during, and after the crisis. Read more about the presentation here.

AALS Section of Trusts & Estates Spring 2012 Newsletter

Section Chair Prof. Laura Rosenbury (Washington University) has stated:

As the academic year comes to a close, this Newsletter from the AALS Section on Trusts & Estates reflects on the conferences, programs, and scholarship of the past year and looks to future events. Although the activities of our section members are varied and diverse, one constant theme pervades our work: the dynamic, shifting, and timely nature of trusts and estates debates.

You may read this exciting Newsletter by following this link.

ACTEC Elects Louis A. Mezzullo as new President

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel has recently elected Louis A. Mezullo as its new president. His principal areas of practice are Taxation, Estate and Business Succession Planning, and Employee Benefits. He is a former member of the faculty of the University of Miami School of Law Graduate Program in Estate Planning. He was an adjunct professor of law at the University of Richmond Law School from 1978 until 2006, and was on the faculty at the University of San Diego School of Law in 2009.

In addition to Mr. Mezzullo, ACTEC's Board of Regents confirmed the election of the 2012-2013 officers, including;

• President-Elect: Duncan E. Osborne (Austin, Texas) 
• Vice-President: Kathleen R. Sherby (St. Louis, Missouri) 
• Treasurer: Bruce Stone (Coral Gables, Florida)
• Secretary: Cynda C. Ottaway (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) 
• Immediate Past President: Mary F. Radford (Atlanta, Georgia)

U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson Named Founding Dean for the University of North Texas College of Law

Senior U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson will be the founding dean at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law.  Here is an excerpt from the press release:

Chancellor Lee F. Jackson announced today the appointment of U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson as founding dean of UNT Dallas College of Law, effective April 2013, in anticipation of the law school’s opening in August 2014. Dean Designate Furgeson is enthusiastic about assuming his new duties as soon as he can fulfill his obligations to the federal judiciary.

 "Our extensive search brought us into contact with many highly regarded legal educators,“ Jackson said. “But Judge Furgeson, besides possessing a fine legal mind, brings the kind of broad range of practical experience we were looking for. He’s a distinguished judge well known throughout Texas, a respected litigator, and he shares our vision of providing students with an affordable and accessible high-quality legal education.”

 A Clinton appointee, Judge Furgeson has ridden the federal circuit in Texas for 17 years, first presiding in El Paso, then Midland-Odessa, San Antonio and now Dallas. Prior to taking the bench, he was a shareholder in the prominent El Paso law firm of Kemp, Smith, Duncan & Hammond, where during his 24 years with the firm, he headed the commercial litigation section and remained committed to the pro bono efforts of the firm.

His résumé reflects years of accomplishment and recognition. Among his many honors, he received the Jurist of the Year Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity—both in 2004.  Texas Tech University Law School bestowed its 2008 West Texas Legal Legend Award upon the judge, who was born in Lubbock and attended undergraduate school at Tech. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute and the American Board of Trial Advocates.

“Several colleagues have asked me why I would give up a lifetime appointment to take on a start-up law school during these tough economic times, when tuition is rising and demand for lawyers is declining,” Judge Furgeson said. “But the prospect of pioneering a new law school that addresses these issues head-on was too challenging and exciting to pass up.”

Gov. Rick Perry signed SB 956 on June 19, 2009 to authorize the new law school. The law school will be located in the heart of downtown Dallas, where it can develop partnerships with major law firms, countless solo practitioners and the judicial and legal communities centered in the four courthouses within its two-mile radius.

UNT Dallas College of Law will be the only public law school in North Texas, and will provide the region with an affordable alternative to private law schools, attracting a high percentage of minority students and easing the debt on all students, as they embark on their legal careers.

Judge Furgeson said he is “eager to get on with the business of running the law school,” but first is committed to fulfilling his responsibilities to the federal bench. The judge is currently the president of the Federal Judges Association, a voluntary organization of Article III judges devoted to protecting the role of the judicial branch in our constitutional framework.  His personal commitment to this leadership role requires him to remain on the bench for the next 15 months, after which his service to the association ends. Until he formally resigns his judgeship, he will adhere to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which will limit his work with the law school.

“Because a brand new law school has no track record, the only evidence of its quality is the integrity of its leaders,” said Frank Newton, the former Dean of Texas Tech School of Law, who supported the judge’s appointment. “In Royal, you have the perfect pick, a confident, gregarious leader whose record of accomplishment adds a clear aura of credibility to the new school.”

ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Gives Diversity Awards

The ABA section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law recognized two groups to receive 2011 Diversity Awards. The Residential, Multi-Family and Special Use Group and the Employee Benefit Plans and other Compensation Arrangements Group both received the award.

The Residential, Multi-Family and Special Use Group hosted a diverse panel for their Spring CLE. The panel provided diverse perspectives from different demographics within the legal profession.

The Employee Benefits and Other Compensation Arrangements Group advanced diverse members to be leaders in their group. This group also recruited diverse speakers for their panel in their Spring CLE.

See 2011 Section Diversity Awards, ABA Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law, Dec. 2011. 

Wills, Trusts & Estates Blog Named to ABA Journal's Blawg 100!

Thanks to your loyalty and support, I just received notice that this blog was named to the ABA Journal's Blawg 100.

Thank you!!!

In the lines of Dancing with the Stars, I ask for your support for my blog to be a “people’s choice” winner.  The Journal is now conducting a popular vote to determine the most-liked blog in each of a dozen categories – I am in the Niche category.  You may vote by following this link: http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100.    

You do have to register, which is very easy, just provide username, screen name, email, and password.  Then go to the category "Niche" and click "Vote" on my Blog, Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog.

Thanks!!!

AALS Fall 2011 Newsletter

In the words of the Chair of AALS Section on Trusts and Estates Bridget Crawford:

The AALS Section on Trusts & Estates is pleased to send this newsletter with information about conferences, programs, calls, scholarship and other professional news of interest to the membership.

You may read this exciting Newsletter by following this link.

AALS Spring 2011 Newsletter

In the words of the Chair of AALS Section on Trusts and Estates Bridget Crawford:

As we come to the end of another academic year, the AALS Section on Trusts & Estates is pleased to send this newsletter with information about conferences, programs, calls, scholarship and other professional news of interest to the membership.

You may read this exciting Newsletter by following this link.

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog Wins LexisNexis Top Estates, Probate and Elder Law Blog of 2011!

As you may know, the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog was in the running for the LexisNexis Top Estates, Probate and Elder Law Blog of 2011.  I was just informed that this blog tied Hani Sarji's Estate of Confusion for first place!

Thanks to all of you who voted and for your continued support! 

The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog has been selected as one of the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs for 2011. Voting has begun and the winner will be announced on April 20, 2011.  I would greatly appreciate your taking the time to cast a vote for this blog by following this link -- vote here. Thank you!!!

Please Vote for the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs!

The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog has been selected as one of the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs for 2011. Voting has begun and the winner will be announced on April 20, 2011.  I would greatly appreciate your taking the time to cast a vote for this blog by following this link -- vote here. Thank you!!!

Please Vote for the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs!

The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog has been selected as one of the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs for 2011. Voting has begun and the winner will be announced on April 20, 2011.  I would greatly appreciate your taking the time to cast a vote for this blog by following this link -- vote here. Thank you!!!

Please Vote for the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs!

The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog has been selected as one of the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs for 2011. Voting has begun and the winner will be announced on April 20, 2011.  I would greatly appreciate your taking the time to cast a vote for this blog by following this link -- vote here. Thank you!!!

Please Vote for the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs!

The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog has been selected as one of the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate and Elder Law Blogs for 2011. Voting has begun and the winner will be announced on April 20, 2011.  I would greatly appreciate your taking the time to cast a vote for this blog by following this link -- vote here. Thank you!!!

Please Vote for the Wills, Trusts, & Estates Prof Blog!

The Wills, Trusts, & Estates Prof Blog has been nominated for the LexisNexis Top 25 Estate, Probate, and Elder Law Blogs of 2011!

To support the Wills, Trusts, & Estates Prof Blog in this competition, click here to post a comment. Each comment posted about this blog is counted as one vote. The comment period ends on March 31, 2011.

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog Wins the 2010 ABA Journal Blawg 100 Law Prof Plus Category

As you may know, the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog was in the running for one of the most popular blogs in the 2010 ABA Journal Blawg 100 competition.

I was just informed that ABAJournal.com readers selected this blog as their favorite in the Law Prof Plus category.

Thanks to all of you who voted and for your continued support!