Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

ABA 2008 Student Writing Contest

The following is from the official ABA announcement:

The University of Miami School of Law Graduate Programs in Estate Planning and Real Property Development is sponsoring the 2008 Real Property, Trust and Estate Law (RPTE) law student writing contest. The first-place winner will receive $1,500 cash and a one-year membership in the RPTE Section (valued at $50). The winner will also receive free round-trip airfare and weekend accommodations to attend the RPTE Fall Leadership Meeting, November 5th - 9th in Montreal, Quebec Canada (valued at approximately $1,000). In addition, the winner’s essay will be considered for publication in a future issue of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal and announced in Probate & Property, the Section magazine.

The second-place winner will receive $700 cash and will be announced in Probate & Property. The third-place winner will receive $500 cash and an honorable mention in Probate & Property.

2008 Contest Rules and Entry Form - Deadline June 20th, 2008.

Kaiser Writing Contest

The following is from kaiserEDU.org:

KaiserEDU.org invites undergraduate and graduate-level students in all disciplines to submit an original essay for the website's annual competition. Students are asked to submit entries by March 17, 2008 in response to the following topic:

The date is November 24th, 2008. You have just started a job as an analyst working on the President-elect's health care transition team. The director of the transition team has asked you to draft a memo to flesh out the health priorities for the new Administration on a major health policy issue. Select an issue area and a candidate (from the list below) and identify the major policies or strategies that the Administration could develop to advance this issue. Make sure to include evidence and analysis to support your recommendations. Your priorities and strategies should be consistent with the proposals forwarded by the candidates in the campaign. You should also address the challenges in implementing your recommendations, such as budgetary and political considerations, delivery system issues, and how different stakeholders and constituencies would perceive the proposals. Your memo should not exceed 800 words. * * *

The following prizes will be awarded to the top undergraduate and graduate student entries:

• First Prize: $1,000
• Second Prize:  $500

Complete information is available here.

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys announces the Third Annual NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition

Here is some information taken from the Competition's announcement:

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys is pleased to present the Third Annual NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition offering a $1,500 cash prize for the best article submitted. In addition to the $1,500 cash award, the winner will be honored at the Fall 2008 NAELA Institute in Kansas City, MO and will receive up to $1,000 for travel and meeting related expenses. The second place winner receives $1,000 cash, and the third place winner receives $500 cash.

The top eight articles submitted will be published in the NAELA Student Journal, an annual publication, and the top eight authors will receive a complimentary one-year membership to NAELA. This competition is open to all students in good standing who attend a law school within the United States. * * *

The article should address any topic related to the intersection of law and aging, elder or disability planning.

The deadline is May 1, 2008.

More information is available by following this link.

ACTEC Announces Mary Moers Wenig 2008 Student Writing Competition

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel has officially announced the Mary Moers Wenig 2008 Student Writing Competition.

Here are some of the key features of this competition which has a First Place Prize of $5,000:

• A broad range of topics in the trusts and estates and related taxation areas
• Attractive page requirements -- the body of the paper must be 20 double-spaced pages and may not exceed 30 double-spaced pages
• Use of original (but unpublished) papers, including papers prepared for law school credit
• May 1, 2008 deadline which will allow for work over semester and spring breaks
• No limit on the number of Honorable Mention Prizes allowing entrants to have a greater chance of receiving recognition and monetary awards
• Papers may be coauthored

The official rules may be found here.

NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has announced its Second Annual NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition open to law students.

There is a $1,500 cash prize for the best article. The winner will be honored at the Fall 2007 NAELA Institute in Memphis and will receive up to $1,000 for travel and meeting related expenses. The second place winner receives $1000 cash, and the third place winner receives $500 cash.  The top eight articles submitted will be published in the NAELA Student Journal.

The article may address any topic related to the intersection of law and aging, elder or disability planning.

Follow this link for more information such as length (max 35 pages), due date (May 1, 2007), format, etc.

Quarles & Brady Prize in Property & Probate Scholarship Student Writing Contest Winners

The Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association has recently announced the winners of the 2006 Quarles & Brady Prize in Property & Probate Scholarship Student Writing Contest.

• First place: Michael J. Percy , Santa Clara University, School of Law -- Delta Levees – Tort Immunity vs. Takings Liability
• Second place: Jeremy R. Moss, Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America -- A Win-Win Situation: Self-Evaluation by Homeowners' Associations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions in Light of the First Amendment Rights of their Residents
• Third place: William H. Woolston, College of William and Mary, School of Law -- Whose Money Is It, Anyway? The Case for a Mortality Discount for Early Termination Lump Sum Distributions in Cash Between Plans

ACTEC Announces Mary Moers Wenig 2007 Student Writing Competition

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel has officially announced the Mary Moers Wenig 2007 Student Writing Competition.

Here are some of the key features of this competition which has a First Place Prize of $5,000:

• A broad range of topics in the trusts and estates and related taxation areas
• Attractive page requirements -- the body of the paper must be 20 double-spaced pages and may not exceed 30 double-spaced pages
• Use of original (but unpublished) papers, including papers prepared for law school credit
• May 1, 2007 deadline which will allow for work over semester and spring breaks
• No limit on the number of Honorable Mention Prizes allowing entrants to have a greater chance of receiving recognition and monetary awards
• Papers may be coauthored

The official rules may be found here.

Winners of ACTEC Writing Competition

The ACTEC Legal Education Committee has recently announced the winners of the 2006 Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition:

FIRST PLACE WINNER: MICHAEL A. PASSANANTI

Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: The Risks & Roadblocks Which May Hinder Their Effectiveness

Mike Passananti attended Augustana College, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in finance. Mike received his J.D. in May, 2006, from DePaul College of Law. Mike hopes to practice law in Chicago with a concentration in business and estate planning.

SECOND PLACE WINNER: TIMOTHY A. DUFAULT

Donee Beware: Collateral Consequences of Family Limited Partnership Planning

Timothy attended Washington State University, where he earned a B.S. in Agribusiness, with Spanish as a second major. Timothy received his J.D. in May, 2006, from the University Of Arizona James E. Rogers College Of Law, where his professors honored him as the top tax student in his graduating class. He hopes to practice law in Yakima, Washington, with a concentration in corporate law and estate and tax planning.

THIRD PLACE WINNER: RICHARD A. DEVRIES

What a Long Strangi Trip Its Been: Family Limited Partnerships and Section 2036 of the Internal Revenue Code

Richard graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 with a degree in Structural Engineering. He is currently a part-time student at Marquette University Law School and expects to receive his J.D. in August 2006. He plans on practicing law in Milwaukee in the areas of Estate and Tax Planning.

HONORABLE MENTION: CANDACE HOWARD

From Markham to Marshall: Why the Probate Exception Should be Narrowly Construed

Candace earned a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Maryland. She received her J.D. in May, 2006 from the University Of Maryland School Of Law, where she was an Associate Editor of the Maryland Law Review. Candace was the 2006 winner of the Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest and a Presidential Management Fellowship finalist. She is currently pursuing a fellowship appointment with a federal agency.

ACTEC Writing Competition Reminder

Click on the image to view a full-size (that is, legible) version of the flyer or follow this link for more information.
   

   

   

   

Real Property and Probate Writing Contest

The following is from Probate & Property, Jan./Feb. 2006, at 4:

2006 Student Writing Contest Deadline Set for June 15

Law students can win up to $2,000 in the 2006 [American Bar Association's Real Property, Probate and Trust] Student Writing Contest.

The first place winner will receive a cash prize of $2,000 (together with a one-year free membership in the Section and an expense-paid trip to the Section's Fall Council Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, in November), with the second and third place winners receiving cash prizes of $500 and $250, respectively.

The contest is open to all law students currently attending an ABA-accredited law school.  The contest is designed to encourage and reward law student writing on real property, probate, and trust law subjects of general and current interest.

Complete rules as well as an entry form are available online * * *.

The deadline for submitting papers is June 15, 2006.

FLPs and I.R.C. § 2036(a)

The winning entry in the Second Annual Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Contest sponsored by the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel has just been published -- Layne T. Smith, FLPs and the 2036(a) Bona Fide Sale Exception: The Vital Role of the Presumption of Adequate and Full Consideration, 31 ACTEC J. 138 (2005).

Mr. Smith graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and is now working for Wood Crapo LLC in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Here is the conclusion of Mr. Smith's article:

The FLP potentially offers taxpayers substantial transfer tax savings in the form of valuation discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability. Under the fair market value standard, these discounts are entirely appropriate and justifiable. However, when taxpayers use FLPs as testamentary vehicles with little accompanying business purpose, the availability of tax savings resulting from these discounts should be curtailed. Recognizing this, courts have been quite willing over the past few years, when appropriate, to bring property transferred to an FLP back into the decedent’s gross estate using Section 2036(a). But courts should be wary of an overly liberal application of the bona fide sale exception that could negate the effectiveness of Section 2036(a).

The general failure to recognize the proper justification for applying the bona fide sale prong has led to confusion among courts concerning the correct standard for evaluating transfers of property to an FLP. The bona fide sale exception cannot be applied to a transfer to an FLP on the grounds that the discounted partnership interest received in return replenishes the estate dollar for dollar. Instead, the exception should only be applied to discounted interests received in exchange for a transfer to an FLP in the ordinary course of business. When a transaction is entered into in the ordinary course of business—that is when the transfer is both bona fide, at arm’s length, and free from donative intent—courts may presume that the transferor received adequate and full consideration in money or money’s worth. Because this presumption is the only proper justification for holding that the bona fide sale exception applies to transfers to an FLP, only transactions entered into in the ordinary course of business should be excepted from the reach of Section 2036(a) as bona fide transfers for adequate and full consideration.

NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition

A letter I received earlier today from Prof. Rebecca Morgan and Mr. Edwin Boyer explains that

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) is offering a writing competition on topics related to one or more of the following three issues in an elder law practice: 1) diversity in senior housing, 2) diversity in access to health care, and 3) diversity in capacity and guardianship. The top eight articles selected will be published in the NAELA Student Journal in the spring of 2006. The writing competition will promote a greater interest in, and understanding of, elder law issues. This opportunity is open to all students in good standing who attend a law school within the United States. NAELA is pleased to offer a $1,500 cash prize for the best article submitted. The winner will be honored at the Spring 2006 NAELA Symposium in Washington D.C. and receive up to $1000 for travel and meeting related expenses. The second place winner receives $1000 cash, and the third place winner receives $500 cash. The top eight authors will also receive a complimentary one-year membership to NAELA.

Follows these links for the complete text of the letter and the competition flyer suitable for posting.

ACTEC's Mary Moers Wenig Writing Competition

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel is sponsoring a writing competition in honor of the late Professor Mary Moers Wenig of Quinnipiac.  Here is a brief description of the competition:

This competition was created by ACTEC’s Legal Education Committee, which consists of law school professors who teach in the area of trusts and estates and practitioners who teach as adjuncts in the trusts and estates field. The competition honors the late Mary Moers Wenig, a member of ACTEC’s Legal Education Committee, who was a law school professor for over 30 years.

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a professional association consisting of approximately 2,700 lawyers from throughout the United States, Canada and other parts of the world who are elected as Fellows of the College. Fellows are selected on the basis of professional reputation and ability in the fields of trusts and estates and on the basis of having made substantial contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing, teaching and bar activities.

Consistent with ACTEC’s purposes, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition was created to encourage and reward scholarly works in the area of trusts and estates. ACTEC’s purposes are to maintain an association of lawyers, international in scope, skilled and experienced in the preparation of wills and trusts; estate planning; probate procedure and administration of trusts and estates of decedents, minors and incompetents; to improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and professional responsibility, to bring together qualified lawyers whose character and ability will contribute to the achievement of the purposes of the College; and to cooperate with bar associations and other organizations with similar purposes. The funding for the competition will be provided by the ACTEC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity that supports educational projects relating to trust and estate law. This competition is open to any law student in good standing (full-time or part-time) who is currently enrolled as a J.D. or LL.M. candidate in an ABA-accredited law school within the United States or its possessions.

This competition offers huge cash prizes -- for example, first place is $5,000.  If you are a law professor, please consider informing your students about this competition.  If you are a law student, please give this competition serious consideration.

Follow this link for more details.

International Trust & Tax Planning Summit

The International Trust & Tax Planning Summit sponsored by IBC USA Conferences Inc. is scheduled for October 26-28, 2005 at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida.  This conference is described as:

the leading conference of its kind for trust and tax planning professionals. [They] have assembled an internationally recognized faculty of experts from the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, England and Wales, France, Germany, Grand Cayman, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland and the United States who fully understand that trust professionals have never been under more pressure to maintain their competitive edge. With an emphasis on jurisdictional case studies and recent judicial interpretations, this year's program explores the latest issues affecting the trust industry. Some of the topics addressed include: The Complexities of Charitable Giving, Appropriate Use of Foundations, Developments in Tax Evasion/Avoidance, Reporting Requirements, Transfer Tax Issues, New Cases in Civil Law Jurisdictions, International Matrimonial Matters and much more.

Jacques T. Schlenger Student Writing Contest

The Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association is sponsoring The Jacques T. Schlenger Student Writing Contest.  According to the January 2005 RPPT Bulletin, "The contest is designed to encourage and reward law student writing on real property, probate and trust law subjects of general and current interest."

Complete rules and the entry form are available on-line.

The submission deadline is June 15, 2005.

Please encourage your students to enter this contest as well as the ACTEC Competition discussed in an earlier blog posting.

ACTEC Writing Competition

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel is sponsoring a writing competition in honor of one of our late colleagues, Mary Moers Wenig of Quinnipiac.  This competition offers huge cash prizes -- for example, first place is $5,000.  If you are a law professor, please consider informing your students about this competition.  If you are a law student, please give this competition serious consideration.