Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

How to manage a deceased loved one’s Facebook account

Losing a loved one is never easy, and dealing with their digital life can add another layer of stress during an already difficult time.

John from Northampton, Pennsylvania, reached out with a question that many people face but few know how to handle: "Please explain how to remove a deceased person’s Facebook account."

John, we're very sorry for your loss, and you're not alone in wondering what to do next. Managing a deceased person’s Facebook presence can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re not sure where to start. Facebook does offer a few options depending on whether you'd like to preserve their account as a memorial or have it removed entirely. Here's what you need to know, along with how to protect their digital legacy from misuse.

When Facebook is made aware that someone has passed away, their policy is to memorialize the account. This turns the profile into a digital tribute, serving as a space where friends and family can gather, share memories and view photos and posts. A memorialized account:

• Displays the word "Remembering" next to the person’s name
• Preserves content they posted during their lifetime
• Prevents anyone from logging into the account
• Can only be managed by a legacy contact (if one was assigned)

Memorializing an account not only honors the person’s memory but also adds a layer of security by locking the account from unauthorized access. Anyone can request a Facebook account be memorialized if they believe the user has passed away, but only verified immediate family or a legacy contact can manage the account afterward.

For more information see Kurt Knutsson "How to manage a deceased loved one’s Facebook account" Fox News, April 21, 2025. 

‘Complete shock’: Mother grieves again after cemetery reburies daughter

A Missouri mother says she is grieving again after finding out her daughter’s final resting place was in the wrong spot for nearly two decades.

For nearly 20 years, Tonya St. Cin has frequented a special spot at Hunt-White Memorial Gardens in Doniphan to visit Elisha Schmidt, the daughter she lost in 2005, KAIT reports.

“I miss her laugh. I miss her smile. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her when I wake up,” St. Cin said.

When the mother visits her daughter’s grave, she says she thinks of what could have been.

“I’ll never see her get married. I’ll never see her have children,” she said.

St. Cin lost her brother in February. He was supposed to be buried next to Elisha. When St. Cin saw his plot wasn’t there, she found out her daughter had been buried in the wrong spot for 20 years, bringing all that pain back.

“I was in complete shock. I was mourning my brother. He’s my last brother,” she said. “It was like PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] all over again.”

A Doniphan city leader confirmed Elisha was buried three feet from where she was supposed to be. They said there was a mistake made when the plot was marked, and they realized the mistake when St. Cin’s brother’s plot was marked.

For St. Cin, moving her daughter meant reopening wounds she thought were closed long ago.

“You’re telling me I have to rebury my child after this has been my place to go for comfort. To other people, it may just be four feet, but to me, that four feet means a lot,” she said.

The city said St. Cin agreed to move her daughter verbally, but St. Cin said she was never told her daughter would be moved. For her, that spot was sacred.

“I anointed that ground many times. I’ve come up and thrown a blanket and had lunch with my daughter,” she said. “I thought she would be there until Momma got next to her.”

Now, Elisha is finally in her new resting place. St. Cin said she wanted to speak out, so another family didn’t have to rebury their loved one.

The city says it’s paying for all the expenses for the family. City leaders add they are not aware of any other plots that might be mislocated.

For more information see Alejandra Hernández and Gray News staff "‘Complete shock’: Mother grieves again after cemetery reburies daughter," KOLD 13 News, April 15, 2025.

 

Bill Gates reveals how much inheritance he'll leave for kids

Microsoft founder and multibillionaire Bill Gates, 69, says each of his three children will receive less than 1% of his more than $100 billion fortune.

"In my case, my kids got a great upbringing and education but [will get] less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favor to them. It’s not a dynasty. I’m not asking them to run Microsoft," he said on Raj Shamani's podcast.

According to Forbes' 2025 World's Billionaire List, Gates is worth $102.2 billion, making him the 13th richest person on the planet. Elon Musk tops the list at $342 billion. His children, despite receiving only a tiny fraction of Gates' wealth, are set to receive more than $1 billion each. Gates has three children, ages 28, 25 and 22.

For more information see Peter D'Abrosca "Bill Gates reveals how much inheritance he'll leave for kids" Fox Business, April 9, 2025. 

Ex-Harvard Medical School Morgue Chief to Plead Guilty in Sale of Body Parts

A former manager of the morgue at Harvard Medical School will plead guilty to stealing body parts that had been donated for research and selling them for thousands of dollars to people who collected them as macabre curiosities, according to court documents.

The supervisor, Cedric Lodge, 57, who was fired by the university in 2023, had been entrusted with handling cadavers that were part of the medical school’s Anatomical Gift Program and were supposed to be cremated after the research on them had been completed, prosecutors said.

But according to a sweeping federal investigation, Mr. Lodge turned the morgue into a shopping emporium for brains, skin and other body parts, supplying them to collectors in several states as part of a criminal network that involved several people, including his wife. Investigators said he drove the stolen body parts to his home in New Hampshire.

The breach went undetected from about 2018 until March 2023, tainting one of the nation’s most prestigious medical schools.

In a filing on Wednesday in federal court in Pennsylvania, Mr. Lodge agreed that he would plead guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Under the plea deal, he will no longer face a conspiracy charge. Prosecutors recommended that he receive less than the maximum sentence, but a judge will make the final decision.

For more information see Neil Vigdor "Ex-Harvard Medical School Morgue Chief to Plead Guilty in Sale of Body Parts" The New York Times, April 18, 2025. 

Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Guy Fieri's kids have to get 2 college degrees for an inheritance. His youngest son is trying to make a different deal.

Guy Fieri may have a $100 million contract with Food Network, but that hasn't changed the celebrity chef's rule regarding his children's future inheritance.

"If you want this cheese, you got to get two degrees," he told them, borrowing a quote from the NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal.

But Fieri, who recently sat down with Business Insider to discuss his new flavors with Waterloo Sparkling Water, said that "everybody's taking me to the bank on this one."

Fieri's eldest son, Hunter, 28, is set to graduate with an MBA from the University of Miami in May. And his 26-year-old nephew Jules, whom Fieri has helped raise since his sister died in 2011, recently graduated from the law program at Loyola Marymount University.

"Poor Ryder is just finishing his freshman year at San Diego State University," Fieri said of his youngest son, who's 19. "The boys rib him all the time. They're like: 'You know, we're done. You still have to go finish college and go get your postgraduate.'"

Fieri said his son Ryder had tried to negotiate his way out of their arrangement.

Though Ryder still has many years of education ahead of him, Fieri said everyone was looking forward to a "big graduation" reward this summer in honor of Hunter and Jules' recent accomplishments.

For more information see Anneta Konstantinides "Guy Fieri's kids have to get 2 college degrees for an inheritance. His youngest son is trying to make a different deal." Yahoo Entertainment, April 16, 2025. 

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.

NY Proposal Tries to Make Clawback Tax Deductible—But Will the IRS Agree?

New York’s proposed amendment to Tax Law § 954(a)(3), included as Part T in the State Senate’s One-House Budget Bill (S.3009-B), tries something bold: It seeks to recharacterize part of the state estate tax as a deductible debt. Specifically, the proposal would deem the portion of the estate tax attributable to lifetime gifts made within three years of death—the so-called "clawback tax"—to be an "obligation of the decedent." The goal is straightforward: Maximize federal deductions for New York estates. But will the IRS go along with it?

This post explains why New York's attempt to secure federal deductibility for its recharacterized tax is doubtful:

• Substance over form: Calling a tax a "debt" doesn't change its true nature.
• Federal regulations narrowly define what qualifies as a deductible debt under IRC § 2053.
• As a hybrid tax/debt statute, the proposed NYTL § 954(a)(3) may raise an unsettled question of state law—shifting the analysis from Erie to Bosch, and allowing the IRS to interpret New York law rather than simply apply it as written.
• The SALT deduction saga shows that statutory recharacterizations—like calling tax payments "charitable contributions"—don't guarantee federal deductibility.

Proponents of the reform assert that the IRS must follow New York's statutory characterization. But a closer examination reveals that New York's reform may not work. The IRS may simply reject its attempt to make clawedback gifts deductible for federal estate tax purposes. Recent history shows that state statutes don’t control deductibility—federal law does.

For more information see Hani Sarji "NY Proposal Tries to Make Clawback Tax Deductible—But Will the IRS Agree?" Wills, Trusts, Estates Information, April 15, 2025. 

Pope Francis left a last will and testament before his death

Pope Francis used his last will and testament to detail his wishes for where he would like to be interred following his death.

The leader of the Catholic Church died Monday at the age of 88, just a day after celebrating Easter with a surprise appearance at St. Peter's Square. The Vatican said he died from a stroke that caused a coma and led to irreversible heart failure.

In the will, dated June 29, 2022, Francis wrote that with the "feeling that the sunset of my earthly life is approaching," he wished to express his preferences only with regard to plans for his burial.

"I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy," he wrote in the document, released by the Vatican Monday. "Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest awaiting the day of resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore."

The fifth-century church is one of the four Papal Basilicas in Rome and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. He noted that is also where he visited to pray after each of his more than 100 trips abroad.

"I ask that my tomb be prepared in the niche of the side nave between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the aforementioned Papal Basilica," Francis said in his will.

"The tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus."

Unlike other popes, he did not request any mention of his papacy in the inscription — only his name.

He ended his will with: "May the Lord give the deserved reward to those who have loved me and will continue to pray for me. The suffering that has become present in the last part of my life I have offered to the Lord for peace in the world and brotherhood among peoples."

Full text of Pope Francis' last will and testament:

Feeling that the sunset of my earthly life is approaching and with lively hope in Eternal Life, I wish to express my testamentary will only with regard to the place of my burial. I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy. Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest awaiting the day of resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

I wish that my last earthly journey conclude precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary where I went for prayer at the beginning and end of each Apostolic Journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and thank Her for her docile and maternal care.

I ask that my tomb be prepared in the niche of the side nave between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the aforementioned Papal Basilica as indicated in the enclosed attachment.

The tomb must be in the earth; simple, without particular decoration and with the only inscription: Franciscus.

The expenses for the preparation of my burial will be covered by the sum of the benefactor that I have arranged, to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and of which I have provided appropriate instructions to Mons. Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberian Chapter.

May the Lord give the deserved reward to those who have loved me and will continue to pray for me. The suffering that has become present in the last part of my life I have offered to the Lord for peace in the world and brotherhood among peoples.

For more information see Lucia I Suarez Sang and Anna Matranga "Pope Francis left a last will and testament before his death" AOL.com, April 21, 2025.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.

Article: Book Excerpt: Heirs' Property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (Thomas W. Mitchell & Erica Levine Powers eds., 2022)

Thomas W. Mitchell (Boston College Law School) recently published, Book Excerpt: Heirs' Property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (Thomas W. Mitchell & Erica Levine Powers eds., 2022), 2025. Provided below is an Abstract: 

This article is an excerpt of a book chapter of mine from a 2022 A.B.A. book titled Heirs' Property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act: Challenges, Solutions, and Historic Reform, a book for which I served as the lead co-editor. The excerpt demonstrates that so-called heirs' property is a type of family real property ownership that is much more prevalent in the United States than most academics, policymakers, and other stakeholders once believed. Black and brown families disproportionately though not exclusively own heirs' property due, in part, to little known massive racial and ethnic will-making and estate planning gaps in this country, gaps the article brings to light. The excerpt highlights how judicial application of an arcane property law known as partition law has resulted in thousands of heirs' property owners being subject to ruinous, court-ordered forced sales that extinguished their property rights and wiped out much of their generational wealth. The excerpt then provides an overview of several key features of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), an incredibly successful uniform real property act, for which I served as the reporter (principal drafter). The UPHPA makes the most substantial reforms to state partition laws since a major reform many states made to partition law in the 1800s. The UPHPA has been enacted into law in almost half of the states in the country, states that have two-thirds of the U.S. population, making it one of the most successful uniform acts the Uniform Law Commission has promulgated over the course of the past thirty years.

 

Article: Rent, Riots, and Rensselaer: The Patroon System of New Netherland and Its Lasting Influence on the History of Landlord-Tenant Law

Liam Cronan (U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts) recently published, Rent, Riots, and Rensselaer: The Patroon System of New Netherland and Its Lasting Influence on the History of Landlord-Tenant Law, 2025. Provided below is an Abstract: 

For nearly two-and-a-half centuries, a Dutch aristocracy thrived in upstate New York. Known as “patroons,” these powerful landlords controlled vast tracts of land, first claimed by the Dutch in the 1620s, and extracted rents from those lands well into the nineteenth century. Among the first and most influential patroons was Kiliaen van Rensselaer, whose interactions with colonial agents left behind a rich and extensive body of legal records. As these sources reveal, the patroon system’s unique constitution, derived from Dutch civil law, granted the patroon a seemingly feudal right with no analog in Anglo-American legal history: the ability to sell part of his land yet still require rent payments from his former “tenants.” Despite initial efforts to curtail it, this system persisted long after New York transitioned from a colony to a state, perplexing courts and lawyers alike for generations. After a violent uprising known as the Anti-Rent Movement failed to end the patroon’s claims to perpetual rent, New York courts faced a slew of cases challenging the patroon system’s legality. These cases exposed and attempted to harmonize the inherent conflict between English common law and Dutch civil law, which continued to shape New York law long after Dutch colonial rule ended, setting lasting precedents for property rights, landlord-tenant law, and the ability to bind property with perpetual conditions. But despite this significance, the patroon system has long been undervalued by legal historians, with most recent scholarship mentioning it only in passing. In resurrecting this neglected area of property law, this article seeks to impart a historically informed understanding of the patroon system and its enduring impact on landlord-tenant law. It will begin by tracing the origins of the patroonship as a tool to expand Dutch colonization. Drawing on careful analysis and translation of the records Van Rensselaer and his agents left behind, it will then demonstrate how the patroonship formed a powerful, interlocking system of property rights that provided patroons like Van Rensselaer not only with the right to collect rent but also to control his tenants’ labor, direct local commerce, broker debts, and even establish his own laws and courts. Finally, it will examine a series of key nineteenth-century cases and treatises, illustrating the nuanced legacy of the patroon system and its complex interactions with the Dutch and English legal traditions. By connecting the patroon system to the broader evolution of American property law, from contemporary New York statutes to restrictions during COVID-19, this article will reveal its lasting influence on landlord-tenant law and its rightful place in American legal history.

 

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter and great weekend with friends and family.