Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Life Insurance For Billionaires

Insuring billionaires comes with unique challenges because the coverage amounts are so large—sometimes reaching into the billions. Many billionaires use life insurance to help their heirs cover estate taxes without having to sell off businesses or assets. Since most insurance companies can’t take on that kind of risk alone, they rely on reinsurance to share the load. But even reinsurance can be tricky, especially if the payout is very large. Also, underwriting billionaires isn’t always easy because their high-end medical care may not include detailed health records, which insurers need to assess risk properly.

Another issue is something called moral hazard—when people take more risks because they feel financially protected. A billionaire with a big life insurance policy might be more willing to take part in dangerous activities or risky business ventures, knowing their family will be taken care of if something happens. To protect against this, insurers often raise premiums or add exclusions for high-risk behavior. Billionaires also tend to own unusual and hard-to-value assets like private companies, real estate, or art. These assets change in value over time, which means policies need regular updates to keep coverage accurate.

Wealth managers play a big role in helping billionaires with their insurance. Many don’t hold policies directly—instead, they use trusts or companies to protect their privacy and reduce taxes. Choosing who gets the payout can also be complicated, especially if there are multiple beneficiaries or special conditions. Premiums for these policies are high, but they’re customized based on the billionaire’s needs and risk level. Since things can change a lot over the years—financially or personally—insurance plans often need to be reviewed and adjusted. That’s why a team of experts is usually needed to handle everything smoothly.

For more information see Jerry D. Prince and Russ Alan Prince "Life Insurance For Billionaires," Financial Advisor, March 24, 2025. 

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

Tony Bennett's daughters claim brother took advantage of their father for financial gain in new lawsuit

Tony Bennett's daughters filed a new lawsuit in New York, claiming their brother abused his power of fiduciary duty and other improper and unlawful conduct, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Antonia and Johanna Bennett claim in the lawsuit that their brother exercised complete and unchecked control over Tony and his financial affairs prior to and following his death through multiple fiduciary and other roles of authority that were abused, and continues to abuse, for his own significant financial gain. Their brother, Danny served, as Tony's personal and professional manager with power of attorney. In addition, he managed the Benedetto Arts company, and served as the trustee of the family trust.

He allegedly diverted "substantial assets to himself and his family prior to Tony's death," which diminished both Tony's assets and assets to the family trust, according to documents. Danny allegedly orchestrated the sale of "substantially all of Tony's name, image, and likeness rights, the royalty stream in Tony's music, and other assets and tangible personal property to Ignite Music Fund," earning millions in commissions from the transaction. The suit claimed he personally continues to profit from the transaction, which includes the sale of memorabilia.

For more information see Tracy Wright, "Tony Bennett's daughters claim brother took advantage of their father for financial gain in new lawsuit," Fox News, April 2, 2025.

 

Article: “Equity has No Place Here”: Should Equitable Remedies be Available to Reverse Failed Tax Planning?

Adam S. Hofri-Winogradow (Peter A. Allard School of Law, the University of British Columbia) recently published, “Equity has No Place Here”: Should Equitable Remedies be Available to Reverse Failed Tax Planning?, 2025. Provided below is an Abstract:

I discuss an odd use of equity: the granting of equitable remedies to assist authors of tax minimization plans where their plans result in unexpected tax liabilities. Canadian law has in the current century first taken a strikingly liberal approach to granting rescission and rectification to reverse the tax results of failed, mistake-based tax planning, and later switched to an approach far more restrictive than those under U.K. and U.S. law. I believe the current Canadian approach to be both too permissive and not permissive enough: given the importance of the tax-and-transfer system for providing equalizing redistribution, and the regressive redistributive effects of tax planning, state-funded courts should in general not grant equitable remedies to authors of tax minimization schemes that have met with unexpected tax burdens as a result of tax mistakes. I recognize, however, that tax mistakes can lead to devastating results for taxpayers, and that such mistakes are to be expected given the complexity of our tax law and our acceptance of tax law changes operating retroactively. I therefore suggest that courts retain a power to grant rescission or rectification, as necessary, to eliminate mistake-based tax planning that will reduce the taxpayer to insolvency if not eliminated, where such elimination is not realistically available in other ways.

The recession could either speed up or slow down when you get your inheritance—experts say these are the huge deciding factors

It’s projected that $84 trillion will be passed down in the ‘great wealth transfer’ by 2045—but the timeline could change if an economic downturn hits. JPMorgan economists have raised the probability of a U.S. recession this year up to 40%—here are the deciding factors experts say will sway the speed of monetary gifting.

America’s retirees and baby boomers are holding onto a mountain of wealth, but that will all change in the next couple decades. A possible recession could speed up or slow down the timeline of the ‘great wealth transfer’ depending on three key factors.

For more information see Emma Burleigh "The recession could either speed up or slow down when you get your inheritance—experts say these are the huge deciding factors," Fortune.com, March 25, 2025. 

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

Article: Singlehood and the Law: A Global Perspective

Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia School of Law) and Chao-Ju Chen (National Taiwan University) recently published, Singlehood and the Law: A Global Perspective, 2025. 

The chapter provides an introduction to issues involving single people and the law. Accordingly, it explores legal approaches to singlehood and non-singlehood, and it articulates the most significant questions for future directions from a global perspective. The chapter primarily focuses on developing a descriptive model of legal classifications of single and non-single people, distinguishing legal issues from those in psychology, sociology, economics, and popular culture. Singlehood status matters in contexts ranging from family formation and reproductive rights to retirement security, tax laws, zoning, public benefits-and beyond. As the chapter shows, the status of singlehood might have drawbacks or benefits, depending on the category and the national approach to a particular legal issue. This descriptive model should be applicable throughout different legal systems, and the chapter uses Taiwan and the United States as examples of the utility of this model.

Article: The Nature of Leasing

Yun-chien Chang (Cornell Law School) and Thomas Merrill (Columbia University - Law School) recently published, The Nature of Leasing, 2025. Provided below is an Abstract: 

Leases at the common law are said to be a property form becoming increasingly contractual, while leases in the civil law are said to be a type of contract becoming "reified" and hence increasingly like property. Leases in the common and civil law worlds thus begin with very different starting points but, over time, have moved toward a hybrid form. This does not mean that starting points do not matter. The different legal systems around the world are not converging toward a unified conception of a lease. Advancing a conceptual theory of the distinction between property and contract, we argue that lease law in common law jurisdictions (primarily the U.S., England, Canada, and Australia) and 86 civil law jurisdictions reveal significant overlap along some dimensions, but continued divergence on others.

Article: The Trust Transfer Problem

David Horton (University of California, Davis - School of Law), Reid K. Weisbord (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Rutgers Law School), and CJ Ryan (Indiana University Maurer School of Law) recently published, The Trust Transfer Problem, 2025. Provided below is an abstract:

For decades, a single tactic has dominated American estate planning. By transferring assets to a revocable living trust ("rev trust"), individuals can bypass the notoriously slow, expensive, and public probate system. But because rev trusts operate privately, there is no data on how well they function. This Article conducts the first empirical study of trial-level matters involving rev trusts-a review of 1,568 cases filed between 2014 and 2020 in San Francisco-and finds that a surprising number of rev trusts do not achieve their objectives. The culprit is what we call the "trust transfer problem": during their lives, settlors often fail to satisfy the finicky rules that govern the conveyance of property into their rev trusts. This little-noticed breakdown in the inheritance process is so pervasive that it accounts for a quarter of the trust department's workload. The Article then reveals that the trust transfer problem causes three kinds of harm. First, at bare minimum, survivors must obtain an order from the trust department that the settlor intended property to belong to the trust. Having to take this step undercuts the benefits of probate avoidance by causing delays, generating costs, and exposing intimate details about the settlor or their loved ones. Second, the trust department sometimes denies requests to retitle assets in the name of the trust, sending the property into probate-the very regime that rev trusts are designed to avoid. Using another hand collected dataset of San Francisco probate administrations from the same timeframe, we follow these cases through this extra level of judicial review and find that they invariably drag on for years and incur thousands of dollars in fees. Third, in extreme situations, even this double dose of court intervention can be insufficient to convey possessions into the trust. This outcome thwarts the settlor's dispositive choices by effectively disinheriting the trust's beneficiaries. Finally, the Article proposes a straightforward solution to the trust transfer problem. It argues that this issue is endemic because the law assumes that non-transferred property does not belong to a rev trust and requires interested parties to prove otherwise. But this is backwards. Almost every settlor intends their rev trust to contain everything they own. Thus, states should pass laws declaring that the mere act of executing a rev trust showcases the settlor's intent to funnel all of their assets into it when they die. This forgiving approach would better serve decedents' wishes, reduce burdens on estates and the judicial system, and bring this area into alignment with the functionalism of modern inheritance doctrine.

Carolyn Hax: Mother wants to leave money to only one of her two children

An anonymous person submitted a question to Carolyn Hax about only leaving inheritance to one child and not the other. She explains that her daughter, “M,” cut off contact at 18, citing the mother’s judgmental nature and strict parenting, including enforcing curfews and church attendance. Despite years of therapy and efforts at reconciliation, M has chosen to maintain distance, though she engages in activities reminiscent of their past. The mother’s husband disapproves of disinheriting their daughter, and she worries about putting her son in a difficult position.

Carolyn responds that the Mother should rethink her taking M out of the inheritance if she is doing so just to get "the last word." Hax emphasizes that the real legacy is not the money, but the potential to mend the relationship with the mother and daughter through including her in her will. 

For more information see Carolyn Hax, "Carolyn Hax: Mother wants to leave money to only one of her two children" The Washington Post, February 19, 2025. 

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

‘It Better NOT Go to Them’: Gene Hackman’s Kids from First Marriage Excluded from Will as Actor’s Son Lawyers Up Ahead of Speculated Legal Battle for $80 Million Estate

The wills of the 95-year-old two-time Academy Award winner and his longtime partner revealed that his three adult kids, son Christopher and daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, were not listed as beneficiaries of his $80 million estate. Hackman shares all three offspring with his first wife, Maya Maltese, to whom he was married from 1956 to 1986.

Betsy Arakawa, 65, reportedly stipulated in her will that if she predeceased her husband the “Crimson Tide” star would inherit her earthly possessions. If they died within 90 days of each other, her possessions would be donated to a charity. The couple, who did not have a prenup, were found dead inside their $3.8 million Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26.

It was later determined that Arakawa likely died on Feb. 11 of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease spread mainly by mice.

Hackman likely died of heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease complications, the last day his pacemaker recorded any activity on Feb. 18. One of the couple’s three dogs was also found deceased inside the residence.

Hackman reportedly had a strained relationship with his firstborn at times, even after Maltese’s passing in 2017. But it is believed that he and at least two of his offspring had been on good terms in recent years. Fans, however, are divided on whether or not the three adult children should receive a portion of the $80 million estate. 

Leslie, 58, the youngest of the three, admitted to the Daily Mail last month that she had not spoken to her father in several weeks. She said that his death was “not terribly shocking because he was 95” but that they “were close. I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal, and everything was good.”

For more information see Angelina Velasquez "‘It Better NOT Go to Them’: Gene Hackman’s Kids from First Marriage Excluded from Will as Actor’s Son Lawyers Up Ahead of Speculated Legal Battle for $80 Million Estate" Atlanta Black Star, March 14, 2025. 

Special thanks to Laura Galvan (Attorney, San Antonio, Texas) for bringing this article to my attention.

Facing Early-Onset Alzheimer’s, She Fought for the Right to Plan Her Death

Sandra Demontigny, 45, pushed Quebec to become one of the few places in the world to allow people to choose a medically assisted death sometimes years in advance. The mother of three, not yet 40, had to give up her career as a midwife because of a rare form of Alzheimer’s. She became the spokeswoman for the Federation of Quebec Alzheimer Societies and wrote a book about her experience, “The Urgency to Live.”

Quebec legalized assisted death a decade ago, before the rest of Canada. Under the law, a person had to be in an “advanced state of irreversible decline in capability” and “must expressly confirm their consent immediately” before the assisted death. But the requirements presented a problem for those suffering from an incurable and serious disease like Alzheimer’s, who were likely to lose their capacity to consent.

Dr. Georges L’Espérance, a neurosurgeon and president of the Quebec Association for the Right to Die with Dignity, said Ms. Demontigny helped press to allow for advance requests after becoming the group’s spokeswoman in 2022.

For more information see Norimitsu Onishi "Facing Early-Onset Alzheimer’s, She Fought for the Right to Plan Her Death" The New York Times, February 25, 2025. 

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