Intestacy
Wills: Execution and Revocation
U.S./U.K.
Comparative
Wills: Interpretation
Trusts
100
If a person dies intestate, the person dies without a valid one of these ...
What is a will?
100
Under UPC § 2-503, a court may excuse an error in the execution or revocation of a will if there is this type of evidence that the decedent intended the document or writing to constitute the decedent's will or a revocation of the will ...
What is "clear and convincing" evidence?
100
Unlike American succession law, which allows a testator to disinherit his or her children, disinheritance is infeasible in the United Kingdom because of, among other things, the U.K. Inheritance Act of 1975, which is an example of this type of statute ...
What is family maintenance?
100
This doctrine may be necessary if there is mistake in the terms of a will ...
What is reformation (see UPC § 2-805)?
100
A trustee is required to manage trust property in the best interests of this party ...
What is a beneficiary?
200
Under UPC § 2-102, a surviving spouse whose spouse dies with no descendants and no parents or whose spouse dies with one or more descedents all of whom are also the descendants and the only descendants of the surviving spouse receives this share of the decedent's estate ...
What is 100%?
200
In a majority of states, if an "interested" witness serves as one of required witnesses at a will execution, this type of statute may allow the will to be admitted to probate but void any bequest to the interested witness ...
What is a "purging" statute?
200
Divergences between U.S. and U.K. trust law on the spendthrift trust and modification and termination of trusts suggest that the two nations take different approaches to this fundamental issue in wills, trusts, and estates ...
What is the dead hand?
200
Under this doctrine, a will is treated as re-executed as of the date of a subsequent amendment to the will?
What is republication by codicil?
200
These trusts come in countless varities, including sprary, sprinkle and support ...
What are discretionary trusts?
300
In all states, if an individual dies intestate and has no spouse, descendants, or parents, the individual's property is distributed to these people ...
Who are brothers and sisters and their descendants (or first-line collaterals)?
300
According to Langbein, these are the four functions of the Wills Act formalities ...
What are ritual (or cautionary), evidentiary, protective, and channeling?
300
Whereas the American case of Claflin v. Claflin establishes that beneficiaries cannot compel modification or termination of a trust if continuance of the trust without modification or termination is necessary to carry out a “material purpose” of the trust, this English case permits termination at any time if all the beneficiaries are adults, of the same type, and consent ...
What is Saunders vs. Vautier?
300
In 1990, the UPC rejected the "identity" theory and embraced this theory to govern the ademption or nonademption of specific devises ...
What is the "intent" theory (see UPC 2-606(a)(6))?
300
Unlike in wills law, in which a probate court does not have the power to modify a will because of a change in circumstances, this trust law doctrine allows a court to modify the administrative or distributive provisions of a trust because of unanticipated circumstances ...
What is equitable deviation (see UTC §412)?
400
Under UPC § 2-104(a)(1), an individual born before a decedent's death who fails to survive the decedent by this many hours is deemed to have predeceased the decedent ...
What is 120?
400
Under UPC § 2-502(a)(3)(B), if a will is in writing and signed by the testator, this provides an alternative method to attestation by two witnesses . . .
What is notarization?
400
If a U.K. client wanted to establish a trust in the U.K. with a spendthrift clause, you may suggest creating this type of trust to achieve substantially the same objective ...
What is a protective trust?
400
A separate writing that is not in existence at the time a will is executed cannot be incorporated by reference under UPC §2-510 but could potentially be incorporated by reference under UPC §2-513 if the writing identifies a devise of this type of property and the property is not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will ...
What is tangible personal property (other than money)?
400
To allow the settlor to build more flexibilit into a trust, UTC §808 ratifies the use of this type of fiduciary who may have the power to replace the trustee, to aprpove modifications to the trust's administrative and dispositive provisions, or to terminate the trust ...
What is a trust protector?
500
A has three children, B, C, and D. B predeceases A, leaving a child, E. C predecases A, leaving three children, F, G, and H. If the jurisdiction utilizes a system of representation based on per capita at each generation, F receives this share of A's estate ...
What is 1/6? (D receives 1/3; each of A's grandchildren, E, F, G, and H, receives 1/6.)
500
This UPC provision provides the circumstances under which a testator may revive a revoked will ...
What is UPC §2-509?
500
Both the U.S. and U.K. succession law utilize probate and a court-supervised administration of estates rather than this system of succession which is common in continental Europe, as well as Louisiana, and which UPC §§3-312 to 3-322 authorize but no other state has yet to adopt ...
What is "universal" succession?
500
Under the UPC's antilapse statute, a substitute gift may be possible if the devisee fails to survive the testator and is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or this relationship to the testator ...
What is a stepchild?
500
Under UTC § 706, a court may remove a trustee if (1) the trustee had committed a serious breach of trust; (2) lack of cooperation among cotrustees substantially impairs the administration of the trust; (3) because of unfitness, unwillingness, or persistent failure of the trustee to administer the trust effectively, the court determines that removal of the trustee best serves the interests of the beneficiaries; or (4) one of these two events occurs and the court finds that removal of the trustee best serves the interests of all of the beneficiaries and is not inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust and a suitable cotrustee or successor trustee is available ...
What is a "substantial change of circumstances" or "removal is requested by all of the qualified beneficiaries"?
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