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CHAPTER 51
WILLS AND TRUSTS
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
AT THE ENDS OF THE CASES
CASE 51.1—LEGAL REASONING QUESTIONS
1A. Why would the caveators argue that the entire will should be revoked? How would
the will’s revocation benefit them? Clearly, if the will were only partially revoked, the
caveators would take nothing. They were among Lucas’s successor beneficiaries whose names
had been crossed out by the testator. In other words, if the will were only partially revoked,
2A. What could the testator have done differently to clarify her intentions in her will?
3A. How might the availability of a secure online repository for a person’s will affect a
challenge to the will? A copy of a will might be produced more easily if it were deposited in an
electronic database that could be accessed online. This could certainly affect the outcome in a
CASE 51.2—CRITICAL THINKING
LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
According to Michael’s view of the phrase “death of each,” how many co-trustees would
have succeeded Dennis on his death? Explain. According to Michael’s view, the phrase
“death of each,” as used in the succession provision of the Dowdy Family Trust, meant the
death of either initial trustee. In his action against Betty to rescind her sale of the trust property,
he asserted that this meant he became a co-trustee with Betty on his father’s death. But the
trust document also named Michael’s stepsister (Betty’s daughter) Deborah as a co-successor
trustee. And the succession provision did not specify that Michael would succeed Dennis and
Deborah would succeed Betty (or vice versa). In other words, under Michael’s interpretation,
both children would have become co–trustees on the “death of each” of the initial trustees—after
Dennis’s death, he and Deborah would have become co-trustees with Betty.
The succession provision’s failure to assign a specific successor to a particular deceased
WHAT IF THE FACTS WERE DIFFERENT?
Suppose that the Dowdy Family Trust had provided for a specific child to become co–
trustee on the death of his or her parent—Deborah to succeed Betty, for example. How
would the result have been different? If the Dowdy Family Trust had provided for a specific
child to become co-trustee on the death of his or her parent, Michael, or another specific named
CHAPTER 51: WILLS AND TRUSTS 3
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN THE REVIEWING FEATURE
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
1A. Type of trust
2A. Will requirements
Ramish’s will meets all the requirements, which concern (1) the testator’s capacity, (2) the will’s
form, (3) the testator’s signature, (4) the will’s witnesses, and (5) the will’s publication. As is
3A. Intestacy inheritance
Intestacy laws vary widely from state to state, but generally, if an individual dies without a will
and has no spouse or surviving child, then, in order, lineal descendants (grandchildren,
brothers, and sisters, and—in some states—parents of the decedent) inherit. If there are no
lineal descendants, then collateral heirs (nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles of the decedent)
inherit. Here, that order might dictate that Ramish’s granddaughter would inherit his estate.
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4A. Power of attorney
ANSWER TO DEBATE THIS QUESTION IN THE REVIEWING FEATURE
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
Any changes to existing, fully witnessed wills should also have to be witnessed. If
ANSWERS TO ISSUE SPOTTERS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
1A. Sheila makes out a will, leaving her property in equal thirds to Toby and Umeko,
her children, and Velda, her niece. Two years later, Sheila is adjudged mentally in
competent, and that same year, she dies. Can Toby and Umeko have Sheila’s will
revoked on the ground that she did not have the capacity to make a will? Why or why
2A. Ralph dies without having made a will. He is survived by many relatives—a
spouse, children, adopted children, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews,
CHAPTER 51: WILLS AND TRUSTS 5
ANSWERS TO BUSINESS SCENARIOS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
51-1A. Wills and intestacy laws
(a) In most states, for a will to be valid, it must be in writing, signed by the testator,
and witnessed (attested to) according to the statutes of the state. In some states the testator is
(b) If the will is declared invalid, Benjamin’s estate will pass in accordance with the
state’s intestacy laws. These statutes provide for distribution of an estate when there is no valid
(c) If the will is valid, the estate will be divided between Benjamin’s two children,
Patricia and Edward. Should either or both predecease Benjamin, leaving children (Benjamin’s
grandchildren), the grandchildren take per stirpes the share that would have gone to their
51-2A. Specific bequests
The usual answer is that under a strict interpretation of the will, unless Mendel made a codicil
51-3A. Revocation of wills
(a) State laws vary on whether a will written and executed before marriage is revoked
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(b) At common law and under the Uniform Probate Code, divorce does not in and of
itself revoke a will made and executed during a previous marriage. If the divorce is ac-
(c) If a child is born after a will has been executed and the child is not provided for in
the will, the law will allow the child to inherit as if the testator had died intestate. The philosophy
ANSWERS TO BUSINESS CASE PROBLEMS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
51–4A. Intestacy laws
A surviving spouse usually receives a share of the estate: one-half if there is also a surviving
child and one-third if there are two or more children. In this case, however, the prenuptial
51-5A. Wills
The Georgia courts agreed that JSD was a bona fide purchaser without notice of the underlying
problems. Thus, the transfer of property was valid, despite lack of notice to Hall’s estate. The
probate court’s order granting authority to sell the property was valid on its face since the court
51-6A. BUSINESS CASE PROBLEM WITH SAMPLE ANSWER—Undue influence
No, undue influence does not appear to have occurred in this problem. To invalidate a will on
the basis of undue influence, a plaintiff must show that the decedent’s plan of distribution was
the result of improper pressure brought by another person. Undue influence may be inferred if
51–7A. Requirements of a will
Yes, Hemsley was of sound mind—when he executed his will and otherwise. One of the
requirements of a valid will is that the testator must have capacity. The testator must be of
51–8A. Wills
No, the document that Walker signed—which had been drafted in Meagher’s office at Nora’s
direction—did not constitute a valid will. A will is the final declaration of how a person wishes to
have his or her property disposed of after death. It is a formal instrument that must follow exactly
the requirements of state law to be valid. These formalities are intended to help prevent fraud.
51–9A. A QUESTION OF ETHICS—Wills
(a) The requirements concerning the validity of a will are ensure that the testator was
aware of what he or she was doing when the will was executed. In other words, these
(b) The Texas state court that declared J. Howard’s will was valid also held that it had
exclusive jurisdiction over all of Vickie’s claims against Pierce. On Pierce’s appeal of a ruling
against him in the federal bankruptcy court, which had been upheld by a federal district court,
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(c) The bankruptcy court issued a judgment in favor of Vickie on Pierce’s claim and
her counterclaim. The court awarded her compensatory damages of more than $449 million—
(d) If a child is born after a will is executed, and it appears that the testator would have
provided for the child, the child is entitled to whatever portion of the estate she would have
ANSWERS TO LEAL REASONING GROUP ACTIVITY QUESTIONS
AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER
51–10A. Intestacy laws
(a) The court should decide the inheritance rights of children conceived from the
sperm of a deceased individual and his surviving spouse based on the children’s genetic
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(b) It is in the best interest of the children conceived after a parent’s death (by means
of artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization) that those children have a right to inherit from
(c) A child who is conceived after his or her parent’s death by means of artificial
insemination or in vitro fertilization should be allowed to inherit from the deceased parent if the
other parent establishes the genetic relationship with the decedent, and shows that the