1. If your grandparents were to die leaving a large estate, and all of their children were also dead, would you have a larger inheritance under a per stirpes or a per capita distribution? YOU BE THE JUDGE WRITING PROBLEM Linda and Eddie had two children before they were divorced. Under the terms of their divorce, Eddie became the owner of their house. When […]

1. ETHICS Donna and Carl Nichols each bought term life insurance from Prudential Insurance Company of America. These policies contained a provision stating that if the insured became disabled, the premiums did not have to be paid and the policy would still stay in effect. This term is called a waiver of premium. Carl became totally disabled, and his premiums were waived. Some years later, […]

Facts: Sheryl Berg was in a serious accident while driving her Jeep Grand Cherokee. Luckily, she was not injured; unluckily, she had to deal with her insurance company, Nationwide Mutual. A Nationwide appraiser determined that the Jeep was damaged beyond repair and recommended that the com- pany pay her the value of the car, which was $25,000. In response, Nationwide brought in a second appraiser […]

Facts: The Banta family controlled a complex network of companies. One family company, Banta Family, owned three apartment complexes in Florida. A different family business, Banta Properties, managed these complexes in return for 4 percent of the gross income. Banta Properties bought $11 million in property insurance on the three com- plexes from Arch Specialty Insurance. Two months later, Hurricane Wilma badly damaged all three. […]

Facts: Josiah James Treloar, Jr.’s, first will left his estate to his wife unless she died before he did, in which case one piece of land was to go to his daughter Evelyn, another to his son, Rodney, and the rest of his estate was to be divided equally among Evelyn, Rodney, and another daughter, Beverly. After his daughter Evelyn died, Josiah executed a new […]

Facts: Francis Cresto was married three times over a 50-year period. He had three biological children with his first wife; a stepdaughter, Lauri, with his second wife; and seven stepchildren with his third wife, Kathleen. At the time of his death, Francis and Kathleen lived in Kansas and the numerous family seemed to get along well. 1Jeff Stryker, “They Couldn’t Resist: Oh, One Last Thing […]

  “Finders keepers, losers weepers” is a common children’s rhyme. Does the law mirror its sentiment? Is it sensible to distinguish between inter vivos gifts and gifts causa mortis? Should someone “on his deathbed” be able to change his mind so easily? Historically, the law has viewed animals as personal property. As a result, when a pet is wrongfully killed, its owner can only recover […]

  During her second year at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, Ann Rylands had a chance to borrow for one month a rare Guadagnini violin made in 1768. She returned the violin to the owner in Philadelphia, but then she telephoned her father to ask if he would buy it for her. He borrowed money from his pension fund and paid […]

Facts: David Powers liked to wager. He and a friend arrived at the Hilton Casino in Atlantic City for a two-day stay. It was Powers’s fourth visit to the hotel. They checked in at the front desk and received electronic room keys. Clearly visible signs, posted there and in each room, notified guests that the hotel was not responsible “for valuables or other property left […]

Facts: Baron Mór Lipót Herzog was a passionate Hungarian-Jewish art collector who, in the first half of the twentieth century, assembled more than two thou- sand paintings, sculptures, and other artworks. Known as the “Herzog Collection,” this body of artwork was one of Europe’s great private collections, and included paintings by renowned artists such as El Greco, Velázquez, Renoir, and Monet. Then, during World War […]