Week 1

Question 1

What is the general approach to valuing people’s wishes after death? What is the name of this policy?

Answer 1

to follow people’s wishes after death

Freedom of disposition (by the person who died)

Question 2

Does this class test the Uniform Probate Code for Wills? For Trusts?

Answer 2

No; don’t learn it

Yes; learn it

Question 3

Does this class test the California Probate Code for Wills?

Answer 3

Yes; find the corresponding section of the UPC

Question 4

What are the legal mechanisms for the policy of freedom of disposition? (6)

Answer 4

1. No instruction - do nothing
2. Will
3. Joint Tenancy
4. Life insurance
5. Contracts with Payable on Death Provisions
6. Trust

Question 5

What happens when you do nothing? What is this system called?

Answer 5

There is a default system, which tries to approximate what the average person would have wanted done with their stuff

Intestacy

Question 6

What is a will?

Answer 6

Gives instructions direct from the person who died what to do with their property

Question 7

What is joint tenancy?

Answer 7

When you own real property jointly with someone else; you own the entirety of the real estate simultaneously; if the other owner dies, the surviving joint tenant gets the property

Question 8

What is life insurance?

Answer 8

an arrangement about what to do with property after the death of an owner; usually pay a premium - a bet against them about how long you’re going to live; if you die earlier than the predictions, then you win the bet, bc your beneficiaries get more money than what you paid in

Question 9

What is a contract with a Payable on Death (POD) provision?

Answer 9

Savings accounts usually have these provisions; the money goes to where you indicate

Question 10

What is an estate plan?

Answer 10

some combination of the six methods

Question 11

What is probate? Which methods of the six does it involve? (2)

Answer 11

when you die, you’re not there to distribute the property; some entity has to do the distributing - the court system

1. Intestate
2. Wills

Question 12

What is dying intestate?

Answer 12

Dying with no instructions for your property

Question 13

What is the problem of proof in probate courts?

Answer 13

the person who died is not around to testify

Question 14

What happens when a will is rejected?

Answer 14

Probate courts go to intestate, the default

Question 15

What is non-probate? Which methods of the six does it involve? (4)

Answer 15

there is already a system for distributing the property

1. Joint Tenancy
2. Life insurance
3. Contracts with POD provisions
4. Trust

Question 16

What is the modern practice of estate planning?

Answer 16

is to minimize probate property in favor of non-probate property

Question 17

What is the advantage of a will? (2)

Answer 17

1. It’s a backstop, in case things go wrong with the non-probate options; a fail-safe
2. it deals with guardianships - things that are not property, e.g., your children. you can nominate people as guardians of your children

Question 18

What is a decedent? How to pronounce?

Answer 18

the person who died

duh-see-dent

Question 19

What is a testator?

Answer 19

someone who wrote a will (or tries to); used in the context of probate

Question 20

What is a beneficiary?

Answer 20

the survivors who receive the assets, through one of the methods

Question 21

What is an executor?

Answer 21

the person that the testator (and decedent) named to execute the will

Question 22

What is the classical conservative ideal of inheritance? Why is this interesting?

Answer 22

Limiting it; wanting to people to earn their money

The current conservative idea is very for freedom of disposition