Estate Planning In the 21st Century: Seismic Shifts and Predictions for the Future
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel announces a Call For Papers on the following topics:
Estate planning has radically changed in the last several decades. Statutes such as the Uniform Probate Code and the Uniform Parentage Act altered the presumptive definitions of such terms as "children" and "descendants" to include a much broader range of beneficiaries, including adoptees, out-of-wedlock children, and in some cases foster children and stepchildren. Some children may now inherit from more than two parents. Very recent changes have broadened those allowed to marry and thus inherit in intestacy from each other. The assets dealt with by estate planners have transformed dramatically, with the rise in the acceptance of non-probate forms of title, digital assets, etc. Perpetual trusts, once allowed only for charities, now exist for families, with attendant issues such as decanting, virtual representation, and non-judicial trust modification. Advance health care directives have become a common tool in the estate planner's box, and in a few states estate planners may deal with clients opting for physician aid in dying. Papers will address ways in which estate planning has transformed in the last 20, 30 or 40 years, and how it may continue to change over a comparable time in the future.
We encourage submissions by co-authors, especially those teaming an experienced estate planner with novices or students. Articles that delve into one or two changes deeply are preferred over those which skim multiple changes. Accepted articles will be published in the ACTEC Law Journal, Volume 41 Issue 2.
Deadline for submissions: December 1, 2015 to Professor Kris Knaplund, Editor, ACTEC Law Journal, at kris.knaplund@pepperdine.edu. Footnotes should use conventional Bluebook form. Early submissions are encouraged and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.