The Challenge of Anticipating the Future
Anticipating the future: that’s what estate planning lawyers try to do. We want to get our clients’ wishes down on paper. That means we have to help them imagine all sorts of possible developments. Will tax rules change before your death? Likely, yes. But in what ways? And when will you die, anyway? How about […]
“Right of Representation” and “Per Stirpes” in Arizona
You’ve probably seen the terms before. “Right of representation” and “per stirpes” appear frequently in wills and trusts. You probably even have a rough notion of what the terms mean. Perhaps, though, you don’t know that they have an interesting history. You might also be surprised by what the terms actually mean — at least […]
Meaning of “Per Stirpes” Becomes Dispute in Texas Case
Perhaps you have seen the term in a will or trust: “per stirpes”. What does it mean, and what difference does it make? A recent Texas Court of Appeals case addresses the term — and also gives us an opportunity to tell an interesting family story. William Lewis Moody, Jr. For our purposes, the story […]
