Legal Practice Problems

• Additional practice problems for intestate succession systems of distribution.
• Focus on execution of wills and handling ambiguities.

Lesson Plan Overview

• Modify lesson plans to address specific student requests for more practice problems.
• Incorporate concepts of document execution, including:
  • Formal execution of wills
  • Harmless error doctrine.

Intestate Succession

• Execution of Wills
  • Confirm if a will has been fully executed in compliance with formal requirements.
  • Distinction between attested wills and holographic wills.
• Focus on practical implications of document execution, including:
  • Importance of proper signatures and witnesses.

Case Discussions

• Hall case: Focus on the rights of adopted children, including:
  • Formal adoption rights
  • Stepparent adoptions
  • Legal advancements regarding posthumous conception.

Parent-Child Relationships

• Understanding loss of parent-child relationships, noting that:
  • This issue typically falls outside family law and into estate matters.
  • Construction problems relating to ambiguities in wills.

Revocation of Wills

• Factors to consider when discussing revocation:

  • The ease of revocation encourages people to update their wills regularly.
  • Different methods of revocation include:
  • Physical acts (burning, ripping)
  • Subsequent writings that MODIFY existing wills.

• UPC framework for revocation:

  • Allows revocation of wills through obliteration or physical acts without touching the text.

• Necessity of intent in revocation:

  • Must examine whether the testator had the clear intent to revoke the will.

Operational Rules for Revocation

• Distinctions outlined:
  • Revocation by subsequent marriage or birth of a child.
  • The effects of divorce on wills and estates.

Capacity to Create and Revoke Wills

• Importance of mental capacity in both creating and revoking wills.
• Intent to revoke must be clearly established in instances like accidental destruction or tearing.

Codicils

• Definition:
  • A codicil is a testamentary instrument that supplements an existing will without replacing it.
• Interaction with wills:
  • Subsequent wills vs codicils must be considered for clarity in testamentary intent.

Case Examples for Clarity

• Discuss specific hypothetical scenarios involving codicils and revocations. ->
  • Example:
  • If to whom a testator bequeathes their property and if a new will named a different beneficiary.

Dependent Relative Revocation

• Definition:
  • A theory where a testator revokes a will believing a new will was valid; the court reinstates the old will if the new will fails due to a false assumption.

Legal Framework Under UPC

• Review of UPC § 2507:
  • A subsequent will can expressly revoke an earlier will or part by inconsistency.
• Handling multiple wills:
  • Effective treatment of multiple wills discussing their relationship and desired revocations.

Potential Issues and Considerations

• Consider dangers of ambiguities surrounding physical revocation.
• Examine how evidence or legal recordings can impact testamentary capacity and intention.