Wealth Law Blog : Oregon Asset Protection Lawyers & Attorneys : Samuels Yoelin Kantor Seymour & Spinrad Law Firm : OR Estate Planning, Fiduciary Litigation

In a recent "TED talk," Adam Ostrow, a journalist and editor in chief of Mashable, an online news site dedicated to covering digital culture, social media and technology, discusses a fascinating topic that relates to the "Virtual Assets" issues that we've previously written about on WealthLawBlog.com.

In his short lecture, Mr. Ostrow states that "today we're all creating this incredibly rich digital archive that's going to live in the cloud indefinitely, years after we're gone. And I think that's going to create some incredibly intriguing opportunities for technologists.” He then discusses how technology is forever changing the manner in which our virtual existence continues after we die.

As technology continues to change the manner in which we humans interact with our many forms of “virtual assets,” the law will continue to develop in potentially unpredictable ways. In the context of our estate planning, I believe the key component for effective planning will be careful organization of our virtual assets and arranging for that information to be placed in the right hands when we’re gone.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

From time to time we publish summaries of interesting trust and estate cases.  While wealthlawblog doesn't normally post about criminal cases, this particulary criminal case reminds us that family care agreements are presumably gratuitous and not contractual in nature.
 

State v. Nolen, Oregon Court of Appeals, August 3, 2011

The unemployed defendant, Nolen, moved in with his 70+ year-old mother, who suffered from diabetes, arthritis, and severely limited vision. They agreed Nolen would help his mother with her medical needs and she would continue to pay his bills and do household tasks such as cooking and laundry. After a few months of this arrangement, a dispute over money escalated and Nolen physically harmed his mother. After a jury trial he was convicted of criminal mistreatment and felony assault.

On the appeal of the criminal mistreatment claim only, Nolen argued "contractual agreement” in ORS 163.205 - the statute relied upon by the state for his criminal mistreatment conviction - meant a legally enforceable contract, which the state had failed to prove at trial.  The court of appeals agreed, turning to the century-old practice for Oregon courts to find that “agreements among family members concerning care and support are presumably gratuitous--that is, that they do not have contractual force:”

[I]n the normal course of human affairs persons living together in a close relationship perform services for each other without expectation of payment. Payment in the usual sense is not expected because the parties mutually care for each other's needs. Also because services are performed out of a feeling of affection or a sense of obligation, not for payment.

York v. Place, 273 Or 947, 949-50 (1975).

One is left to ponder why the state declined to focus on the ORS 163.205(2)(d) "legal duty" based on Nolen's “familial relationship” to the victim, rather than an unwritten, unenforceable contractual duty for family care. 
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

We are pleased to announce a new seminar series that will keep our clients and colleagues informed on recent developments and industry best practices. The seminars take place in our beautiful, state-of-the-art conference room on the 38th floor of the US Bancorp Tower. Seminars are complimentary and include a boxed lunch.

To register, contact events@samuelslaw.com or call us at 503-226-2966. Seating is limited, so be sure to contact us soon!

Federal and Oregon Estate Tax Changes: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2011, 12 NOON - 1:30 P.M.

Presented by Edward "Ted" L. Simpson and Glen Goland

The estate tax landscape has changed dramatically for Oregon residents over the last nine months. In December 2010, the U.S. Congress unified the gift and estate tax exemptions at $5 million and introduced portability of the exemption between spouses. This spring the Oregon legislature changed our state’s estate tax rates and the manner in which the tax is calculated. Our seminar will discuss these and other changes to the estate tax system. It will demonstrate the effect these new rules have had on our clients and discuss the planning issues raised by these changes.

To register for any of these seminars, contact events@samuelslaw.com or call us at 503-226-2966. Seating is limited, so be sure to contact us soon! 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The recent passing of 27 year-old entertainer Amy Winehouse is tragic on many levels. Her family and friends will never be able to replace their lost daughter and friend; her fans will forever miss Amy’s undeniable talent and unique voice. Her well documented substance abuse problems, shared with the world through 24-hour cable news and the internet, were a tragedy in themselves.
 

Ms. Winehouse is the most recent in a long line of musicians who have left us at 27, a line that includes Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Unlike many of the musicians on this list, however, it appears Amy Winehouse had sound legal counsel somewhere along the way.

First, a little background: Amy Winehouse married Blake Fielder-Civil in 2007. The couple divorced in 2009. During the time that they were married, Winehouse’s second LP, “Back to Black” took her from anonymity to superstardom. She won 5 Grammy Awards and the album shot to #1 on charts around the world. Mr. Fielder-Civil’s life was traveling in the opposite direction – six months into their marriage he was sentenced to 27 months in prison for assaulting a man and then offering the man $400,000 to not show up in court. He was recently arrested again and is currently serving a 32 month sentence for robbery.

Under British law, Ms. Winehouse’s ex-spouse would have been in line to inherit the bulk of her estate, which is estimate to be worth over $15 million. Fortunately, in this case, reports indicate that she executed a new will after the divorce. This new will, according to published reports, leaves her estate to her mother and family while excluding her ex-husband.

The estate planning lesson in this case is clear: Individuals should update their estate plans when they go through life-altering events like marriage, divorce, retirement, having children, or becoming international rock stars.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks