FINAL EXAMINATION

1996 SUMMER SESSION

Professor Robert A. McLeod

* Provide cites wherever a cite is relevant­e.g. 2-609, or 2-609(b) is sufficient depending on the facts

1) Here it is, the one I promised! X and Y are married. Y has one child, C, from a prior marriage. X dies intestate. How much of the probate estate does Y receive in Minnesota? (2 points).

2) X dies intestate. X had three children, A, B and C. B and C predeceased X. A had one child that survived X and B and C each had two children who survived X. How does X's estate pass in Minnesota? (2 points).

3) Does the answer in question 2 change if A predeceased X too? (2 points)

4) Do adopted persons inherit the same as natural born heirs under Minnesota intestate statutes? (3 points).

5) Distinguish an advancement from ademption by satisfaction under Minnesota law. (2 points).

6) Your mother calls and says that she just realized that she is not in your stepfather's will. If your stepfather dies testate in Minnesota, can she receive anything from your stepfather's estate? (4 points).

7) How old do you have to be to make a will in Minnesota? (2 points).

8) Does a residuary clause exercise a power of appointment in Minnesota? (3 points).

9) Distinguish a living will from a health care power of attorney. (3 points).

10) Distinguish a health care power of attorney from a statutory (short form) power of attorney. (2 points).

11) Does the fact that a husband and wife create mutual wills create a presumption of a will contract? If not, what would? (4 points).

12) If will #1 is wholly revoked by will #2, and will #2 is revoked by a revocatory act, is will #1 revived? If not, what arguments can be made for the revival? (4 points).

13) Adam dies intestate in Minnesota on July 24, 1996, leaving two children, Cain and Abel (no spouse). To inherit more money, Cain kills Abel on July 25, 1996. Does Cain inherit more? If so, what can Cain's heirs argue? (4 points).

14) I create a $100 million dollar charitable trust to inoculate children with a new drug (tripticalene) that prevents diabetes. I die. Some years later the drug is found to be mostly ineffective except for less than .000001% of the population. The trustee asks for your advice. What do you say? (5 points).

15) If I am given a general power oi appointment and I fail to execute it, how does the property pass on my death? (3 points).

16) If I manage a trust of $50 000 and invest all the trust property in one mutual fund that is well diversified, have I breached any fiduciary duty? (2 points).

17) Refer to the facts in question 6. If your stepfather's estate was $40 000 and your mother's estate was $300,000 does it help to elect against the will? (3 points).

18) If I leave property in equal shares to my children A and B, then after my will is signed child C is born, what does C get? (2 points).

19) Distinguish each of these common law devises from the Minnesota anti-lapse statute: (8 points).

A) Specific devise:

B) Residuary devise:

C) Class gift:

D) A devisee that predeceases the signing of a will:

20) List three ways a document outside the will can dispose of probate property. (3 points).

21) If I am the trustee of a trust that purchases stock in a company to which I am the majority shareholder and president, is there a problem? Does your answer change if the stock grew 25% in two months? (4 points).

22) If person X dies and we can't find the revocable trust that managed the decedent's assets, does all of the decedent s property pass intestate? (3 points).

23) Are no-contest clauses valid in Minnesota? (2 points).

24) Why have a self-proving affidavit will when a will is valid with just a signature and two witnesses? (2 points).

25) What is the merger doctrine? (2 poin5s).

26) Distinguish self-dealing from a conflict of interest. (3 points).

27) List the elements to a trust and identify which elements are indispensable. (3 points).

28) Which requires greater mental capacity; the capacity to make a will or the capacity to make a contract? (3 points).

29) If I devise 100 shares of Ace Inc. stock to X, then after the will is signed, Ace. Inc. merges with Beta, Inc., 2 shares of Beta for one share of Ace, then Beta stock splits two-for-0ne (i.e., I now own 400 shared of Beta, Inc. stock), what does X receive on my death in Minnesota? (3 points).

30) If X owns a life insurance policy naming Y as beneficiary and X and Y are struck by the same bolt of lightning killing both, how do the proceeds of the policy pass in Minnesota? (3 points).

31) If I write a valid will leaving everything to my wife, then my wife and I get divorced, what does she get from my estate in Minnesota? (2 points).

32) When does the doctrine of CAPTURE apply? (2 points).

33) At common law, if I fund a trust with the profits I will make as an interpretive dance artist, is the trust valid? (3 points).

34) Is a homestead exempt from all debts in Minnesota? (2 points).