The overlap between real property law and trust law reaches back centuries, as early trust law was concerned with the conveyancing of real property. Similarly, Prof. Maitland in his famous (and tremendously readable) “The Forms of Action at Common Law” (1909) teaches that eviction law, known as “unlawful detainer,” also reaches back hundreds of years. …
Continue reading “Judgment in Unlawful Detainer Validates Foreclosure Sale”
A recent decision involving a deed to an estate planning trust achieved the correct result, but with unnecessary effort. The facts in Luna v. Brownell (June 15, 2010) 2010 DJDAR 8811 were simple. “On August 13, 2006, Al executed a quitclaim deed transferring his interest in the Property as an individual to himself as trustee …
Continue reading “Deed to Estate Planning Trust – Struggling for the Right Result”
A recent case affirms that California does not recognize a claim based on “intentional interference with an inheritance expectancy.” However, the court’s analysis leaves the door open to future litigation arising from different fact patterns. The lawsuit in Munn v. Briggs, 2010 DJDAR 8680 (4th Dist. June 11, 2010) was based on the following claim. …
A recent decision from the Florida court of appeals exalts form over substance to a achieve an unjust decision. Here is the case in a nutshell. Mom set up an irrevocable trust for benefit of one of sons. The trust contained a spendthrift provision, meaning that creditors could not reach trust assets before distribution to …
Continue reading “Florida Court of Appeal Permits Assets to be Hidden in Trust”
Professor Brent T. White from The University of Arizona Law School has followed up his report issued last fall regarding troubled loans. Prof. White personally communicated with more than 350 individuals regarding their mortgage problems. His new report raises a number of troubling issues, but none more so than the dissembling tactics of lenders. Writes …
This is an updated report on the status the foreclosure crisis in Fresno County as of June 2010, based on anecdotal evidence. In a word, it’s brutal for troubled borrowers. Foreclosures Are Continuing: There does not seem to be any slowdown in foreclosures. Lenders buy in for the amount of the unpaid debt, then sell …
Attorneys Jim Weller and Alan Ytterberg published a recent article discussing an odd hybrid entity – the “private trust company.” As the authors explain, “Similar to a regulated trust company, an unregulated trust company is an entity formed under state law for the limited purpose of providing trust services to a single family.” A private …
It may be time for average persons to stop investing in the stock market. I’ve been a big believer in the market over the years, and am familiar with the statistics showing how stock market investments have grown over the years. But the evidence is mounting – and may now be overwhelming – that shows …
Prof. Seana Shiffrin of UCLA Law School tackles the issue of “contract law’s strong traditional bar on punitive damages for intentional, gratuitous breach of contract.” She jumps right into the fray: “Morality, I claimed, correctly regards some breaches of promise as morally wrong and as warranting not only compensation but the administration of morality’s punitive …
Prof. Stefan Grundmann argues that strict liability is essential to contract law because it enforces an important societal norm – freedom of choice. According to Prof. Grundmann, “The majority of civil law scholars endorse the idea that the fault principle is ethically well-founded, and some scholars clearly see it as ethically superior to strict liability. …
Continue reading “Individual Freedom and Fault in Contract Law”