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Author and Publisher

Jewish Legal Perspectives

Avrohom Gefen and I recently launched a new blog, Jewish Legal Perspectives (http://www.jlperspectives.org). We are posting regularly.
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Will Congress’ inaction on the estate tax cause more deaths in 2010?

Paul L. Caron, the TaxProf blogger, provided the following chart from a 2006 article by Joshua S. Gans and Andrew Leigh, “Toying with Death and Taxes: Some Lessons from Down Under”.  The chart purports to show that a significant number of the deaths in Australia were shifted from the week before to the week after July 1, 1979, the [...]

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Will contests: surviving summary judgment

Surrogate Calvaruso of Monroe County issued a decision in Matter of Feller on January 4, 2010, worth reading for its succinct summary of some of the burdens of proof and presumptions that have to be overcome to survive summary judgment in a will contest.
In Feller, the decedent’s will left her estate to 10 charities and [...]

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Halachic Wills & Estates Series by the Bais HaVaad

The Bais HaVaad Institute of Talmudic Law is presenting a seven part internet lecture series on halachic wills and estates.  I mentioned the introductory lecture by Rabbi Ari Marburger in my post on the Estate of Max Feinberg.
The second lecture, also by Rabbi Marburger, surveyed the various principles that are relevant to the halachic enforceability of [...]

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New York Power of Attorney and Statutory Major Gifts Rider forms

The New York State Bar Association has the new Power of Attorney and Statutory Major Gifts Rider forms for download in Word or Wordperfect, along with suggested clauses for the Modifications sections. The forms cost $20 but are free for NYSBA members. You can download the forms here.

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House to vote on estate tax amendment

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4154 on December 3, 2009. The bill freezes the estate tax exclusion at $3.5 million with a maximum tax rates of 45%.

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Halachic perspective on the Estate of Max Feinberg

Disinheritance in halacha, and how Jewish the so-called Jewish Clause really is. Discussion of the Estate of Max Feinberg.

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Reverse mortgages

Reverse mortgages are not new, but they have been gaining in popularity.  In March 2009, the New York Times attributed recent interest to the credit crunch, since reverse mortgage lenders do not generally consider borrowers’ credit histories.
According to the New York Times articles (here and here), reverse mortgages allow people to access the equity in their [...]

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Article on Wills, Inheritance & Halacha in Community Magazine

An article I wrote on yerusha (Jewish Laws of Inheritance) and halachic estate planning was published in the October 2009 issue of Community Magazine.
See The Top 10 Questions & Answers About Wills, Inheritance & Halacha.  If you’re concerned about halacha, you should, at the very least, have a will.
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Will New York revise the power of attorney law again?

New York’s new power of attorney law will be going into effect on September 1, 2009. While attorneys and other financial professionals update their forms for next week, they should be prepared to have to do it again in the near future.

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