FINAL EXAMINATION, TRUSTS & WILLS, PART II         1. What is universal succession?
  a. all issue inherit an equal share, per stirpes

b. all issue inherit an equal share, per capita with representation

c. the heirs or legatees assume all assets and liabilities of the deceased without the need for probate or a personal representative

d. a civil law concept under which not only the spouse has a forced share, but also the children of the decedent; this is still partly in effect in Louisiana

e. the opposite of primogeniture
 
 

 2.  The transfer of real property at death by intestate succession is referred to as:  
a. devise

b. legacy

c. descent

d. bequest

e. inheritance

 3.  The decedent has the following living relatives (no spouse).  On the father's side, the daughter (D) of a cousin.  On the mother's side, the son (A) of a great-grandmother, and two children (B and C) of an uncle.  Under the Califonia intestacy system,
  a. D, B and C each get one third

b. A, B, C, and D each get one fourth

c. D gets half, B and C share the other half equally

d. B and C get half each

e. the estate escheats
 
 
 

 4.  A testator tells her friend Joan Smith that Joan will inherit her entire estate.  Shortly before the testator writes a will and dies, she sees an obituary in the newspaper for Joan Smith.  She thus leaves nothing to Joan in the will.  In fact, this was another Joan Smith.  If Joan Smith, the testator's friend, sues for part of the estate, she will most likely: a. lose

b. win, because of dependant relative revocation

c. win, because the disposition was the result of an insane delusion

d. win, because the testator lacked testamentary capacity

e. win, because of undue influence by the newspaper
 
 

 5.  One element of undue influence is that a. the influencer begs the testator to remember her in the will

b. the testator is susceptible to undue influence

c. the testator does not know the natural objects of his bounty

d. the influencer occupies a confidential relationship with the testator

e. both b and d are elements
 
 

 6.  A testator has a will giving all her estate to her husband, a life insurance contract naming her husband as beneficiary, and a mutual fund account payable to her husband on death. They divorce and one month later she dies without changing any of the above. Under Clymer v. Mayo the husband will probably a. get the money in the mutual fund account

b. get the money under the will

c. get the money from the insurance contract

d. get nothing

e. a and c only
 
 

 7.  Which of the following is not generally true regarding payable on death (POD) provisions: a. they are valid only in contracts of insurance

b. they can usually not be revoked by will

c. they can often be used with bank accounts, stock certificates, and mutual funds

d. a and c

e. a and b
 
 
 

 8.  Janet's will provides that her friend Sally is to get "all my shares in the Gizmo Corporation". Her friend Sue is to get the residue of her estate.  Janet gets mad at Sally and therefore sells the stock so Sally will not get it, but the money remains in her estate.  The value of her stock holdings at death would have been $100,000. What does Sally get?
  a. $100,000

b. nothing

c. $100,000, because ademption does not apply to demonstrative gifts

d. $100,000, because abatement applies first to general gifts

e. nothing, because the gift to Sally was abated  
  9.  Brenda wishes to leave money to her friend Brian but wants no one to know about it. Therefore, she leaves the money outright to her brother, Tim, who orally promises to give it to Brian.  She informs Brian of the arrangement.  Tim, who has taken a course in trusts and wills, admits he made the promise but contends after Brenda's death that he is not obligated to give the gift to Brian.  If Brian sues Tim for the money, Brian will probably
  a. lose because the promise was oral and violates the statute of wills

b. lose because this is a semi-secret trust

c. lose because he has unclean hands

d. lose because extrinsic evidence of the oral promise will not be admitted

e. win
 
 

 10.  Jamie is the only income beneficiary of a trust that requires that the trustee "pay the beneficiary as much of the income and, if necessary, as much of the principal as is needed for Jamie's education and support."  When Jamie dies, the remainder will go to her issue.  The settlor has died.  Jamie can have the trust terminated
  a. because no material purpose remains to be fulfilled

b. only if her issue (through a representative by the doctrine of virtual representation) consent

c. under no circumstances

d. if the heirs of the settlor consent

e. if the trustee, in the reasonable exercise of its discretion, consents
 

 ANSWERS