...Joshua Clarke Prof. Bisla ENG 333 5.8.2014 How Natural is the Supernatural Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto makes frequent use of supernatural effects. The novel's uses of the supernatural are a perfect example of its predecessor status as the first gothic novel, as well as question the purpose for all of its supernatural occurrences. Is it God punishing those deserving of the sentence? Or is it all just a very big coincidence and in our characters’ imagination? Most of the supernatural incidents in the novel are directed towards the themes of succession and inheritance. They revolve around the issue of establishing the rightful heir to the seat of Otranto. Because of the murderous actions of his grandfather Don Ricardo, who poisoned the previous rightful owner Alfonso the Good, the current prince Manfred has ruled over the region contrary to the precepts of genealogical law. In fact, many of the ghostly occurrences relate to exposing the usurper Ricardo before establishing Theodore, the rightful heir, onto the throne. The apparitions are portrayed in a bizarre and exaggerated manner, allowing the story to take on a rather surreal, unbelievable route where it is safe to say that spiritual vengeance is being exacted on those “got away with it”. This is apparent in the opening scene, when Manfred discovers that his only son has been crushed to death under a giant helmet which appears to have fallen out of the sky. It would later be discovered that the helmet is similar...
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...Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning Everyday many loved ones die without a Will in place and as a result, their affairs are left in limbo. Without a valid Will in place, your loved ones will be left to pick up the pieces, pay the unpaid bills and correspond and possibly litigate with creditors. There is a common misconception that a Will can or should only be created later in life. However, if you have assets eg. a house, savings, or a business, and people or others you would like to look after, you must consider making a will no matter your age. Thinking, talking & planning for death may feel uncomfortable. However, if you died or became incapacitated, through illness, accident, old age or emergency without sorting your affairs, this could wreak havoc on those you’ve left behind. Like Wills, another widely misunderstood concept is that of trusts. Trusts are often seen as something only the rich need to be concerned with. A trust is created when assets (which can include property, cash, shares etc) are transferred by a person (the settlor) to one or more persons (the trustees) with instructions that they are held for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries). A trust may be set up during a person’s lifetime and have immediate effect, in which case it is usually evidenced by a formal trust deed and commonly referred to as a settlement. Trusts play a key role in everyday life and can provide to be extremely useful depending on the intentions of the Settlor. A...
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...© 2008 Reed International Books Australia Pty Limited trading as LexisNexis Permission to download and make copies for classroom use is granted. Reproducing or distributing any material from this website for any other purpose requires written permission from the Publisher. © 2009 Reed International Books Australia Pty Limited trading as LexisNexis: Ancillary for Financial Planning in Australia, 3rd ed., by Taylor, Juchau, Houterman Financial Planning in Australia CHAPTER 18 — ESTATE PLANNING — CORE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE Solutions to Questions Question 1 The seven steps in the estate planning process are: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Identify and prioritise the client’s objectives. Assess the current and likely future circumstances. Ascertain adequacy of short- and long-term funding. Assess and identify problems. Formulate the strategy. Implement the plan. Ongoing review. Question 2 Individuals control their wealth either directly through their direct, personal ownership or through intermediate structures or arrangements such as companies, trusts, partnerships, joint ventures or other comparable enterprises. Estate Asset Testamentary Asset, eg solely owned asset Non Testamentary Asset Jointly owned asset Life, ‘TPD’, Trauma or other Insurance Likely Decision-maker Willmaker Likely Governing Document Will Legal owner of property, eg Governing document of company or trustee estate structure Surviving joint owner Policy owner or nominated beneficiary Surviving joint owner’s Will Insurance...
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...It's the final frontier. Many a hapless investor has boldly come here, seeking respite. Some find closure, others crawl out disappointed, but virtually all are branded by the verdict. We refer to the Indian courts, which are deluged by a daunting number of cases every year. The spectrum is as staggering, with a large percentage falling in the realm of personal finance, be it the house an heir is battling his kin for possession (real estate), a claim that an insurer refuses to settle (insurance), or the loan that the guarantor is to pay (banking). Even as these cases impact people's finances, some leave purging precedents, expanding the scope of an argument, lending clarity to an obfuscating rule, plugging loopholes, or giving direction to a nebulous circumstance. Over the years, such rulings have altered the financial fates of thousands of appellants, guiding them in the course of action or bolstering their cases for having cited them. The awareness about earlier rulings can clearly be crucial to the legal outcome since these can help strengthen the argument and prepare the case in a better manner. "Depending on the previous judgements, people decide whether to fight it out or opt for an out-of-court settlement as lawyers can make out which way the case is likely to go," says Sandeep Nerlekar, CEO, Warmond Trustees & Executors. 1) An insurer must prove fraud to reject a claim Kerala-based PV Suresh's wife Lalitha had taken a life insurance policy from LIC for Rs 50,000...
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...Volpone is a play written by Ben Johnson in the seventeenth century and it portrays the seventeenth century society through Johson's depiction of Volpone as a corrupt, greed and a hedonist character. The significance of the Argument in the play is to introduce the audience to Volpone and his plan with the help of Mosca and to give a brief summary of the play that will be thoroughly introduced in the first act. In the Argument, Johnson introduces the audience to Volpone's character who is a rich, Venetian nobleman who "feigns sick." Throughout the play, Volpone pretends that he is terminally ill and on the verge of death. As a result, Voltore, Corvino and Corbaccio who are Volpone's "several heirs" vie for his estate and offer precious golds and Venetian coins as "presents" to Mosca. Volpone also "despairs" at the end of the play as a result of his actions and gets punished. "Lies languishing" in the Argument is a pun; it means either Volpone lies in bed pretending his sickness or lies to his heirs by deceiving them. Johnson refers to Mosca as a "parasite" which connotes that Mosca is a dependant servant who is servile to Volpone. However, Mosca pretends to be honest and obsequious to manipulate Volpone. Mosca plans to turn the heirs against each other and to betray Volpone and that is when Mosca takes control over the action in the play and "weaves other cross-plots."In the play there are many cross-plots, many incidents and anecdotes. An example of a cross-plot is when...
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...Question No. 1: Who can benefit from a will? INTRODUCTION A will is basically a document formally executed according to the statutory requirements of Wills Act. It is an effective instrument to arrange a person’s estate where it enable a person to settle his assets for his loved one. By making a will, it also enable a person to effectively direct the management and distribution of his assets. In Malaysia, the law on will is governed by Wills Act 1959. Section 2 of Wills Act 1959 provided the definition of will which stated that “will” means a declaration intended to have legal effect of the intentions of a testator with respect to his property or other matters which he desires to be carried into effect after his death and includes a testament, a codicil and an appointment by will or by writing in the nature of a will in exercise of a power and also a disposition by will or testament of the guardianship, custody and tuition of any child. [1] However, it is not apply to Muslim as mentioned in Section 2 (2) which stated that this Act shall not apply to the wills of persons professing the religion of Islam whose testamentary powers shall remain unaffected by anything in this Act contained. The terms that are used in a will are as follows: (i) Testator, the person who making the will and he must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and of sound mind unless he is a soldier in actual military service or a mariner or seaman at sea. ii) Executor (for male)...
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...The Importance of Making a Will Someone’s time of death is hard to predict and also to think about. When a person of close relation passes, it has a detrimental effect. Even though the thought of death is difficult to cope with, everyone needs to prepare for the worst. One way to make the lives around you a little bit better is to personalize your own will. And of course life is not all about money, but in a situation like this, it could at least put the property and money in the proper hands. If someone is not prepared for their time of passing or tragically dies suddenly, then the person is then known as dying intestate. Now the distribution of your money is left to the judge. This can lead to a lot of controversy and will not make the overall situation any better. Your will is important to make, not just for, but for your friends and family. This is your life, control what happens to your hard earnings. A will is not difficult to make and it allows you the satisfaction of knowing where your property is going after you pass. In the will itself, you need to name the people who will inherit all of your belongings. So for an example, if your grandson really loved your statue that was displayed in your house and you knew he would have much appreciation for it, you would assign your grandson the statue in your written out will. The second thing you assign is a person who you think will be able to carry out your will. This person will make sure everything is being distributed...
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...HEIRS TO AN ESTATE Recently you and you brother and sister inherited the estate of an aunt who lived in Chicago. All three of you loved your aunt, but even though you all lived in the same city, you had not kept in contact with her in recent years due to career and family obligations. Your aunt’s Last Will & Testament requires that the three of you divide the assets among you any way that you can agree upon within 30 days of her death. However, if you fail to provide her attorney with a written agreement within the 30 days, all of her assets will be given to a charity. The estate consists of the following: (1) about $320,000 in cash and CDs; (2) a 2004 Lincoln Town Car; (3) two houses valued at $360,000 and $ 525,000; (4) all of the furnishings of both houses; (5) an art collection valued at $250,000; (6) season tickets to the Chicago Cubs (behind the home dugout); (7) a large box containing many family photos and slides. The three of you are meeting in six days to try and negotiate a settlement of the estate. In preparation answer the following skills questions: Skill 2-1: Recognize that before next week’s meeting, preparation is critical to success, and usually includes identifying all tangible and intangible issues that will be of interest to all parties, and then prioritizing those issues, making sure to include some throwaway issues. What preparations do you need to make before the meeting? Skill 2-2: Should you propose the three...
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...In reviewing the situation we know that the Notimelefts have a net estate of $8,500,000 and three children. The goals are: to cover their own needs; pass funds on to three children equally; avoid taxes; protect their funds; keep their business private; and give no money to charities. The issues here are: will the Priest be allowed to have an inheritance or would it be given to the church (which looks like a charity to Willis and Wanda); would Darlene’s manipulating husband spend the money and what would happen in the case of divorce; what about possible grandchildren (does Ohno have a sibling?); and when Derelict is in prison would his inheritance be required to pay restitution? What happens if Willis or Wanda are incapacitated? The first thing I would advise would be to open a Revocable Living Trust for Willis (Trust A), one for Wanda (Trust B), and a Children’s trust with a spend-thrift clause to keep Derelict from spending his inheritance foolishly. Trust funds up to $5,120,000 are excluded from estate taxes so I would fund Wanda’s trust to that amount, and fund Willis’ trust with the rest. This would give them lower estate taxes because they would not be paying on the total amount. These trusts will avoid probate when the time comes which is a concern of Wanda and Willis. I would list the children’s trust as the beneficiary to Willis’ and Wanda’s trusts upon their deaths. Wanda and Willis are still alive and we do not know of any life-threatening diseases...
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...CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE HINDU SUCCESSION ACT,1956 INDEX: INTRODUCTION__________________________________________________________________ ARE PERSONAL LAWS REALLY LAWS? _______________________________________________ ARE PERSONAL LAWS SUBJECT TO PART III OF THE CONSTITUTION? _______________________ TYPES OF SUCCESSION___________________________________________________________ WHO IS A HINDU?_______________________________________________________________ BEFORE HINDU SUCCESSION ACT__________________________________________________ INTRODCUTION TO HINDU SUCCESSION ACT, 1956____________________________________ CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF: 2005 AMENDMENT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. SECTION 6, HSA………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. SECTION 7, HSA………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… SECTION 14, HSA…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. SECTION 15 &16, HSA…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. OPINION_________________________________________________________________________ CONCLUSION______________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION: Through this paper, I want to analyse the constitutional validity of various provisions of the Hindu Succession act, 1956 , which is a personal law applicable to Hindu citizens of India. I have attempted to briefly explain how the flaws in the said act pose a constitutional challenge and have also tried arriving...
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...Session:2011-2016 FAMILY LAW “ Disqualification as to succession under Mitakshara law” Acknowledgement I am very thankful to everyone who all supported me for I have completed my project effectively and moreover on time. I am equally grateful to my criminal law faculty: Mr. S.s.. He gave me moral support and guided me in different matters regarding the topic. He had been very kind and patient while suggesting me the outlines of this project and correcting my doubts. I thank him for his overall supports. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my friends who helped me a lot in gathering different information, collecting data and guiding me from time to time in making this project despite of their busy schedules ,they gave me different ideas in making this project unique. Thanking you Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2 INTRODUCTION 3 The Hindu Succession Act: Divergence from tradition 4 PROVISIONS OF SUCCESSION UNDER HINDU SUCCESSION ACT 5 LAWS OF DISQUALIFICATIONS 7 SUGGESTIONS : 13 CONCLUSION 14 BIBLIOGRAPHY 15 Introduction Succession under Hindu Law ‘Succession’ implies the act of succeeding or following. It implies the transmission or passing of rights from one to another. In every system of law provision has to be made...
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...Also, the residuary estate includes all specific gifts that failed or lapsed. To plan your residuary estate in the will, you would list a residuary beneficiary to inherit all the remaining property. Otherwise, the remaining property would default to the estate. Typically, sound estate plans will have a residuary clause in the will listing a residuary beneficiary. 2) Guardian for minor children - Although guardians aren’t really beneficiaries, they could be handling the inheritance of a minor child. Appointing guardians is possible only by the will. 3) Property that can’t have designated beneficiaries – In some states, property such as vehicles and personal accounts don’t allow ways to designate beneficiaries for the property. As a result, the property must pass through the will to listed beneficiaries. 4) Heirlooms and specific gifts of personal property – If you have heirlooms or personal property you want to give to a specific person, then list that person as a...
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...This is a quick email to review some of the important concerns we addressed during our phone conversation. Certainly, I will have more to say in future emails. We concluded that you will not make any changes to the beneficiary designations to your TSP, pension, TIAA and IRA until we have finished your trust and it is signed. Once that stage has been completed, you will either make the trust the beneficiary of your accounts or the owner and beneficiary of your accounts. It will be important to review each account, how it is owned, what death benefit provisions it has and who is the current beneficiary. As for your financial savings plans that provided for a payout over time, we should review what happens under the account contract, if you die while funds remain in the account. The current draft of your trust is constructed so that distributions are based on a percentage of the total estate. During our conversation, we concluded that you would like to restructure your distribution plan to bifurcate your assets. Hypothetically then, you might provide that the proceeds of the sale of your home will be distributed to the vet techs, etc. Then, you may direct that the other assets such as the accounts at TIAA shall be liquidated and distributed to Joe, Mary and Sue (made up names). You will need to give me the new plan. We resolved that with respect to Exhibit B, fewer details are better. We recognized that broad authorizations would give wide discretion to your successor...
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...If you mean the death benefits of the insurance policy, then these funds are generally free from income tax to your named beneficiary or beneficiaries. You may elect to have the insurance company hold on to these proceeds after your death and distribute them to your beneficiary at a later date or in a series of installments. The funds that the insurer holds are earning interest, and when a payment is made to your beneficiary, it may include both principal and interest earned by that principal, or only interest. Although the principal portion of the payment is tax free, the interest portion is taxable to your beneficiary as ordinary income. In some cases, if you transfer the ownership of your life insurance policy to another party before your death for monetary value or other consideration, the proceeds paid to the beneficiary at your death could be considered taxable income to that beneficiary. This is a complicated matter, and you should seek the assistance of a tax professional before completing the transaction. The proceeds of your life insurance policy may be subject to federal estate taxes if you have what's known as incidents of ownership in the policy. If you control the policy in any way--that is, you can cancel it, surrender it, borrow against it, pledge or assign it, or can change the beneficiary--then you possess incidents of ownership in the policy, and the proceeds of the policy may be subject to federal estate taxes when you die. You might postpone these...
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...(1) 2 yrs ago, decedent gave Child $75K in cash. Decedent died in the current year. (a) • The $75K cash outright to the Child would not be included in the donor’s gross estate under § 2035(a). • § 2035(b) requires the federal gift tax paid by the decedent or the decedent’s estate on any transfers made after 1976 by the decedent or the decedent’s spouse within three years of the decedent’s death to be included in the decedent’s gross estate. o $13K + ($75K - $60K)*.26 = $16,900 Tax but 2505(a)(1) Unified Credit against gift tax ($345,800) (b) If decedent gave Child a life insurance policy on decedent’s life worth $10K, with a face value of $75K, decedent dies 2 yrs later, what’s included in decedent’s gross estate. • $75K would fall into the time frame of § 2035(a)(1) and designated as property • $75K would be included in the decedent’s gross estate pursuant to § 2035(a)(2) because the interest transferred by the decedent was one that, had it been retained by the decedent, would have enlarged the decedent’s gross estate under § 2042. o Insurance becomes valuable at death (c) If after the gift, Child made annual premium payments totaling $3K? Assume that Decedent’s total pre-gift premium were $12K? • Authority: Rev Rul 72-282; see also: In regards Silverman’s estate 521 f.2d 524. • We are going to create a fraction: o Inclusion ratio: ($12K (paid by decedent) / $15 (total paid)) x $75K o Exclusion ratio: (3/15) x $75K ♣ Must look at the numerator, this...
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