Inheritance Forgery

Many venerable norms in inheritance law were designed to prevent forgery. Most prominently, since 1837, the Wills Act has required testators to express their last wishes in a signed and witnessed writing. Likewise, the court-supervised probate process helped ensure that a donative instrument was genuine and that assets passed to their rightful owners. But in the mid-twentieth century, concern about forgery waned. Based in part on the perception that counterfeit estate plans are rare, several states relaxed the Wills Act and authorized new formalities for notarized and even digital wills. In addition, lawmakers encouraged owners to bypass probate altogether by transmitting wealth through devices such as life insurance and transfer-on-death deeds. This Article offers a fresh look at inheritance-related forgery. Cutting against the conventional wisdom, it discovers that counterfeit donative instruments are a serious problem. Using reported cases, empirical research, grand jury investigations, and media stories, it reveals that courts routinely adjudicate credible claims that wills, deeds, and life insurance beneficiary designations are illegitimate. The Article then argues that the persistence of inheritance-related forgeries casts doubt on the wisdom of some recent innovations, including statutes that permit notarized and electronic wills. The Article also challenges well-established inheritance law norms, including the litigation presumptions in will-forgery contests, the widespread practice of rubber-stamping deeds, and the delegation of responsibility for authenticating a nonprobate transfer to private companies. Finally, the Article outlines reforms to modernize succession while remaining sensitive to the risks of forgery

Topics in chemical physics: I. Semiclassical reactive scattering theory; II. Corrected effective medium theory

Two distinct areas within theoretical chemical physics are investigated in this dissertation. First, the dynamics of collinear exchange reactions is treated within a semiclassical Gaussian wavepacket (GWP) description. Second, a corrected effective medium (CEM) theory is derived which yields: (1) a one-active-body description of the binding energy between an atom and an inhomogeneous host; and (2) an N-active-body description of the interaction energy for an N atom system;To properly treat the dynamics of collinear exchange reactions, two extensions to the previous methodology of GWP dynamics are presented: (1) evaluation of the interaction picture wavefunction propagators directly via the GWP solution to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation; and (2) use of an expansion of GWPs to represent the initial translational plane wave. This extended GWP dynamical approach is applied to the H + H[subscript]2 collinear exchange reaction using the Porter-Karplus II potential energy surface;A one-active-body CEM theory is derived (denoted CEM-1) which describes binding between a single atom and an inhomogeneous host. The zeroth order term of the interaction energy is provided by a self-consistent calculation of the embedding energy of the atom into spin-unpolarized jellium. Higher order terms provide corrections of two sorts: (1) the Coulomb interaction between the charge densities on the atom and the host; and (2) the difference in kinetic-exchange-correlation energies between the atom/inhomogeneous host system and the atom/jellium system. The CEM-1 method is used to evaluate the interaction energies for: (1) H atom embedded into spin-polarized jellium; (2) some H atom containing diatomic molecules; and (3) H atom chemisorption on Ni(100), Cu(100), and Fe(110);The CEM-1 theory is then extended to provide an N-active-body theory (denoted CEM-N) where each atom in the N atom system is allowed to interact with the remaining (N - 1) atoms in a simultaneous fashion. The CEM-N method is tested by considering a variety of homonuclear diatomic molecules. These results illustrate the need for a new set of covalent embedding energies which are provided

The effects of lunar dust accumulation on the performance of photovoltaic arrays

Lunar base activity, particularly rocket launch and landing, will suspend and transport lunar dust. From preliminary models, the resulting dust accumulation can be significant, even as far as 2 km from the source. For example, at 2 km approximately 0.28 mg/sq cm of dust is anticipated to accumulate after only 10 surface missions with a 26,800 N excursion vehicle. The possible associated penalties in photovoltaic array performance were therefore the subject of experimental as well as theoretical investigation. To evaluate effects of dust accumulation on relative power output, current-voltage characteristics of dust-covered silicon cells were determined under the illumination of a Spectrolab X-25L solar simulator. The dust material used in these experiments was a terrestrial basalt which approximated lunar soil in particle size and composition. Cell short circuit current, an indicator of the penetrating light intensity, was found to decrease exponentially with dust accumulation. This was predicted independently by modeling the light occlusion caused by a growing layer of dust particles. Moreover, the maximum power output of dust-covered cells, derived from the I-V curves, was also found to degrade exponentially. Experimental results are presented and potential implications discussed

Looking back on inverse scattering theory

We present an essay on the mathematical development of inverse scattering theory for time-harmonic waves during the past fifty years together with some personal memories of our participation in these events

A Consistent Orbital Stability Analysis for the GJ 581 System

We apply a combination of N-body modeling techniques and automated data fitting with Monte Carlo Markov Chain uncertainty analysis of Keplerian orbital models to radial velocity data to determine long term stability of the planetary system GJ 581. We find that while there are stability concerns with the 4-planet model as published by Forveille et al. (2011), when uncertainties in the system are accounted for, particularly stellar jitter, the hypothesis that the 4-planet model is gravitationally unstable is not statistically significant. Additionally, the system including proposed planet g by Vogt et al. (2012) also shows some stability concerns when eccentricities are allowed to float in the orbital fit, yet when uncertainties are included in the analysis the system including planet g also can not be proven to be unstable. We present revised reduced chi-squared values for Keplerian astrocentric orbital fits assuming 4-planet and 5-planet models for GJ~581 under the condition that best fits must be stable, and find no distinguishable difference by including planet g in the model. Additionally we present revised orbital element estimates for each assuming uncertainties due to stellar jitter under the constraint of the system being gravitationally stable.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Online Modifications for Event-based Signal Temporal Logic Specifications

In this paper we present a grammar and control synthesis framework for online modification of Event-based Signal Temporal Logic (STL) specifications, during execution. These modifications allow a user to change the robots' task in response to potential future violations, changes to the environment, or user-defined task design changes. In cases where a modification is not possible, we provide feedback to the user and suggest alternative modifications. We demonstrate our task modification process using a Hello Robot Stretch satisfying an Event-based STL specification

Inheritance Crimes

The civil justice system has long struggled to resolve disputes over end-of-life transfers. The two most common grounds for challenging the validity of a gift, will, or trust— mental incapacity and undue influence—are vague, hinge on the state of mind of a dead person, and allow factfinders to substitute their own norms and preferences for the donor’s intent. In addition, the slayer doctrine—which prohibits killers from inheriting from their victims—has generated decades of constitutional challenges. But recently, these controversial rules have migrated into an area where the stakes are significantly higher: the criminal justice system. For example, states have criminalized financial exploitation of an elder, which includes obtaining assets through undue influence. Likewise, prosecutors are bringing theft charges against people who accept transfers from mentally diminished owners. Finally, legislatures are experimenting with abuser statutes that extend the slayer doctrine by barring anyone from receiving property from the estate of a senior citizen whom they mistreated. This Article evaluates the benefits and costs of this trend. It explains that these new sanctions deter elder abuse: wrongdoing that is rampant, pernicious, and underreported. Nevertheless, this Article exposes the dangers of criminalizing this unique area of law. First, criminal undue influence and the abuser doctrine may be unconstitutional in some situations. Second, inheritance crimes suffer from the flaws that make probate litigation so unreliable. Third, because inheritance law and criminal law have been traditionally understood as distinct, jurisdictions have not yet figured out how to gracefully merge them. Finally, this Article builds on these insights to argue that states should abolish criminal undue influence, harmonize civil and criminal rules, and create exceptions to abuser laws