WILLS-CONSTRUCTION-GIFT TO EXECUTOR TO BE DISPOSED OF IN HIS DISCRETION AS A GENERAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT

Testator, after bequeathing specific legacies, gave the residue of his estate to his executor to dispose of any balance after the aforementioned gifts have been paid according to his wise discretion.\u27\u27 The executor was the husband of testator\u27s niece, one of the legatees, and he was well acquainted with testator. He declared his intention of disposing of the residue to testator\u27s nieces, for whom testator had expressed concern. The trial court held the testator had attempted to create a trust by the residuary clause, which failed for indefiniteness. On appeal, held, reversed. The testator created a general power of appointment in the executor. In re Lindston\u27s Estate, (Wash. 1949) 202 P. (2d) 259

WILLS-PRETERMITTED HEIR STATUTES-NEED TO STATE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP IN THE WILL.

Plaintiff alleged that she was an adopted daughter of testator, and, by reason thereof, claimed to be a pretermitted heir, under a statute providing that if any person make his last will and die, leaving a child not named or provided for in such will, testator in so far as regards such child shall be deemed to die intestate, and such child shall be entitled to such proportion of the estate of the testator as if he had died intestate. Plaintiff\u27s claim was based on two provisions in the will. In the first, the testator declared that he had had no children, but in the event that any person could prove he was a child of the testator, to that person he gave five dollars. In the second provision testator devised to his adopted daughter certain property; the gift to plaintiff was in her name only and did not mention any relationship between testator and the plaintiff. Plaintiff claimed that the statute required the testator to remember the relationship, and that since testator denied any children, she was a pretermitted heir despite the gift to her. Held, plaintiff was sufficiently provided for in the will to preclude the operation of the statute. Mares v. Martinez, (N.M. 1949) 212 P. (2d) 772

Wills--The Receipt of Substantial Benefits Under a Will by One in Confidential Relationship with Testator Raises a Presumption of Undue Influence Which After Rebutting Evidence is Introduced Remains as a Permissible Inference for the Jury--\u3cem\u3eIn re Wood Estate\u3c/em\u3e

Testator bequeathed to proponent, his private secretary, a substantial portion of his estate. Contestant, testator\u27s niece and sole heir, attacked the validity of the bequest on the grounds of proponent\u27s alleged undue influence, and introduced evidence indicating the existence of a confidential relationship between proponent and testator. Proponent denied both the existence of a confidential relationship and the allegations of undue influence, and introduced evidence that independent counsel had advised testator in the making of his will. The trial court granted proponent\u27s motion for a directed verdict. On appeal, held reversed, two justices dissenting. The receipt of substantial benefits under a will by one in a confidential relationship with testator raises a presumption of undue influence which remains as a permissible inference for the jury even after rebutting evidence has been introduced

WILLS - CONVEYANCE BY TESTATOR OF LAND DEVISED AS IMPLIED REVOCATION

Testator devised all the property, real, personal or mixed of which I die seised to defendant. Subsequently, he and his wife conveyed a portion of the land he then owned to the defendant. Defendant later reconveyed to the testator. Testator never republished his will, nor altered it in any way. Plaintiffs are his heirs at law and insist that as to these lands the will was revoked and the testator died intestate. Held, there was no revocation here. The land in question passed under the devise to the defendant as after-acquired property, the language of the general devise being sufficient to show such was the testator\u27s intent. The case of Phillippe v. Clevenger is distinguishable in that that case dealt with a specific devise. Strang v. Day, (Ill. 1935) 199 N. E. 263

Undue Influence and the Law of Wills: A Comparative Analysis

Fastighetsmarknaden har visat på ett växande behov av ett hjälpmedel för fastighetsvärderare som underlättar implementeringen av byggnaders gröna egenskaper i värderingsprocessen, samt för att investerare ska kunna se specifika gröna egenskapers effekt på fastighetsvärdet. Användningen av ett flertal olika miljöklassningssystem på marknaden skapar svårigheter vid jämförelse. RICS har tagit fram ett utkast på en hållbarhetschecklista för att komplettera värderingsutlåtandet med en utökad beskrivning av fastigheterna med en systematisk redovisning av egenskaper relevanta ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. Dess syfte är att tydliggöra skillnader och öka utbudet av tillgänglig transaktionsdata med en påföljande ökad transparens på fastighetsmarknaden. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur en hållbarhetschecklista kan tas fram, se ut och fungera, samt om den kan implementeras i ett projekt för en samhällsfastighet. Genom att använda mig av utkastet från RICS och intervjua aktörer på fastighetsmarknaden har en lista tagits fram som jämförts med miljöklassningssystemen och implementerats på ett specifikt projekt. Utfallet har sedan analyserats och legat till grund för de slutsatser som dragits. Resultatet av studien visar att den lista som utgår från RICS ”Sustainability Checklist” med relevanta hållbarhetsaspekter kan implementeras även på samhällsfastigheter då dessa innehar liknande egenskaper som de kommersiella fastigheterna, med vissa skillnader, som övergripande beror av: budgetrestriktioner, lokala förhållanden samt regleringar från kommunen och övriga parter. Även val av miljöklassningssystem har en viss påverkan på utfallet i fallstudien, då ett nära samband finns mellan parametrarna i hållbarhetschecklistan och miljöcertifieringssystemen, och där de kommersiella fastighetsutvecklarna i högre grad har valt att certifiera sina byggnader med de internationella systemen som är mer komplexa och innehar ett högre antal parametrar. Emellertid bygger en framgångsrik implementering av listan på att värderarens roll ändras till mer informerande, vilket också ställer krav på kunskapsnivå och utbudet av utbildning och vägledning för professionella värderare, en uppgift som ska upptas av professionella värderingsorgan. Slutligen fastställs att listan bör bearbetas ytterligare, med utveckling och förtydligande av vissa aspekter för att underlätta insamling av information samt underlätta för värderare att i praktiken kunna använda den som ett komplement i värderingsarbetet.The real estate market has shown an increased demand among real estate appraisers for a tool to facilitate the implementation of green building features into the valuation process, and for investors to discern a specific green feature’s impact upon value. The wide range of green building rating systems used on the real estate market today causes difficulties in comparison. To supplement the valuation report with an extended description of the properties including a systematic presentation of relevant features from a sustainability perspective, RICS (2012) has formed a draft of a ”sustainability checklist”, which purpose is to highlight differences, increase the supply of information and enhance transparency in the property market. The study aims to investigate the development, design and function of a sustainability checklist, and whether it can be implemented on public properties. A list was created based on the draft from RICS ”Sustainability Checklist”, and interviewed players in the real estate market, which were implemented on a specific project consisting of a public building. The result of the study was analysed and has formed the basis of the conclusions drawn. The result of the study conducted within this thesis shows that the list based on RICS ”Sustainability Checklist” with sustainability aspects included can be implemented also on public buildings, as these buildings possess similar features as the commercial buildings. Some main differences can be seen, overall resulting from: budget constraints, local conditions and regulations from the municipality and other parties. Also, the choice of a certain green building rating system influence the effect on the outcome, whereas a close relationship can be find between certain aspects within the sustainability checklist and green building rating systems, and the commercial real estate developers increasingly chose to certify their buildings with the international systems, which are more complex and contain a higher number of aspects. However, in order to achieve a successful implementation of the list among appraisers within the real estate market, the role of the valuer must change to more informative, which also make demands on the level of knowledge and the provision of training and guidance for professional appraisers, a task to be undertaken by professional valuators. Furthermore, it is also established within this study that the list should be further processed and modified in order to facilitate the gathering of information and to simplify for the appraiser to use it as a supplement within the valuation process