Student Writing Competition

Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition 

2023 Papers

First Place Winner: Aaron Anderson — Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
“Resolving Unfairness in a Fair Way: How the Grantor Trust Rules Should be Reformed”

Second Place Winner: Ryan D. Tosto — Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
“Unpacking the Digital Vault: Estate Planning Considerations for Non-Fungible Tokens”

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Honorable Mention: Katie Giron — Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University
“Frozen Embryo Disposition After Death and Dobbs: Applying Testamentary Guardianships for Embryos in ‘Personhood’ States”

2022 Papers

First Place Winner: Morgan Wahler — University of San Diego School of Law
“The Problem of Charitable Trust Enforcement: Addressing the Insufficiencies of the Attorney General System and Proposing New Law Reform”

Second Place Winner: Vincent Ferry — Maurice A. Dean School of Law at Hofstra University
“A Pandemic of Planning: Form Wills and Online Estate Planning in the Era of Coronavirus”

Third Place Winner: Jasmine Sadeghani — Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
“Heir(ing) on the Side of Caution: Are Intestacy Laws Too Strict for Posthumous Children Seeking to Inherit Social Security Benefits?”

2021 Papers

First Place: Zachary Carstens — Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
“Physician-Assisted Death and the Slippery Slope: Carving out an American Ledge”

Second Place Winner: Madison L. Orcutt — University of San Diego School of Law
“Blood Does Not Necessarily Make a Family (or Any Fraction Thereof): Intestate Succession, Half-Blood Siblings, and Assisted Reproductive Technology”

Third Place Winner: Daniel Fein — New York University School of Law
“A Defense of Perpetual Trusts”

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Honorable Mention Winner: Christopher John Benos  — University of Virginia School of Law
“Trust Protectors as Fiduciaries: Three Approaches and Beyond the UDTA”

Honorable Mention Winner: Peter Mezey — New York University School of Law
“On Estate Of Elkins and a New Path to Valuation of Collectibles?”

2020 Papers

First Place: James (Jack) Spencer — Georgetown University Law Center
An Alternate Approach to Situs Determination for Partnership Interests

Second Place: Linda Nelte— University of San Diego School of Law
Advancement and Ademption by Satisfaction: An Empirical Study of Parental Intent

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Honorable Mention: Michelle Huggins King — Georgetown University Law Center
When Opportunity Funds an Estate: Issues Presented in Estate Planning by an Interest in a Qualified Opportunity Fund Passing Due to an Investor’s Death Prior to December 31, 2026 or an Inclusion Event and a Comparison of Planning Vehicles to Alleviate Tax Burdens to Beneficiaries

Honorable Mention: Drake Frikken and Nabeal Sunna — Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University
Unjust Enrichment – Another Unfortunate Effect of Suicide in the United States?

2019 Papers

First Place: Robert Daily — University of Georgia School of Law
The Lender Loophole & the Deductibility of Investment Expenses in Family Offices

Second Place: Scott J. Lee — Georgetown University Law Center
The Kaestner Trust Case — Due Process and State Taxation of Non-Resident Trustees

Third Place: Ryan F. Bender — New York University School of Law
A Philanthropist Cloaked by Fog — Scofield Thayer and Lessons on Testamentary Capacity

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Honorable Mention: Alissa Mack — Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
A Review of the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act: The Good, the Bad and Your Operating Agreement

Honorable Mentions: Gabriel Slamovits — New York University School of Law
Cadaver Donations in the Jewish Legal System

2018 Papers

First Place Winner: Nichole M. Paschoal, University of San Diego School of Law
The Problem of Replacement Property in the Law of Ademption 

Second Place Winner: Courtney Bravo, University of San Diego School of Law
Stepfamilies & Intestacy Law: A Proposal for Stepparent and Stepchild Inheritance

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Amanda Leckman, University of San Diego School of Law
Does Escheat Cheat Decedents?

2017 Papers

First Place Winner: Shawn Irwin Walker, University of Oregon School of Law
Over My Dead Body: Preventing and Resolving Disputes Regarding the Disposition of the Dead

Second Place Winner: Jadrian Michael Coppieters, Georgetown University Law Center
The Omitted Spouse: New Estate Planning Techniques for Jewish Clients

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Angela Bowen, Brigham Young University – J. Reuben Clark Law School
You Can Have the Car, Just Not the DAPT: Domestic Asset Protection Trusts and the Distribution of Property Upon Divorce

Nathan Kiyam, University of San Diego School of Law
Estate Taxes and Disclaimers Involving Charities

Danielle Schiffman, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Trustee Delegation of Investment Management Duties and the Varying Effects on Beneficiaries

2016 Papers

First Place Winner:  Benjamin Joseph Imdieke, University of Michigan Law School
A Nominal Credit: Why Donor Recognition Should Not Limit the Deductibility of Section 170 Charitable Contributions

Second Place Winner:  Margaret Claire Osswald, University of Utah – SJ Quinney College of Law
Custom Made Conservation: Resource Specific Conservation Easement Implementation Un-paves the Path of Tax Abuse

Third Place Winner:  Maria Bourdeau, Notre Dame Law School
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth with a Stepped-up Basis: Alternatives to Stepped-Up Basis at Death

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Katie Lepore, University of San Diego School of Law
Grantor Retained Trusts: Closing the Loopholes with the Elimination of Zeroed-Out GRTs Does Not Require a Minimum Ten-Year Term

Emily Robey-Phillips, Harvard Law School
Reducing Litigation Costs for Holographic Wills

2015 Papers

First Place Winner:  David Berke, Yale Law School
Family Values: An Evaluation of Internal Revenue Code Sections 2703 and 2704(b)

Second Place Winner:  Christopher Weeg, University of Florida Levin College of Law
The Private Trust Company – A DIY for the Über Wealthy

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Beth J. Kerwin, New York University School of Law
President Obama’s Proposal to Tax Capital Gains at Death – What Happens in Canada Stays in Canada?

Charles E. McWilliams, Jr., Georgetown University Law Center
Constitutional Challenges to State Taxation of Non-Grantor Trusts

Gurney Pearsall, University of Colorado Law School
Presumed Abuse: Restoring Elder Justice in the 21st Century by Enacting a Presumption of Abuse and Disinheriting Abusers

2014 Papers

First Place Winner:  Abigail Farmer and Cory Elizabeth Tyszka, Arizona State Univ., Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Virtual Currency Estate Planning, Bit by Bit 

Second Place Winner:  Katie Magallanes, University of San Diego School of Law
Beyond Donor Intent – Leveraging Cy Pres to Remedy Unintended Burdens Caused by Charitable Gifts

Third Place Winner:  Kevin William Wright, Arizona State Univ., Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
The History and Future of the Delaware Tax Trap

HONORABLE MENTION:

Christopher W. Morgan, Arizona State Univ., Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Elder Financial Exploitation: How Jurisdictional Uniformity will Aid in the Prevention and Punishment of Abuse

2013 Papers

First Place Winner: Christopher J. Roman, Villanova Law School
Protecting Your Clients’ Assets from their Future Ex-Sons and Daughters-In-Law: The Impact of Evolving Trust Laws on Alimony Awards

Second Place Winner:  Ryan Konsdorf and Scott Alden Prulhiere, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Killing Your Chances of Inheriting: The Problem with the Application of the Slayer Statute to Cases of Assisted Suicide 

Third Place Winner:  Emily Tornabene, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
To Have and To Hold, and Now a QDRO?

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Daniel G. Cronin, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Decanting Trusts: Evolving Law

Kendal R. Dobra, University of Connecticut School of Law
Riding the Digital Wave: An Executor’s Fiduciary Duty toward Digital Assets

Daniel Miller, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
How Harmless Is Harmless? An In-Depth Look Into the Harmless Error Rule

2012 Papers

First Place Winner:  Justin Kesselman, New England School of Law
Can State Law Remedies Revive Statutes Stricken by ERISA’s Preemption Provision?

Second Place Winner: Meredith Willsen, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
One Small Step for Congress, an Enormous Leap for Surviving Spouses: Proposed Revisions to Increase Reliance on Portability

Third Place Winner: Sarah O’Keefe and Andrew Soresen, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Protecting Privilege After Richey

HONORABLE MENTION:

Erin R. Davis, Case Western Reserve School of Law
Offshore Trusts as Tools & Strategies for Estates of U.S. Residents

2011 Papers

First Place Winner:  Kennedy Lee, Brigham Young University/University of Miami
Representing the Fiduciary – To Whom Does the Attorney Owe Duties?

Second Place Winner:  Joe Ryan Savoie, Texas Tech School of Law
The Commissioners Model of Ante-Mortem Probate

Third Place Winner:  Steve Lamar Dellinger, St. Louis University School of Law
Federal Estate Tax Spousal Portability – An Enormous Leap or a Short Step?

HONORABLE MENTION:

Margo Abouf and Eleen Jackson, Arizona State University
Sixteen and Pregnant: Should Minors with Children be able to Make a Valid Last Will and Testament?

Cara M. Koss, New York University School of Law
The ART of Probate: Cryopreserved Reproductive Materials in the Estate

Shabnam Nouraie, University of Missouri
Out With the Old and In With the New: Comparing and Contrasting Trust Decanting Under State Statutory Law

2010 Papers

First Place Winner:   Daniel L. Ricks, New York University School of Law
I Dig It, But Congress Shouldn’t Let Me: Closing the IDGT Loophole

Second Place Winner:  Jeffrey Allen Hagy, Georgia State University College of Law
Controlling the Dead Hand: Beneficiary Modification of the Perpetual Trust

Third Place Winner:  Alison Atwater, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Re-Thinking the Survivorship Interest Exception

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Eric Atstupenas, New England School of Law
The Uncertain Future of Family Limited Partnerships in Estate Tax Planning

Christina Brademas, University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts and Trust Protectors: The Time for Guidance and Accountability is Here

Michael S. Eganhouse, Drake University Law School
Stone Turning to Sand: Grantor Trusts Have a Shaky Legal Foundation