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The Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA) was promulgated by the Uniform Law Commissioners in 1994 and shortly thereafter enacted into law by nearly all states. The commentary to Section 3 [...]

ABSTRACT: This Essay contributes to the theory of fiduciary relationships. Using legal analysis, legal theory, and the results of a new global survey of professional fiduciaries, it shows that fiduciary [...]

Abstract Ever since the statutory elective share replaced dower and curtesy, courts have been trying to expand the property subject to the spouse's elective share. The courts have used a [...]

Many, many advice providers want to be hired by employee benefit plan fiduciaries. Some advisers want to help the fiduciaries with investment selections or insurance. Some are experts in plan [...]

Non-ERISA fiduciaries don't have ERISA fiduciary responsibilities, (1) but what are non-ERISA fiduciaries' responsibilities? Only by first knowing his or her specific responsibilities can a fiduciary try to meet those [...]

No professional investment adviser would intentionally make a trade or investment error. However, such errors occur from time to time. Formulating an appropriate response to investment errors can be challenging [...]

I. INTRODUCTION II. BACKGROUND III. TRUST ADMINISTRATION A. THE SPENDTHRIFT CLAUSE B. ADMINISTRATIVE DEVIATION IV. TRUST TERMINATION A. VOLUNTARY ACTION OF THE BENEFICIARIES B. THE RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES V. A [...]

Trusts, Fiduciary Duties, and the Family Enterprise A trust is a legal relationship in which the legal title to property is severed from the equitable title. In the United States, [...]

I. INTRODUCTION A trust is established. Tracy Brown is both the trustee and the beneficiary. (1) The settlor has empowered the trustee to make discretionary distributions from the trust to [...]

Forever is a very long time--but only to humans. To avoid the problems of perpetual trusts, the rule against perpetuities has traditionally restricted trust duration to the span of a [...], Many states have now abrogated the rule against perpetuities, opening their doors (and coffers) to perpetual trusts. When combined with advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, this creates a perfect storm for dead-hand control. This confluence is enabling the emergence of long or unlimited duration computer-managed trusts that operate autonomously as vehicles of vicarious immortality for the settlors who fund them. This article introduces the robo-trust, a trust using AI to flexibly respond to changing world conditions, and speculates about its likely legal and computational structure. The robo-trust will be born from the age-old quest to live forever, the tools of which are often postmortem property controls and cutting-edge technology. Its unique adaptability will permit it to solve many of the problems that plague traditional perpetual trusts. It does however raise concerns regarding public policy, namely indefiniteness. An analysis of these concerns is presented in the context of two approaches to the robo-trust's uniquely bifurcated structure--whether the computer program is a component of the trust instrument or is a tool for the trustee's administration. The latter view is essential for the robo-trust's validity, and is the more likely conception of its structure. The best defense against the proliferation of these computer-managed trusts, and perpetual trusts in general, is a revival of the rule against perpetuities.

I. INTRODUCTION II. IDENTIFYING THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE A. Locating the Duty of Obedience in the Tripartite Scheme of Fiduciary Duties 1. Depth 2. Breadth 3. Length 4. Summary B. [...]