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The Nonprobate Revolution and the Future of the Law of Succession
Langbein, John
Langbein, John
Abstract
The popular demand for probate avoidance has coincided with a fundamental change in the nature of wealth. Mogt property now takes the form of claims on financial intermediaries, who can easily transfer account balances on death, without court proceedings. Further, creditors have developed a variety of techniques for collecting decedents' debts without probate. Professor Langbein sees in these developments the basis for legitimating the main will substitutes as "nonprobate wills" and for unifying the constructional law of wills and will substitutes.