Page 1 of 4 Extra Credit Assignment / Account 302 – Fall 2019 Please read this entire document carefully. The extra credit assignment has been determined. This assignment is available to everyone and is due at the start of class on November 21st. You can receive up to twenty (20) bonus points through this assignment. Note this is “up to” twenty bonus points, you may receive fewer based on the overall quality of your work product. I will be grading on effort and your ability to identify issues and think logically. I do not expect you all to give me the “correct” answers to all the issues, but I want you to say something intelligent and well thought out and based generally on the law. You should read Chapter 50 before starting this writing assignment. There is run over into several other chapters of your text book, some of which was covered in the pre-requisite course, but Chapter 50 is crucially important to your ability to identify many of the issues in this assignment. When you cite to a law you must give me citation of some kind to where you found the law or information (there will be no strict citation format, just let me see where you learned the information). You may use your book to provide a citation (identify the page number); you may even simply use the internet and provide the address for the website. You can choose the format of how you handle this assignment. I would (personally) handle addressing this assignment in some type of essay format, but you may tackle this hypothetical however you wish. I will not accept handwritten thoughts; they must be typed up and printed. Your typed-up thoughts should be double spaced using size 12 font with either Calibri or Times New Roman font. I would envision that most essays will be somewhere between five and ten pages but I have no strict format (high or low) on length. I will not accept an email with your assignment. I want to be physically handed your response (likely in essay format, but I’ll accept other formats) in class on November 21st or earlier. There will be no extension of time and you may not turn this in to me late. These are individual/personal assignments, not group assignments. You are to work on this assignment as individuals and not share your work with others. Do not collaborate or share answers. I want this to be your own personal work. Do not plagiarize items off the internet. Here is your assignment: On November 15, 2017, Robert died in a hospital in Texas just two and half years after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The exact cause of death of death was aspiration pneumonia and the last few months of Robert’s life he was unable to recognize lifelong friends or recall the extent of his assets. In fact, there is some evidence that Robert had lost the ability to reason at a high level for up to six months before he died. Robert had $42,000,000 worth of assets at the time of his d ...

1. Page 1 of 4
Extra Credit Assignment / Account 302 – Fall 2019
Please read this entire document carefully.
The extra credit assignment has been determined. This
assignment is available to everyone
and is due at the start of class on November 21st.
You can receive up to twenty (20) bonus points through this
assignment. Note this is “up
to” twenty bonus points, you may receive fewer based on the
overall quality of your work product.
I will be grading on effort and your ability to identify issues
and think logically. I do not
expect you all to give me the “correct” answers to all the issues,
but I want you to say something
intelligent and well thought out and based generally on the law.
You should read Chapter 50 before starting this writing
assignment. There is run over into
several other chapters of your text book, some of which was
covered in the pre-requisite course,
but Chapter 50 is crucially important to your ability to identify
many of the issues in this
assignment. When you cite to a law you must give me citation

2. of some kind to where you found
the law or information (there will be no strict citation format,
just let me see where you learned
the information). You may use your book to provide a citation
(identify the page number); you
may even simply use the internet and provide the address for the
website.
You can choose the format of how you handle this assignment. I
would (personally) handle
addressing this assignment in some type of essay format, but
you may tackle this hypothetical
however you wish. I will not accept handwritten thoughts; they
must be typed up and printed. Your
typed-up thoughts should be double spaced using size 12 font
with either Calibri or Times New
Roman font. I would envision that most essays will be
somewhere between five and ten pages but
I have no strict format (high or low) on length.
I will not accept an email with your assignment. I want to be
physically handed your
response (likely in essay format, but I’ll accept other formats)
in class on November 21st or earlier.
There will be no extension of time and you may not turn this in
to me late.
These are individual/personal assignments, not group
assignments. You are to work on this
assignment as individuals and not share your work with others.

3. Do not collaborate or share
answers. I want this to be your own personal work. Do not
plagiarize items off the internet.
Here is your assignment:
On November 15, 2017, Robert died in a hospital in Texas just
two and half years after being
diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The exact
cause of death of death was aspiration
pneumonia and the last few months of Robert’s life he was
unable to recognize lifelong friends or
recall the extent of his assets. In fact, there is some evidence
that Robert had lost the ability to
reason at a high level for up to six months before he died.
Robert had $42,000,000 worth of assets
at the time of his death with half of the value being minority
interests in various privately held
businesses that were retaining earnings and not issuing
dividends to the shareholders.
Page 2 of 4
Robert was a domiciliary of Louisiana at the time of his death.
Robert’s longtime close
friend, Tommy, probates the properly executed Last Will and
Testament of Robert, which was in
Tommy’s possession and named Tommy as executor of Robert’s
estate. The will was dated as of
February 16, 2013. The will left the entirety of Robert’s estate,
via a trust, to Robert’s only two

4. legitimate children (Jack and Jill, who are both 35 years old)
from his first marriage. By October 1,
2019 nothing had been distributed and Robert’s estate was
inundated with problems:
Issue A) Robert’s divorced wife Janice (the mother of Jack and
Jill) has made a formal
claim against the Estate of Robert because starting in December
of 2018 Tommy stopped the
monthly autodraft out of Robert’s bank account that was paying
Robert’s $20,000 monthly
alimony obligation to Janice that was issued by the state of
Colorado and purported to be owed by
Robert for Janice’s life. Janice demands the estate fund an
annuity for her expected lifetime
pursuant to the Single Life Expectancy Table and make all
back-payments from December of 2018
through the present day. Tommy’s position is Janice can go
“pound sand”.
Issue B) Robert’s widow Sarah (who he was married to for
nineteen years before his death
but estranged from for the final ten years of his life) brought a
claim alleging that the marriage
contract she entered into with Robert before their nuptials was
invalid because she was on cocaine
and opioids at the time she executed the marriage contract and
she therefore lacked contractual
capacity. She claims her interest in the community property is
worth $15,000,000 and claims a
‘marital portion’ in the alternative.

5. Issue C) Robert’s girlfriend Debbie, who lived in Texas, alleges
that Robert was her
common law husband because he would periodically stay at her
house for many months at a time
over the ten-year period they were a couple and he would
publicly hold her out as his wife when
they would go to the bar by her house. She brings a claim
seeking to enforce whatever rights she
may be found to have as a common law wife.
Issue D) Robert’s nurse Peter has a $7,500,000 promissory note
that purports to be “for
value received” and “payable on demand” and issued from
Robert (under private act with no
witnesses or notary) to Peter just one month before Robert died.
Peter cannot explain to anyone’s
reasonable satisfaction why Robert gave him this note but he
has filed a claim against the estate to
collect on the note.
Issue E) Robert’s alleged 22-year-old illegitimate son, David,
who is a citizen of Oregon,
intervenes into the Louisiana action and alleges he is a forced
heir under Louisiana law and
demands his forced portion. Robert never acknowledged David
or even knew David existed before
his death, but ‘23 and me’ tests have concluded that David (who
was an orphan and never knew
his mother or father) is the biological son of Robert and David
now demands more formal testing
be ordered by the court and that he be treated the same as Jack

6. and Jill.
Issue F) Robert’s pastor, Joe, says that six months before
Robert’s death Robert made a
verbal promise in front of the entire congregation that on his
death he was going to leave a legacy
of $5,000,000 to the church. Tommy was a member of this
church and was present when Robert
made this pledge, so he knows for certain that Joe is telling the
truth.
Page 3 of 4
Issue G) Robert’s sister, Dana, says that five months before
Robert’s death Robert
promised he was going to leave her $1,000,000 in his estate.
She wants to enforce that promise
against the estate even though the Last Will and Testament
made no mention of her at all and she
has sent a demand letter to Tommy but has not intervened in the
estate.
Issue H) Robert’s off the records sports betting agent, Arturo,
brings a claim that Robert
owed him $250,000 in unpaid debts for bets Robert lost. Sports
betting was illegal at the time
Arturo claims Robert incurred the debt, but Arturo has several
witnesses who can verify the bets
were made by Robert.

7. Issue I) As of October 1, 2019, Tommy has not remitted any
estimated tax payment or
filed a Form 706 estate tax return or sought any formal
extension from the IRS beyond sending
them a series of letters outlining his problems and stating that
the small businesses that Robert
owned an interest in will not cooperate with his estate
appraisers and that Tommy can’t get any
liquidity to pay any estate taxes anyway because the value of
the estate is tied up in non-liquid
businesses that are not making any distributions. Tommy further
promises in his letters that he will
get an estate tax identification number soon. The Service has
not responded to any of Tommy’s
letters and has yet to reach out to Tommy in any way
whatsoever. Tommy did call the “IRS Help
Line” and after hearing all of this the IRS help line
representative (Jonathan) told Tommy “hey
dude, sounds like you got some problems, hahaha, don’t worry
about it, hahaha, you just settle up
those problems with the Louisiana state courts and you can file
that Form 706 with us later, hahaha,
can’t wait to hear how this all turns out, hahaha”. Tommy
clandestinely recorded the conversation.
Issue J) Tommy has learned that Robert did not file any state or
federal tax returns at all
for 2016.
Tommy knows that Robert was a bit of lush and that Robert

8. frequently told people whatever
they wanted to hear. Despite that, and the pledge made to Joe,
Tommy believes fully that Robert
intended to leave everything he had to Jack and Jill and Tommy
desires to see to it that this result
happens. Tommy also wants to be paid for his time serving as
an executor of the estate. Robert
made no provision for how Tommy was to be paid and the will
did not say Tommy should not be
paid; it was simply silent on executor compensation.
With the above fact pattern in mind, Tommy has come to your
law firm seeking aid and advice
on October 1, 2019. You are a first-year attorney (you were a
practicing CPA before going to law
school and your CPA license is also current) and the managing
partner in your firm has come to you
and said you are fully in charge of this case and told you to go
“sign Tommy up and work the file”.
Students: There is no strict format for your essay to follow.
The below questions are just a guide
and some suggestions of things you should ask yourself to
provide a good essay response.
1. What is the first thing you, as a professional who is being
given a brand-new file for a brand-
new client, should do? Explain why.
2. How do you advise Tommy to proceed?

9. Page 4 of 4
3. Can Tommy be paid for serving as executor? How would
payments to Tommy be
determined under Louisiana law?
4. Assess and rank Tommy’s problems from most significant to
least significant and identify
which problems need the most immediate attention and which
ones are potentially the
biggest long-term problem.
5. Can you utilize a minor problem in some way to help with the
more significant problems?
How?
6. Who all is entitled to something for certain out of Robert’s
estate?
7. How do you think a court of law would react to this case and
who is the court of law most
likely going to want to help and/or protect and who is the court
of law likely going to be
suspicious of?
8. What are the meaningful differences between Joe and Dana’s

10. respective claims?
9. What, if any, value is the phone call between Jonathan to
Tommy? What is the phone
number to the IRS Help Line and how did you find it?
10. What, if any, liability does Tommy have to David and what
should Tommy do as to David?
11. Can Janice keep collecting alimony after Robert died?
12. What, if any, liability do you have as a professional in
getting involved at this juncture to
help Tommy?
13. Can you estimate what the estate taxes should be and when
should they be paid? What
happens to the estate tax obligation if Sarah wins her claims
(Issue B)?
14. What other thoughts do you have regarding this fact pattern
on ways to help Tommy sort
through these various issues?