Major Reforms of the Property Restatement and the Uniform Probate Code: Reformation, Harmless Error, and Nonprobate Transfers

Abstract

In late 2011, the American Law Institute published the third and final volume of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers. In March 2012, the Restatement’s two reporters, Professors Lawrence W. Waggoner and John H. Langbein, presented the Joseph Trachtman Memorial Lecture at the annual meeting of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in Miami Beach. Introducing the two lecturers, ACTEC President Mary Radford described them as “two icons in our field, [who] have had a hand in every major development in trust and estate law that has occurred over the past three decades...” In separate but coordinated talks, under the title “Restating and Renewing the Law of Donative Transfers,” Professors Waggoner and Langbein discussed some of the main themes of the new Restatement and of related Uniform Law Commission initiatives. Professor Langbein’s lecture, revised for publication, appears here; Professor Waggoner’s appears in the following Article.