International Implications of the Will as an Implied Unilateral Arbitration Contract
68 Florida Law Review Forum, 2016, Forthcoming
University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-21
15 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2016
Date Written: September 2, 2016
Abstract
Professor E. Gary Spitko has advanced a novel argument for enforcing arbitration provisions found in wills, claiming that the will can be construed as an implied unilateral arbitration contract. This article considers the international implications of Professor Spitko's theory, particularly in light of the European Succession Regulation, which came into effect in August 2015. As discussed in this article, the Regulation allows U.S. nationals residing in the European Union to choose U.S. law to govern their estate plans and may thereby allow U.S. principles regarding the arbitrability of will disputes to be imported into European proceedings. This issue is of increasing importance and interest, particularly to the rising numbers of Americans, including retirees, who are now residing in the European Union and to the lawyers who are drafting their wills.
Keywords: international law, comparative law, arbitration, wills, probate law, trusts and estates, succession law, European law, European Succession Regulation, contract law, arbitrability, dispute resolution
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation