Legal Research and Writing – Week 6 Assignment
Letter Assignment
You have been given the following fact pattern by Sofia Perez, one of the senior partners in your law firm:
The firm represents Alison Nielsen. Last month, Alison’s only child, Kymberly, was killed in a car accident. Kymberly, who was 18 at the time of her death, had been a famous child actor and earned several million dollars during her career. For a period of time, Alison served as Kymberly’s manager but after several disagreements over money, Kymberly applied to court at age 16 and had Alison’s parental rights terminated. At the time of her death, Kymberly was not speaking with her father, Phillip Nielsen. Phillip and Alison divorced when Kymberly was a child and neither remarried nor had other children. Kymberly had never been married and left no children and no will.
Ms. Perez would like you to prepare an opinion letter (for her signature) to Alison, explaining what her rights are, if any, to Kymberly’s estate.
By way of background, the Uniform Probate Code includes several provisions relating to intestate estates, shares of parents, and so forth. Our state has adopted the Act in its entirety. The Act is available through the website of the Uniform Law Commission. Assume there are no cases interpreting the applicable provisions of the Act.
The Uniform Probate Code can be found at the following site: www.uniformlaws.org. Sections 2-101 (“Intestate Estate”), 2-103 (“Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse”), and 2-114 (“Parent Barred from Inheriting from Inheriting in Certain Circumstances”) control this fact pattern.
Include the following components in your opinion letter. Your letter should be at least one full page in length. Refer to Chapter 16 of the textbook for examples and explanation of each of these components:
· Date
· Inside Address
· Reference or Subject Notation
· Introductory Language
· Review of the Facts
· Conclusion
· Explanation of Conclusion
· Protection Clause
· Closing and Signature
