International Implications of the Will as an Implied Unilateral Arbitration Contract

S.I. Strong, Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law, has published “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.  In her journal article, Professor Strong examines the potential effect of the 2015 European Succession Regulation on estate planning for United States citizens residing in the European Union with a particular focus on the arbitrability of will disputes.

Here is the 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.

This and other scholarly publications written by Professor Strong are available for download from the Social Science Research Network.

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