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35 Seattle U. L. Rev. 427 (2011-2012)
A Therapeutic Jurisprudential Framework of Estate Planning

handle is hein.journals/sealr35 and id is 449 raw text is: A Therapeutic Jurisprudential Framework of Estate Planning Mark Glover* I. INTRODUCTION Drawing upon the burgeoning field of therapeutic jurisprudence, this Article analyzes the psychological consequences of estate planning. This analysis reveals that the preparation and implementation of an estate plan through the execution of a will and other estate-planning documents has both therapeutic and antitherapeutic characteristics.' This analysis also suggests that the positive and negative psychological consequences of estate planning can serve as a framework through which to analyze the law of succession and which can provide fresh perspectives on a diverse array of estate-planning issues. Because legal scholars have generally failed to employ therapeutic jurisprudential analysis in the estate- planning context,2 this Article illuminates the field's analytical relevance to the study of estate planning and encourages the broad expansion of therapeutic jurisprudential analysis to other areas of the law of succes- sion. To illustrate the field's overlooked analytical potential with respect to the law of succession, this Article analyzes the therapeutic implica- tions of a set of focused and discrete estate-planning rules, namely the law governing the wills of soldiers and sailors. This analysis confirms the viability of therapeutic jurisprudence as an insightful analytical tool with respect to not only the law governing military wills but also the estate- planning process generally.3 Moreover, the analysis demonstrates that the therapeutic jurisprudential framework of estate planning can ultimately reveal new areas of reform throughout the law of succession. * Assistant Professor of Professional Practice and Teaching Fellow, Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center; LL.M., Harvard Law School, 2011; J.D., magna cum laude, Boston Univer- sity School of Law, 2008. Special thanks to Professor Robert Sitkoff, who provided guidance throughout the course of this project. 1. See infra Parts II-IV. 2. See infra Part II.C. 3. See, e.g., infra Part V. 427