Prof. David Horton asks and answers "Does the Federal Arbitration Act apply to wills and trusts" on SCOTUSblog

Associate Professor of Law, David Horton, wrote a post for SCOTUSblog entitled, "Does the Federal Arbitration Act apply to wills and trusts?" The post was part of an Arbitration Symposium organized by the Supreme Court blog.

Here's an excerpt:

"Over the last two decades, arbitration has transformed the way that consumer and employment disputes are resolved. Recently, arbitration clauses have become increasingly common in a different context: wills and trusts. The roots of this movement are easy to understand. Even with the economic downturn, Americans bequeath hundreds of billions of dollars each year. This massive intergenerational wealth transfer - the largest in history - is expected to make probate litigation more common. Incapacity and undue influence claims are notorious not just for depleting estates, but for exposing a testator or settlor's intimate life in open court. Arbitration's purported benefits - its low cost, speed, and privacy - make it attractive to estate planners and their clients."

Read the full post here.