2002 July Essays memo

Q1 Community Property/Wills

• Community Property ends: physical separation with no intent to reunion
• omitted child
• Attested Wills
• Holographic Wills
• Codicils: republish
• Incorporation by reference

• then existing document, clearly identified in the will

  Can an invalid will be incorporated by reference be a
  codicil into a valid will?

• Wills substitute: Life insurance proceeds

Q2 Real Property ( sorry! your land has my easement)

• easement

• appurtenant: dominant/ servient

  duration

  termination

  failure to record

• mortgage setting on the land with easement

• when debtor default

  notice

  race

  race-notice: taking without notice/record first

  actual

  constructive: from recording

  inquiry: physical inspection of the land

  if with notice, not BFP, not protected by the statute

• Deed of Trust
• Foreclosure/appraise/deficiency
• general warranty deeds
• covenant of encumbrances
  

Q3 PR ( friend's son using drugs and lawyer asked him to accept prosecutor's offer even son insists he is innocent... what the hell?)

• making sure who is the client
• specialization: taking cases in a unfamiliar practicing area
• duty of confidentiality
• duty of loyalty

• potential: might occur @ some point during representaion

  reasonably believe she can effectively represent

  informed consent from client ( in CA, the consent must be in writing)

  the consnet must be reasonable

  actual: actually exist

  receiving fee from 3rd person without client's consent

• duty of competence
• duty of communication

• Using other lawyer's service without client's consent

  Sharing fee with other lawyer without client's consent

• sharing fee with other lawyers ( client's written consent is required)

• RPC: proportional to labor

  CA: doesn't need to be proportional, but cannot increase the overall
  charge

• desicion making

• by lawyer

  by client

• duty owed to the court and 3rd person
• duty of candor to the court: asking client to enter guilty plea while knowing it's not false
  

Q4 K (Polly wanted to win a free vocation trip but ends up with nothing)

• consideration
• estoppel: Pp foreseeably and reasonably detrimentally reliend on the agreement

careful! what can you claim under estoppel?

• remedies: items you can claim: foreseeability
• some items conflict with each other, if you are allowed one, you should not be allowed another
• Defense: old shit

• impossiblity

  impraticability

Q5 Torts (patient using drugs with " remote" risks and she did become blind)

• product liability ( lack of proper warning)

• strict liability---> plz check

  unreasonable dangerous products which can make safer by adequate warning

  foreseeable user

  foreseeable risk

  no defense:contributory negligence/comparative negligence

  defense: assumption of risk ( required Pp has knowledge)

  intentional( contributory negligence/comparative no defense)

  negligence

  misrepresantion

  express warranty(disclaimer)

  implied warranty of mechantability

• negligence
• malpractice: for professional: reasonably prudent one in the similar area
• causation

• actual: but for

  legal: foreseeability---> remote risk

  supervening

• assupmtion of risk
• mitigate: reasonable standard
  

Q6 CP(another sad couple)

• putitive spouse ( QMP)
• one spouse's earning in her own personal account
• transmutaton ( before and after 1985)
• creditor right:what is "necessary"

• prior marriage child support

  family lawyer real property lien