Reid Kress Weisbord

Distinguished Professor of Law, and Judge Norma L. Shapiro Scholar

Reid Kress Weisbord is a Distinguished Professor of Law and the Judge Norma L. Shapiro Scholar. His scholarly research explores private law topics related to wealth transfer, estate planning, tax, and property. He has authored more than 70 publications, including an estate planning treatise, a trusts and estates textbook, and several dozen articles and essays. Before entering the legal academy, Professor Weisbord practiced in the litigation department of an international law firm.

Location

Rutgers Law School 123 Washington Street 451 Newark, NJ 07102

Office Hours

By Appointment

Phone

973-353-3147

Email

weisbord@law.rutgers.edu

Website

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=656654

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Role

Faculty

Areas of Expertise

Wills, Taxation (Gifts & Estates), Property, Non-Profit Law, Legal Education, Estates & Trusts, Elder Law, Non-Profit Law

Biography

Reid Kress Weisbord is a Distinguished Professor of Law and the Judge Norma L. Shapiro Scholar at Rutgers Law School, where his teaching and scholarship center on the private law of wealth transfer, estate planning, tax, and property.

His scholarly record includes more than seventy publications, cited by state supreme courts, American Law Institute Restatements, and other leading legal authorities. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Vanderbilt Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, Washington University Law Review, Iowa Law Review, Boston University Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Fordham Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Yale Law Journal Forum, Stanford Law Review Online, and Columbia Law Review Online, along with volumes published by Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press, among others.

He is co-author of two standard references in the field: Wills, Trusts, and Estates: The Essentials (Aspen Publishers), with David Horton and Stephen Urice, and Estate Planning by Casner, Pennell, and Weisbord (Wolters Kluwer, CCH) — the encyclopedic treatise first published in 1953 by the late James Casner, which Weisbord now co-authors with Jeffrey Pennell.

His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, CBS News, The Atlantic, Forbes, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Star-Ledger, Law.com, and Consumer Reports, among others. A series of essays for The Conversation — including an estate law series co-authored with Professor Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia) — has been syndicated in newspapers nationally and surpassed one million downloads.

Weisbord joined the Rutgers faculty in 2010 and served as Vice Dean from 2013 to 2019. His research and service have been recognized with the Greg Lastowka Memorial Award for Scholarly Excellence, the Rutgers Law School Distinguished Service Award, and the International Institute of Education Award for Outstanding Service, and he is ranked among the most-cited legal scholars in the field of estates and trusts.

An elected Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Weisbord serves as Editor of the peer-reviewed ACTEC Law Journal and Co-Editor of the Trusts & Estates section of JOTWELL. He previously chaired the Trusts & Estates Section of the Association of American Law Schools (2025–26). He teaches as a Visiting Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and the University of Miami School of Law, and serves on the Advisory Committee of the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.

Weisbord holds a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He clerked for Judge Jane R. Roth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the late Judge Norma L. Shapiro of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and practiced in the litigation department of an international law firm before entering the legal academy.

Publications

Books and Treatises

James Casner (late), Jeffrey N. Pennell, & Reid K. Weisbord: ESTATE PLANNING (Wolters Kluwer / CCH, 2026)

Reid K. Weisbord, David Horton, & Stephen K. Urice: WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES - THE ESSENTIALS, 3rd Edition (Aspen Casebook Series, 2024)

Reid K. Weisbord, David Horton, & Stephen K. Urice: WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES - THE ESSENTIALS, 2nd Edition (Aspen Casebook Series, 2021)

Reid K. Weisbord, David Horton, & Stephen K. Urice: WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES - THE ESSENTIALS (Aspen Casebook Series 2018)

Law Review Articles

"Trust Litigation," Washington University Law Review (forthcoming 2026-27) (with David Horton and CJ Ryan)

"Secrecy in Trust Litigation," Wake Forest Law Review (forthcoming 2026-27) (with David Horton and Naomi Cahn)

"The Trust Transfer Problem," 104 North Carolina Law Review 1007 (2026) (with David Horton and CJ Ryan)

"Joint Bank Accounts: Who Needs Them?," 111 Iowa Law Review 1647 (2026) (with Stewart E. Sterk)

"Uncontested Trusts in Court," George Mason Law Review (forthcoming 2026) (with CJ Ryan and David Horton)

"Restricted Charitable Gifts to the Government," 135 Yale Law Journal Forum (July 7, 2025) (with Christiana Markella de Borja)

"Oscar Law," Alabama Law Review (forthcoming 2025) (with Jordan Bondurant)

Rutgers University feature

"A New Framework for Condominium Structural Safety Reforms," U.C. Irvine Law Review (forthcoming 2024) (with Stewart Sterk)

"The New Undue Influence," 2024 Utah Law Review 231 (2024) (with David Horton)

Reviewed by Tom Simmons on JOTWELL

"Heirs Property: An Examination of Probate Costs and the Costs of Postmortem Probate Inaction," 49 ACTEC Law Journal 113 (2023)

"Trust Law's Public Policy Doctrine: Major Policy Fault Lines, Aggressive Home Rule Legislation, and Implications for Conflicts Reform," 97 Tulane Law Review 1147 (2023)

"Trust Alteration and the Dead Hand Paradox," 48 ACTEC Law Journal 147 (2023) (with Jeffrey Pennell)

Reviewed by David Horton on JOTWELL

"The Future of Testamentary Capacity," 79 Washington & Lee Law Review 609 (2022) (with David Horton)

Reviewed by Solangel Maldonado on JOTWELL

"Probate Litigation," 2022 University of Illinois Law Review 1149 (with David Horton)

"The Commodification of Public Land Records," 97 Notre Dame Law Review 507 (2022) (with Stewart Sterk)

"Probate Lending: Data from San Francisco," 169 University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online 293 (2022) (with David Horton)

"Inheritance Crimes," 96 Washington Law Review 561 (2021) (with David Horton)

"Heir Hunting," 169 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 383 (2021) (with David Horton)

Reviewed by Gerry Beyer on JOTWELL

"Are There Really 'Plenty of Shapiros Out There'? A Comment on the Courage of Norma L. Shapiro," University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online (2021)

"COVID-19 and Formal Wills," 73 Stanford Law Review Online 18 (2020) (with David Horton)

"Inheritance Forgery," 69 Duke Law Journal 855 (2020) (with David Horton)

Reviewed by Sarah Waldeck on JOTWELL

"Fiduciary Authority and Liability in Probate Estates: An Empirical Analysis," 53 UC Davis Law Review 2561 (2020)

"Boilerplate No Contest Clauses," 82 Law & Contemporary Problems 69 (2019) (with David Horton)

Reviewed by Mitu Gulati on Credit Slips

"Postmortem Defamation in a Society without Truth for the Living," 71 Rutgers University Law Review 667 (2019)

"Postmortem Austerity and Entitlement Reform," 71 Stanford Law Review Online 132 (2018)

Reviewed by Ariel Jurow Kleiman on TaxProfBlog

"The Governmental Stake in Private Wealth Transfer," 98 Boston University Law Review 1229 (2018)

"Boilerplate and Default Rules in Wills Law: An Empirical Analysis," 103 Iowa Law Review 663 (2018) (with David Horton)

Essay responses by Mark Glover and Danaya C. Wright

"A Catharsis for U.S. Trust Law: American Reflections on the Panama Papers," 116 Columbia Law Review Online 93 (2016)

“Judicial Sentencing Error and the Constitution,” 96 Boston University Law Review 1617 (2016) (with George C. Thomas III)

“A Copyright Right of Publicity,” 84 Fordham Law Review 2803 (2016)

Features exclusive first-person narrative contributed by Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano
Recognized as one of the best law review articles in the area of entertainment, publishing and/or the arts of 2016 and selected by peer review for republication in the Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook by Thomson Reuters (West)

“The Advisory Function of Law,” 90 Tulane Law Review 129 (2015)

"Trust Term Extension," 67 Florida Law Review 73 (2015)

Recognized as one of the top 5 Gift & Estate Tax articles of 2015, see 75 Tax Prac. 274
Reviewed by Sergio Pareja on JOTWELL
Essay responses by Daniel B. Kelly and Alexander A. Boni-Saenz

“Anatomical Intent,” 124 Yale Law Journal Forum 117 (2014)

Reviewed by Gerry Beyer on JOTWELL

“Federalizing Principles of Donative Intent and Unanticipated Circumstances,” 67 Vanderbilt Law Review 1931 (2014)

“Charitable Insolvency and Corporate Governance in Bankruptcy Reorganization,” 10 U.C. Berkeley Business Law Journal 305 (2014)

Cited in the Restatement of the Law of Charitable Nonprofit Organizations

“Social Security Representative Payee Misuse,” 117 Penn State Law Review 1257 (2013)

“Wills for Everyone: Helping Individuals Opt Out of Intestacy,” 53 Boston College Law Review 877 (2012)

Reviewed by Browne Lewis on JOTWELL
Recognized as one the top 10 articles in Trusts & Estates and Gift & Estate Tax for 2012

"The Connection Between Unintentional Intestacy and Urban Poverty,” Rutgers Law Review Commentaries (2012)

“The Effects of Donor Standing on Philanthropy: Insights From the Psychology of Gift-Giving” (with Peter DeScioli, Ph.D.), 45 Gonzaga Law Review 225 (2010)

Cited in the Restatement of the Law of Charitable Nonprofit Organizations

“Reservations About Donor Standing: Should the Law Allow Charitable Donors to Reserve the Right to Enforce A Gift Restriction,” 42 Real Property Probate and Trust Journal 245 (2007)

Cited in Restatement (Third) of Trusts

Book Chapters, Shorter Works, and Other Publications:

"Empirical Insights into the Rural Estate Planning Crisis," JOTWELL (July 9, 2026) (reviewing Sergio Pareja & Sophie Rane, Uneven Ground: New Mexico as a Case Study of a Growing Rural Estate Planning Crisis, 51 ACTEC L. J. __ (forthcoming, 2026))

"Why Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris, won’t stop ‘til she gets enough from his estate," THE CONVERSATION (Apr. 1, 2026) (with Naomi Cahn)

"How the Seattle Seahawks’ sale will score a touchdown for charity 8 years after Paul Allen’s death," THE CONVERSATION (Feb. 27, 2026) (with Naomi Cahn)

"Hulk Hogan's daughter can't write herself out of the wrestler's will -- but she can refuse to take his money," THE CONVERSATION (Aug. 21, 2025) (with Naomi Cahn)

"Gene Hackman had a will, but the public may never find out who inherits his $80M fortune," THE CONVERSATION (Jul. 30, 2025) (with Naomi Cahn)

"Legal wrangling over estate of Jimmy Buffett turns his widow's huge inheritance into a cautionary tale," THE CONVERSATION (Jul. 2, 2025) (with Naomi Cahn)

"A Minimalist Theory of Trust Law Codification," JOTWELL (June 24, 2025) (reviewing Thomas P. Gallanis, The Dark Side of Codifying U.S. Trust Law, 49 ACTEC L. J. 238 (2024))

"Repealing the estate tax could create headaches for the rich -- as well as worsen inequality," THE CONVERSATION (May 7, 2025) (with Naomi Cahn)

"Creative life after death – or yes, you can control spinoffs from beyond the grave," THE CONVERSATION (Sept. 13, 2024) (with Naomi Cahn)

"Estate planning lessons from the $600M fight over Michael Jackson’s music catalog," THE CONVERSATION (Aug. 28, 2024) (with Naomi Cahn) (republished in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER print edition)

"Rupert Murdoch’s real succession drama − why the future of his media empire could hinge on a legal effort in Nevada," THE CONVERSATION (July 30, 2024) (with Naomi Cahn)

"Oscar Law: Governance and Other Legal Issues Involving the Industry of Elite Entertainment Awards," COLUMBIA BLUE SKY BLOG (June 4, 2024) (with Jordan Bondurant)

"Oscar Law: A Cross-Cutting Survey of Law Governing the Cottage Industry of Elite Entertainment Awards," OXFORD BUSINESS LAW BLOG (May 1, 2024) (with Jordan Bondurant)

"Clarifying the Doctrine of Probate Standing," JOTWELL (March 25, 2024) (reviewing David Horton, Probate Standing, 122 Mich. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2024))

"Inheritance Law for Centenarians," JOTWELL (July 20, 2023) (reviewing Naomi Cahn, Clare Huntington, & Elizabeth Scott, Family Law for the One-Hundred-Year Life, 132 Yale L.J. 1691 (2023))

"New Developments in Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Trust Law and the Fate of the Hagia Sophia," JOTWELL (May 16, 2022) (reviewing The Hagia Sophia Case, Recent Case: DaniÈtay, Onuncu Daire [Council of State, Tenth Chamber] Matter No. 2016/16015, Decision No. 2020/2595, July 2, 2020, 134 Harv. L. Rev. 1278 (2021))

"Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Mandates and the Legitimate Privacy Interest in Anonymously-Owned Real Estate," The Global Anticorruption Blog (Oct. 13, 2021)

Essay Response to “Asymmetries in the Generation and Transmission of Wealth” by Felix Chang, 78 Ohio State Law Journal Furthermore (2019) (invited reply)

"Sham and Remedial Doctrines," 22 Trusts & Trustees 850 (Oxford University Press) (with Alexander A. Boni-Saenz) (July 2016)

“Facilitating Homemade Wills” in Beyond Elite Law: Access to Civil Justice in America (Cambridge University Press, 2016)

Congressional Statement to United States House Ways and Means Committee regarding Social Security Representative Payee Misuse (June 5, 2013)

Book Review: “Immortality and the Law,” 34 Journal of the American Taxation Association 176 (2012)

Contributing Author, Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog

Contributing Author, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Pharmaceutical Industry Antitrust Handbook (2009)