The Legacy of Earl Long

1. What is fair might not be equal, but may it may be appropriate.

2. When you know what you have and who are the natural objects of your bounty you can give what you want to whom you want, when you want and the way you want.

3. Whatever you say in your estate planning documents needs to be written clearly and precisely.

Earl Long’s legacy will continue for more years than he probably would have cared to know. I did not know Mr. Long but I was able to read a lot about him in a recent South Dakota Supreme Court opinion. Anyone can read the opinion on the South Dakota Supreme Court’s website, here is the link: http://ujs.sd.gov/uploads/sc/opinions/26748.pdf

Earl was 79 when he died in 2010. The South Dakota Supreme Court just recently upheld his estate plan as written. The opinion was handed down on April 30, 2014.