Reid Kress Weisbord is a Distinguished Professor of Law and the Judge Norma L. Shapiro Scholar at Rutgers Law School. Professor Weisbord’s teaching and scholarship focus on the law of wealth transfer, though his research explores a broad range of legal fields including property, nonprofit organizations, entertainment, and criminal procedure. He has published more than 50 scholarly articles, essays, and books, which have been cited by state supreme courts, American Law Institute Restatements, and other leading authorities.
Weisbord is a co-author of a leading textbook, WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES: THE ESSENTIALS (Aspen) (with David Horton and Stephen Urice), now in its third edition, and ESTATE PLANNING BY CASNER, PENNELL, AND WEISBORD (CCH Wolters Kluwer), the encyclopedic treatise first published in 1953 by the late James Casner, now co-authored with Jeffrey Pennell.
Professor Weisbord joined the Rutgers faculty in 2010 and served as Vice Dean from 2013 to 2019. His impact on the legal academy has been recognized by awards including 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. Weisbord is an elected Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He serves as Associate Editor of the ACTEC Law Journal, co-editor of the Trusts & Estates section of JOTWELL, and chair-elect of the Trusts & Estates Section of the American Association of Law Schools.
Professor Weisbord received a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He clerked for Judge Jane R. Roth on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the late Judge Norma L. Shapiro on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the legal academy, Weisbord practiced in the litigation department of an international law firm.
Selected Publications:
“Oscar Law,” Alabama Law Review (forthcoming 2025) (with Jordan Bondurant)
“A New Framework for Condominium Structural Safety Reforms,” 14 UC Irvine Law Review 521 (2024) (with Stewart Sterk)
“The New Undue Influence,” 2024 Utah Law Review 231 (with David Horton)
"The Commodification of Public Land Records," 97 Notre Dame Law Review 507 (2022) (with Stewart Sterk)
"Heir Hunting," 169 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 383 (2021) (with David Horton)
"Inheritance Forgery," 69 Duke Law Journal 855 (2020) (with David Horton)
"Fiduciary Authority and Liability in Probate Estates: An Empirical Analysis," 53 UC Davis Law Review 2561 (2020)
"Boilerplate and Default Rules in Wills Law: An Empirical Analysis," 103 Iowa Law Review 663 (2018) (with David Horton)
"The Governmental Stake in Private Wealth Transfer," 98 Boston University Law Review 1229 (2018)
"A Catharsis for U.S. Trust Law: American Reflections on the Panama Papers," 116 Columbia Law Review Online 93 (2016)
“Anatomical Intent,” 124 Yale Law Journal Forum 117 (2014)
Selected Media:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-15/who-will-
win-the-succession-battle-for-rupert-murdoch-empire/104353486
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/aretha-franklins-sons-battling-over-wills-found-
in-sofa-cusions/
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/29/business/friends-wills-inheritance-
beneficiary.html
Bloomberg Law: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/billion-dollar-estate-
suits-show-hazards-of-funding-family-feuds
Philadelphia Inquirer: https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/housing/philadelphia-real-
estate-flippers-gentrification-heirs-inheritance-20190927.html
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/05/last-will-testament-
inheritance-laws-nontraditional-families/629882/
Star Ledger: https://www.nj.com/news/2022/08/she-says-she-spent-months-in-a-fog-in-a-
nursing-home-when-she-left-everything-she-owned-was-gone.html
SSRN Author Page: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=656654