Imagine the patriarch of the family is in his second marriage. He is retired from a business he currently owns and has several children. Imagine two of his children are grown, married, and from his first marriage. One of his children is a toddler and is from his second marriage. Also, imagine he is the stepfather to a child born to his second wife. Now, imagine his daughter runs the business he created and owns. She is married to a man who is a real estate agent and they have three children together. His son is in a same-sex marriage and he and his partner have adopted a daughter. Imagine from one man you have a second marriage, retiree, raising a toddler, stepson, married daughter, same-sex marriage, adoption, and grandchildren. Sounds like the makings of a good sitcom, doesn
Provides an overview of federal gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax laws for the law student or practitioner. Grantor trust rules affecting the wealth disposition process is also addressed. Other subjects include intestacy, succession, power of disposition limits, transfer requirements, revocation, extrinsic evidence, incapacity, and undue influence. Examines trusts and their alternatives, changes in will execution, and problems of construction in future interests. Overviews the Federal Transfer Tax laws relating to estates and trusts, deductions in computing taxable estates, asset valuation, and credits. Generally, emphasis is placed on the Uniform Probate Code throughout the text.
Written in clear, conversational English, this book can help anyone understand how a living trust avoids the complications, expenses, and delays of probate at times of incapacity and death.
Suze Orman's Financial Package is a systematic approach for organising your essential documents. The Financial Package is very different from any other product of this type, because Suze has included three CDs that actually include the forms and instructions to create your own advanced directive with durable power of attorney for health care, financial power of attorney, will, and a trust.
In a typical Wills, Trusts, and Estates (WTE) class there are both students who want to practice in WTE (either exclusively, or as part of a general practice), and those who need only to master the general concepts in order to pass the bar exam. Wills, Trusts, and Estates in Focus by Naomi R. Cahn, Alyssa DiRusso, and Susan Gary attends to the needs of both sets of students. For those who will practice in WTE, the concepts are presented in an engaging way and exemplified by realistic hypothetical scenarios that mirror practice and support the development of lawyering skills. For those who need only to pass the bar, the organization of the text is keyed to multi-state essay examination topics as presented on the multi-state bar exam. The well-crafted pedagogy of the Focus Series makes WTE concepts and procedure clear and accessible for all students. Case Previews shed light on each succinctly-edited case, provide legal context, and direct students to the issue at hand. Post-Case Follow-Ups review the decision and prepare students to apply the relevant legal principles to the set of exercises that follow, called Real Life Applications. Professors will appreciate the accessible approach of Wills, Trusts, and Estates in Focus, which combines straightforward narrative explanations with real-world examples, and problems designed to engage students in active learning. Features of Wills, Trusts, and Estates in Focus: Insightful authorship: The author team consists of three well-known academics with expertise in WTE and complementary areas such as family law, charities, elder law, and tax. All are elected Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), the leading professional organization of trust and estates attorneys. Conscious modernization of the WTE casebook that balances major landmark cases and 21st century authorities, including recent case decisions and developments in the law (such as the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) Thorough coverage of core topics, combined with the Focus Series pedagogy Manageable problem sets that allow students to apply doctrine to realistic fact scenarios Research and drafting exercises that support the development of practice-based skills Professors and students will benefit from: Clear writing that promotes the learning outcomes of student competencies in knowledge and understanding of both the substantive and procedural law of WTE legal analysis and reasoning problem-solving how to exercise proper professional and ethical responsibilities with regard to clients and the legal system A balanced emphasis on practice readiness and bar-exam readiness An author team with experience writing for students, practitioners, and lay people A clear and logical book structure and chapter organization, with cross-references to related coverage in other chapters Appendices that provide examples of how doctrine maps on to practice, as in will contest pleadings and probate filings Teaching materials include: Teacher’s Manual with straightforward case summaries and answers to all problems Sample 3-credit syllabus
"Elder Law Estate Planning" is a niche area of law which combines the features of elder law and estate planning that pertain most to the needs of the middle class. In 1991, AARP published a "Consumer Report on Probate" concluding that probate was a process to be avoided. That marked the end of traditional will planning and started the "living trust revolution." Since then, millions of people have set up trusts to: * Save time and money in settling the estate * Avoid legal guardianship if they become disabled * Avoid having their personal and financial matters made public * Reduce the chance of a "will contest" * Keep control in the family and out of the court system By 1990, the field of elder law also emerged to help people navigate the increased complexity of state Medicaid rules and regulations, the soaring costs of nursing home stays, and the fact that people were living considerably longer. Elder law and estate planning continue to grow independently of each other, sometimes to the detriment of clients. Estate planning lawyers are of little value when the estate plan to avoid probate fails to prevent a nursing home stay consuming all of the assets, because the lawyer is unfamiliar with elder law. On the other hand, elder law attorneys often protect assets but overlook basic estate planning issues such as saving taxes and keeping assets in the blood. The practice of Elder Law Estate Planning means: * Getting your assets to your heirs, in the best possible way, with least amount of taxes and legal fees * Keeping those assets in the blood for your grandchildren, and * Protecting your assets from the costs of long-term care and qualifying for government benefits available to pay for care. Middle class clients today need an "elder law estate planning attorney" to address their estate planning needs as well as to help with long-term care, disability and Medicaid issues as they arise.
The Second Edition of Concepts and Insights on Trusts and Estates makes complex doctrinal rules easier to understand by exploring the history and rationale behind those rules. The analysis is thorough, and focuses both on common law doctrines and statutory reforms with an emphasis on the Uniform Probate Code (including the 2008 amendments). Each substantive chapter closes with a set of exam-like problems designed to test understanding of the material included in the chapter. The authors also include thorough solutions to each of these problems. This is the only book in the field that combines thorough doctrinal analysis with more than 60 review problems, each with complete solutions.
