Topics include: federal estate and gift taxation; various estate planning techniques; proper use of trusts; life insurance as an estate planning tool; gifts; charitable transfers; intra family business and property transfers; and planning for incapacity.

Students will learn the appropriate procedures relevant to drafting and interpreting will and trust documents, and will become familiar with the initial planning and preparation necessary for a comprehensive estate plan. Also discussed are techniques for drafting estate planning documents, estate administration, probate practice, the closing of an estate, relevant gift tax laws, and the role of the probate courts in estate planning. Additionally, basic inheritance issues are explored.

Legal Skills Acquired :

At the completion of this course, the student will understand:

• the rules of intestacy
• the basic structure of the federal and state gift and estate tax systems.
• the drafting of a will.
• the nature, and purpose of the various provisions in wills.
• testamentary trusts and other, similar will provisions.
• the purposes credit shelter trusts, qualified terminable interests in property, qualified domestic trusts, individual single beneficiary trusts, etc.
• the rules for competency to make a will.
• the rules of ademption and abatement.
• the methods by which a will can be revoked, in whole or in part.
• the preparation and filing of a probate proceeding.
• how to complete a typical probate form.
• how to fill out a probate petition in any jurisdiction.
• and assist in the drafting of a variety of trusts.
• the revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts and irrevocable life insurance trusts.
• the benefits of charitable trusts.
• various types of charitable trusts, and when their usage is appropriate.
• the basics of trust administration.