Wills, Trusts, and Probate Law for Paralegals

With a focus on practice and portfolio development, this book provides a detailed approach to the substantive law of estate planning and administration.  It includes examples of a variety of documents and step-by-step instruction on their preparation. Each chapter includes practitioner-oriented assignments (role-playing activities, research assignments, portfolio assignments etc.) and coverage of estate planning and estate administration is balanced throughout. A separate chapter is devoted to tax law and offers a closer look at this more complicated area of the law.

1.      Wealth, Property, and Estates

2.      Intestate Succession

3.      Basic Estate Planning

4.      Drafting a Basic Will

5.      Trusts

6.      Overview of Estate Administration and the Personal Representative

7.      Step One–Issuance of the Letters of Appointment

8.      Step Two–Inventory and Appraisal; Step Three–Creditors’ Claims

9.      Step Four–Tax Documents

10.  Step Five–Final Account; Step Six–Closing the Estate; Additional Estate Administration Procedures