Estate Planning

This course will explore the various estate planning tools and options available to individuals. The goal of the course is to provide knowledge and practical tools to enable clients to achieve their objectives with respect to the transition of wealth, including the transition of interests in closely-held business, as well as charitable giving. The planning discussed will range from the basic planning needed by most individuals and then expand into the advance planning techniques used by families of considerable wealth. The course will include an introduction into the Federal Gift, Estate and Generation Skipping Transfer Taxes as a necessary prelude into and driver of the advanced planning techniques. The course will also delve into estate and trust litigation, as well as a limited introduction to the field of Elder Law.

The emphasis of the course will be on practical, real-life situations and positive steps available to the lawyer to deal with various situations involving estate planning and business succession planning. One outcome of the course is the practical opportunity for students to utilize a standard set of documents for client intake and drafting of a full complement of estate planning documents for an individual.

Suggested prerequisites or co-requisites for the course include Income Tax and Wills and Trusts. Each student will be expected to have a working knowledge of Wills and Trusts prior to taking the course but by no means any expertise.

Grades in the course will be determined, in a large part, by a final exam at the end of the course.