Readers say it best: "Very informative." "Saved me a lot of money and headaches!" "Recommend it for everyone who has to plan estates for their elderly parents" Living Trusts for Everyone is the best resource for setting up a living trust. Explaining in specific terms what benefits a trust will have, Ronald Farrington Sharp gives the tools necessary to set up a loved one's trust with no lawyers and no expense. Wills benefit lawyers. Trusts benefit the clients. Too often lawyers sell wills to clients only to sit back and wait to sell their probate services to their clients' heirs. Ronald Farrington Sharp describes the best way to handle modern estate planning and details the many advantages trusts have over wills in not only eliminating probate but in also protecting your assets for your heirs. Sharp explains why legal services are not needed to do the clerical work in settling a trust after death. This updated edition includes new information on an array of subjects, including: Elimination of the federal estate tax for most estates due to increased exemption amounts Online assets The use of passwords, usernames, and websites Keeping trustees honest and the process of removing trustees for malfeasance Forms for simplifying the planning process Strategies to lower attorneys' fees With no legal jargon, just step-by-step instructions and sample form letters, Living Trusts for Everyone takes the mystery out of the process of setting up a trust.

Plan ahead: estate planning to secure your wishes Estate Planning is your overview of the estate planning concepts that are necessary to consider when advising your clients about the different facets of wealth transfer planning. This fundamental reference presents the basic estate, gift, and trust planning ideas in a descriptive and accessible manner allowing you to easily and conveniently access the information you need when you need it. This essential text covers the development of estate planning strategies for your clients, the fundamentals of the federal transfer tax system, relevant federal income tax rules, lifetime donative asset transfers, gratuitous property transfers at death, generation-skipping transfers, special property transfer planning considerations, and post-mortem planning. When done effectively, estate planning enables your clients to make both lifetime and testamentary transfers of assets to beneficiaries of their choice. In the process, strategic, successful estate planning strategies conserve wealth for these beneficiaries, who are often family members of the client. Leveraging the right methods of estate planning can ensure that you achieve your client's objectives. * Explore the fundamentals of estate planning as they relate to wealth transfer planning * Dive into special property transfer planning considerations, including community property, life insurance, charitable transfers, closely held corporations, etc. * Better serve your clients by having access to relevant, easy to navigate information on estate planning best practices * Reinforce these new ideas with a comprehensive test bank Estate Planning is your guide to estate planning concepts that help you protect your assets during wealth transfer and prepare for your assets to change hands as smoothly as possible.

Succession, Wills and Probate is an ideal textbook for those taking an undergraduate course in this surprisingly vibrant subject, and also provides a clear and comprehensive introduction for professionals. Against an account of the main social and political themes of succession law, the book gives detailed explanations of core topics such as alternatives to wills and the making, altering and revocation of wills. It also explains personal representatives and how they should deal with a deceased person's estate and interpret and implement the will. Gifts may fail, estates may be insolvent or a person may die intestate, without a will at all. Increasingly relatives and others seek to challenge the will, for example on the grounds of the testator's capacity or under the law of family provision. This third edition is edited, updated and revised to take account of new legislation and case law across all the relevant issues, including a new final chapter dealing with the potentially contentious issues that are becoming more central to professional work in the field of succession.

Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration for Paralegals provides a comprehensive overview of estate planning and probate in a manner that is straightforward and easy to read and understand. Instructor resources include an Instructor's Manual, PowerPoint lecture slides, and Test Bank, while a book companion site offers study resources for students. Teaching and Learning Experience: Includes frequent hypotheticals to illustrate key concepts and features. "The Hypothetical Family" is a running example introduced in Chapter 1 and continued throughout each chapter to exemplify a fictional, but life-like, estate planning and probate scenario. Drafting assignments are provided in each chapter, as well as the forms for every assignment. Covers all of the major topics, including ethical considerations, and offers solid review and application of concepts

Adoption of core practice management standards, based on Lexcel v.5, is a mandatory requirement for legal practices seeking accreditation under the new Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme*. To help applicants to understand and comply with these standards, this practical toolkit: describes the requirements of each standard gives advice on implementation sets out example policies, plans and procedures refers to overlapping obligations under the SRA Handbook compares the related obligations of the Wills and Inheritance Protocol (see below). Over 30 example documents are provided in this toolkit, both within the book and on its accompanying CD-ROM. This means you can customise the documents to suit your firm's particular needs. *Practices accredited under Lexcel v.5 already meet the core practice management standards of the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme. Members of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme must demonstrate that core practice management standards have been applied across the relevant departments.

An authoritative, accessible guide to administering an estate The majority of applications for probate that follow someone's death can be dealt with inexpensively by any reasonably intelligent person with time available and a little guidance. This easy-to-follow book clearly explains all the information you need to administer the deceased's estate, from dealing with the urgent practical matters to preparing and submitting the relevant forms, paying inheritance tax, and distributing the estate. You'll find specimen forms and letters and a list of useful addresses that will enable you to deal with it all yourself. Contents: Preface; 1. What is probate, when is it necessary and what is involved? 2. Who can and should wind up the estate; 3. Getting started; 4. Next steps; 5. From preparing and submitting the forms to distributing the estate; 6. Distributing the estate; Appendices: 1. Specimen forms and letters; 2. Useful addresses; 3. Glossary; Index.

A study of the implications and practices of wills and will-making in Anglo-Saxon society, and of the varieties of inheritance strategies and commemorative arrangements adopted. A remarkable series of Anglo-Saxon wills have survived, spanning the period from the beginning of the ninth century to the years immediately following the Norman Conquest. Written in Old English, they reflect the significance of the vernacular, not only in royal administration during this period, but in the recording of a range of individual transactions. They show wealthy laymen and women, and clerics, from kings and bishops to those of thegnly status, disposing of land and chattels, and recognising ties of kinship, friendship, lordship and service through their bequests; and whilst land is of prime importance, the mention in some wills of such valuable items as tableware, furnishings, clothing, jewellery and weapons provides an insight into lifestyle at the time. Despite their importance, no study has hitherto been specifically devoted to Anglo-Saxon wills in their social and historical context, a gap which this book aims to fill. While the wills themselves can be vague and allusive, by establishing patterns of bequeathing, and by drawing on other resources, the author sheds light on the factors which influenced men and womenin making appropriate provision for their property. Linda Tollerton gained her PhD from the University of York.

The fourth edition of this book follows the format of the previous editions, but has been comprehensively updated to take into account the most significant new cases and legislation, including the Trusts of Land and the Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 and the Trustee Delegation Act 1999. It also deals in depth with the Trustee Act 2000.

Avizandum Statutes are designed specifically to provide undergraduates at Scottish universities with legislation and, where appropriate, other core materials in a readily accessible format. All materials have been selected on the basis of their relevance to university courses and appear in updated form. The lack of annotation and commentary means that the volumes are ideal for use in examinations.Avizandum Statutes on Scots Property, Trusts and Succession Law contain the main statutory provisions relating to both heritable and moveable property, as well as to trusts and succession law, in Scotland. All important provisions regulating post-feudal land law in Scotland are present.

Few families are able to pass along their wealth successfully to the next generation. The barriers to keeping money in the family are much more formidable than the barriers to making money in the first place. Why should this be? What pitfalls are most common? How can families and their advisers increase the odds of a successful intergenerational transfer of wealth? How can they preserve the family's human and intellectual capital?
Judy Martel, CFP(R), provides insightful answers to these questions and dozens more in this richly detailed book. "The Dilemmas of Family Wealth" takes a fresh look at the communications barriers, misunderstandings, and generational conflicts that can pull families apart and scatter their wealth in far less time than it took to build it. Martel identifies the dilemmas that families are likely to face and offers wise counsel for overcoming the challenges they pose. Her book includes advice and perspectives from top experts in the field and frank first-person experiences related by family members with whom they have worked.

Hierdie is die vyfde uitgawe van die boek wat vir die eerste keer in 1992 as 'n relatief bondige teks, spesifiek gemik op studente in die erfreg, verskyn het. Die boek het egter deur sy opeenvolgende uitgawes tot 'n meer algemene bron vir die Suid-Afrikaanse erfreg ontwikkel. Tog is dit deur sy aanslag, aanbiedingswyse en sistematiek steeds ideaal om ook as handboek in erfregkursusse gebruik te word. Die huidige weergawe poog weereens om aan die leser 'n omvattende oorsig oor die verskillende fasette van die erfreg te gee, met inagneming van die jongste ontwikkelings wat hierdie regsgebied beinvloed het.

The European Succession Regulation is a landmark in the field of EU private international law. It unifies the conflicts of laws, jurisdiction and recognition of foreign judgments and some other legal instruments in the field of succession and wills. This volume provides an article-by-article commentary on the individual provisions of the Regulation, introduced by an overview of its general framework and underlying principles. As a reference tool for the Regulation, this book is intended to promote a high standard of interpretation and application. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, it uses a comparative approach in its analysis to enrich the academic debate and highlight the problems likely to arise in the practical application of the Regulation.

This important collection of essays by a distinguished group of trust lawyers demonstrates that trusts law continues to be an area of great vitality and practical significance. Trusts is a subject that excites interest with its mixture of sophisticated thinking and practical commercial application. The papers in this volume not only have international appeal but also cover areas which are currently important to the legal profession. The essays range widely over subjects as varied as non-charitable purpose trusts (important for their use in tax havens in commercial and estate planning roles), the protector (a figure increasingly introduced to discretionary trusts in tax havens), pension trusts (important in the light of recent pension fraud), the duty of care owed by company directors to the company, liability and remedies for breach of trust, equities reaction to modern domestic relationships and taxation of the constructive trustee.

The fate of the dead is a compelling and emotive subject, which also raises increasingly complex legal questions. This book focuses on the substantive laws around disposal of the recently deceased and associated issues around their post-mortem fate. It looks primarily at the laws in England and Wales but also offers a comparative approach, drawing heavily on material from other common law jurisdictions including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The book provides an in-depth, contextual and comparative analysis of the substantive laws and policy issues around corpse disposal, exhumation and the posthumous treatment of the dead, including commemoration. Topics covered include: the legal frameworks around burial, cremation and other disposal methods; the hierarchy of persons who have a legal duty to dispose of the dead and who are entitled to possession of the deceased's remains; offences against the dead; family burial disputes, and the legal status of burial instructions; the posthumous use of donated bodily material; and the rules around disinterment, and creating an appropriate memorial. A key theme of the book will be to look at the manner in which conflicts involving the dead are becoming increasingly common in secular, multi-cultural societies where the traditional nuclear family model is no longer the norm, and how such legal contests are resolved by courts. As the first comprehensive survey of the laws in this area for decades, this book will be of use to academics, lawyers and judges adjudicating on issues around the fate of the dead, as well as the death industry and funeral service providers.

Intestate Succession is the second volume in the Comparative Succession Law series which examines the principles of succession law from a comparative and historical perspective. This volume discusses the rules which apply where a person dies either without leaving a valid will, or leaving a will which fails to dispose of all of the person's assets. Among the questions considered are the following: What is the nature of the rules for the disposal of the deceased's assets? Are they mechanical or is there an element of discretion? Are particular types of property dealt with in particular ways? Is there entitlement to individual assets (as opposed to money)? Do the rules operate in a parentelic system or a system of some other kind? Are spouses treated more favourably than children? What provision is made for extra-marital children, for adopted children, for step-children? Does cohabitation give rise to entitlement? How are same-sex couples treated? Broader questions also arise of a historical and comparative nature. Where, for example, do the rules in intestate succession come from in particular legal systems? Have they been influenced by the rules in other countries? How are the rules explained and how are they justified? To what extent have they changed over time? What are the long-term trends? And finally, are the rules satisfactory, and is there pressure for their reform? As in the first volume, this book will focus on Europe and on countries which have been influenced by the European experience such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States of America, Quebec, and the countries of Latin America. Further chapters are devoted to Islamic Law and Nordic law. Opening with a discussion on Roman law and concluding with an assessment of the overall development of the law in the countries surveyed, this book will provide a wider reflection on the nature and purpose of the law of intestate succession.

Erfreg in Suid-Afrika bied n ryke bron van, asook n lewendige en toeganklike inleiding tot, die beginsels van die erfreg. Deur die gemeenregtelike, statutere, grondwetlike en verbandhoudende gewoonteregtelike komponente van die erfreg saam te snoer, verskaf hierdie werk alle noodsaaklike gegewens binne die bestek van een omvattende bron. Dit is op die leergang van die voorgraadse LLB-kursus toegespits, om as n deeglike en leersame oorsig van al die belangrike onderwerpe van hierdie dissipline te dien. Dit dek die nuutste regspraak en ontwikkelinge, soos: die Civil Union Act 17 van 2006, die Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act 11 van 2009, die uitspraak van die Konstitusionele Hof in Hassam v Jacobs waarin daar erkenning verleen is aan weduwees uit poligiene Moslemhuwelike se reg om intestaat te erf. Erfreg in Suid-Afrika het verskeie eienskappe wat dit nie alleen vir studiedoeleindes waardevol maak nie, maar ook d aarop toegespits is om n onafhanklike, kritiese en denkende omgang met die vakgebied te bevorder. Die boek is ook n nuttige bron vir regspraktisyns wat opheldering verlang oor nuwe ontwikkelinge binne, of wesenlike beginsels van, die erfreg.

Testamentary capacity is an increasingly difficult and important area in will preparation. The rise in capacity issues, associated with the increasing aging population and longer life expectancy, has become a fruitful area for dispute and litigation. This book equips practitioners with the knowledge and practical guidance needed in this complex but commonplace problem area. Featuring an explanation of the law relating to testamentary capacity, the book also includes a practical section on the role of the will draftsman. Covering all associated areas such as interviews, questioning, recording of relevant information, and risk management policies, these issues are put into context by a guide to mental health issues that can affect capacity. This books also features a section on litigating in this area including pre-litigation considerations, a guide to ADR and settlement, and procedural issues. Written by experienced wills practitioners and an expert in old age psychiatry, this book is the first to link relevant medical issues directly to law and practice, presenting all the information a draftsman or litigator needs on the subject. This is an invaluable resource for all concerned with issues of testamentary capacity.

A trust and estate lawyer to the stars offers an engaging look at how to avoid numerous estate planning mistakes

In The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes, author Herbert Nass, an estate planner for some of today's most famous celebrities, offers an entertaining look at what not to do when setting up an estate plan, or administering an estate. By examining the mistakes made by some of the most well-known celebrities-from Bob Marley to John F. Kennedy, Sr. and Jr.-this book will guide readers toward making a successful estate plan and help them avoid many common pitfalls. Chapters cover such topics as: mistakes involving tangible personal property, real estate, executors and trustees, minors, or persons with disabilities; as well as disgruntled family and friends left behind.Puts estate planning in perspective through entertaining examples of mistakes celebrities have made in developing their own plansTaps into the voyeuristic interest we have in the lives of the rich and famousOffers an insider's look at many fascinating wills of the rich and famous

Given the emotional, financial, and legal issues that arise from the death of a loved one-and the substantial assets that are transferred from one generation to the next at this time-understanding estate planning is essential. This book will put you in a better position to make more informed estate planning decisions.

This is the first book to provide a detailed and thorough conceptual analysis of the unit trust. Such analysis is not just of academic interest: it is of much practical relevance too. The author examines such topics as the nature of the unit trust, the interaction of unit holders, the manager's legal position, and the trustee and manager relationship. The book will be invaluable to all those requiring a better understanding of the unit trust.

The Wills and Inheritance Protocol sets out the Law Society's preferred practice in will drafting, probate and estate administration and supports the provision of consistent and high quality services by legal practices. The Protocol aims to raise standards of client care and service by: improving communication between practices, clients and beneficiaries increasing transparency and therefore understanding of the necessary processes encouraging practices to agree timescales and service levels with clients. Meeting the obligations of the Protocol is the cornerstone of the new Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme and will also help all legal practices to: demonstrate high standards of practice to clients and others meet legal requirements achieve compliance with outcomes-focused regulation provide a consistent level of service. This book contains the full text of the Protocol version 1.0 and an appendix with relevant statutory extracts and guidance on good practice.

To facilitate effective trust management, the Trust Practitioner's Toolkit contains useful checklists, records and forms and is designed as a companion to the popular Trust Practitioner's Handbook. This is an essential support tool and includes over 20 forms and checklists, including ones relating to: - risk management - tax on trust creation - instructions for trust drafting - trust information - trust review. The book is designed to act as an aide memoire for trust practitioners by outlining the procedural tasks which need to be completed at the various stages of work, including creating a trust or file review. It will also help to avoid pitfalls such as missing time limits, filing deadlines, compliance tasks and recording. The features and guidance will also be of benefit to more junior members of staff.

This third volume in a series on Comparative Succession Law concerns the entitlement of family members to override the provisions of a deceased person's will to obtain money or assets (or more money or assets) from the person's estate. Some countries, notably those in the civil law tradition (such as France or Germany), confer a pre-ordained share of the deceased's estate or of its value on certain members of the deceased's family, and especially on the deceased's children and spouse. Other countries, notably those in the common law tradition (such as England, Canada, or Australia), leave the matter to the discretion of the court, the amount awarded depending primarily on financial need. Whichever form it takes, mandatory family provision is both a protection against disinheritance and also, therefore, a restriction on testamentary freedom. The volume focuses on Europe and on countries influenced by the European experience. In addition to detailed treatment of the law in Austria, England and Wales, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, and Spain, the book also has chapters on Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Canada, the countries of Latin America, and the People's Republic of China. Some other countries are covered more briefly, and there is a separate chapter on Islamic law. The book opens with accounts of Roman law and of the law in medieval and early-modern Europe, and it concludes with a comparative assessment of the law as it is today in the countries and legal traditions surveyed in this volume.

The revision of the introduction to inheritance law offers among other things up-to-date information on the forthcoming legislative reform of the inheritance law, the law of limitation of claims, decisions from the constitutional court on testamentary freedom ("Hohenzollern") and on the right to a compulsory portion and provides information on inheritance law developments in European law. The commentary on A1922 focuses on the interfaces between inheritance law and company law and legal succession in public law positions. Succession in accordance with the law of life partnerships is also shown under statutory succession. The latest case law on transitional social security regulations is also taken into account in the context of rights to disclaim an estate. The new fees law for the curators of estates is also explained.