This book provides an outline and analysis of Wills, Trusts, and Estates, in a convenient format both for class preparation and studying for exams. It is a clear and concise explanation of legal concepts and terms, the rationale and inter-relation of various principles, and provides hints for analysis, strategies for evaluation, and study tips. Topics covered include intestacy, will execution formalities and contest, revocation, will contracts, will substitutes, construction and interpretation, restrictions on disinheritance, trust creation and operation, fiduciary administration, powers of appointment, future interests, the Rule Against Perpetuities, and planning for incapacity. It is particularly useful in cutting through the fog of future interests, and making sense of the many ancient doctrines that befuddle students and inform modern practice. This title also includes self-testing, review questions, and detailed explanations.

Updated through October 1, 2014, Pennell's revised estate planning book focuses on everyday planning for "middle-rich" clients, such as: traditional planning for couples, family trust planning, portability, life insurance, retirement benefits, charitable giving, and some information on postmortem planning. It explains essential tax fundamentals that inform traditional techniques, without overemphasis on a tax oriented practice. The text contains over 100 pages of annotated forms illustrating basic planning documents, including a pour over will, self-trusteed declaration of trust, and a third party special needs trust.

Updated through August 1, 2020, the third edition of Pennell's Estate Planning and Drafting focuses on every-day planning for "middle-rich" clients. For example: Traditional planning for couples who may not have as much wealth as double the basic exclusion amount but who anticipate that the exclusion amount may decline in the future. They must consider whether to qualify 100% of the estate of the first to die for the marital deduction (and defer all taxes), or instead to shelter the unified credit of the first to die in a nonmarital trust. In either case they also need to decide whether to elect portability for any unused exclusion amount. A sharper focus on family trust planning for clients with enough wealth to worry about protecting their beneficiaries (and wealth) but for whom sophisticated tax-minimization techniques are not needed. A new brief explanation of Code Chapter 14 illustrates its application but notes that most middle-rich clients will not stumble into estate freezing techniques. The coverage of retirement benefits is updated to reflect the SECURE Act changes to the required-minimum-distribution rules, and elimination of most stretch-payout planning. The chapter on charitable giving is streamlined and simplified in recognition that most middle-rich clients do not make extensive use of private foundations or split-interest trusts. Information about postmortem planning and fiduciary administration stresses state and federal income taxation and state death taxation in situations that do not trigger federal wealth transfer taxation. The text explains essential tax fundamentals that inform traditional techniques (e.g. Crummey powers), without overemphasis on the tax-oriented practices that led to their original adoption. There are over 100 pages of annotated forms illustrating basic planning documents, including a pour over will, self-trusteed declaration of trust, irrevocable life insurance trust, family and marital deduction trusts, and a third-party special needs trust.