"This book is an abridged and slightly revised version of McGovern & Kurtz, Wills, trusts and estates including taxation and future interests (3d edition 2004)."--Page iii.

Widely hailed as one of the best casebooks in legal education, this comprehensive text combines interesting cases, thoughtful analysis, notes, images, and a clear organization for an excellent teaching tool. Cartoons, illustrations, case documents, and photographs provide engaging visual commentary. Sidebars on relevant persons, places, and things provide interesting and sometimes humorous context. New to the Eleventh Edition: New section on will execution during the COVID-19 pandemic, with attention to reconciling “presence” with social distancing Updated and completely revised section on electronic or digital wills, with attention to the latest cases and statutes Updated to account for the 2021 and 2019 revisions to the Uniform Probate Code that, among other things, eliminated gender-based distinctions and expanded recognition of non-biological parent-child relationships Updated coverage of wealth and income inequality and new material on recent proposals for a wealth tax Updated and completely revised section on trust decanting, with attention to the latest statutory and case law developments Updated and completely revised section on asset protection trusts, with attention to key choice-of-law and fraudulent transfer principles Professors and students will benefit from: Unique blend of wit, erudition, insight, and playfulness retained from the late Jesse Dukeminier Organization that covers all the key topics in a logical and clear format Interesting cases that are not only fun to read, but fun to teach Cases enhanced and connected to broader legal principles by well-written connective text, notes, questions, problems, and sidebars Arresting two-color design Cartoons, illustrations, wills and other case documents, and photographs that provide visual commentary and teaching aids

Provides an overview of federal gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax laws for the law student or practitioner. Grantor trust rules affecting the wealth disposition process is also addressed. Other subjects include intestacy, succession, power of disposition limits, transfer requirements, revocation, extrinsic evidence, incapacity, and undue influence. Examines trusts and their alternatives, changes in will execution, and problems of construction in future interests. Overviews the Federal Transfer Tax laws relating to estates and trusts, deductions in computing taxable estates, asset valuation, and credits. Generally, emphasis is placed on the Uniform Probate Code throughout the text.

In a typical Wills, Trusts, and Estates (WTE) class there are both students who want to practice in WTE (either exclusively, or as part of a general practice), and those who need only to master the general concepts in order to pass the bar exam. Wills, Trusts, and Estates in Focus by Naomi R. Cahn, Alyssa DiRusso, and Susan Gary attends to the needs of both sets of students. For those who will practice in WTE, the concepts are presented in an engaging way and exemplified by realistic hypothetical scenarios that mirror practice and support the development of lawyering skills. For those who need only to pass the bar, the organization of the text is keyed to multi-state essay examination topics as presented on the multi-state bar exam. The well-crafted pedagogy of the Focus Series makes WTE concepts and procedure clear and accessible for all students. Case Previews shed light on each succinctly-edited case, provide legal context, and direct students to the issue at hand. Post-Case Follow-Ups review the decision and prepare students to apply the relevant legal principles to the set of exercises that follow, called Real Life Applications. Professors will appreciate the accessible approach of Wills, Trusts, and Estates in Focus, which combines straightforward narrative explanations with real-world examples, and problems designed to engage students in active learning. Features of Wills, Trusts, and Estates in Focus: Insightful authorship: The author team consists of three well-known academics with expertise in WTE and complementary areas such as family law, charities, elder law, and tax. All are elected Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), the leading professional organization of trust and estates attorneys. Conscious modernization of the WTE casebook that balances major landmark cases and 21st century authorities, including recent case decisions and developments in the law (such as the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) Thorough coverage of core topics, combined with the Focus Series pedagogy Manageable problem sets that allow students to apply doctrine to realistic fact scenarios Research and drafting exercises that support the development of practice-based skills Professors and students will benefit from: Clear writing that promotes the learning outcomes of student competencies in knowledge and understanding of both the substantive and procedural law of WTE legal analysis and reasoning problem-solving how to exercise proper professional and ethical responsibilities with regard to clients and the legal system A balanced emphasis on practice readiness and bar-exam readiness An author team with experience writing for students, practitioners, and lay people A clear and logical book structure and chapter organization, with cross-references to related coverage in other chapters Appendices that provide examples of how doctrine maps on to practice, as in will contest pleadings and probate filings Teaching materials include: Teacher’s Manual with straightforward case summaries and answers to all problems Sample 3-credit syllabus

In this timely new edition, distinguished authors Dukeminier and Johanson build on the success of their phenomenally popular casebook Wills, Trusts, and Estates with new coverage of non-traditional family arrangements, living wills, and much more. the authors blend cases selected for human interest as well as teaching value with provocative hypotheticals, cartoons, photographs, and other illustrations to comprehensively cover this area in a very lively, readable manner. Organized logically, The book begins with estate planning and its limitations, moves to wills and will substitutes, progresses to trusts, and concludes with a chapter on taxation. New topic coverage includes: babies inadvertently swapped in hospitals, surrogate mothers, lesbian adoption, and artificial insemination (including children conceived after sperm donor's death) living wills and powers of attorney for health care, including the Cruzan case And The Uniform Health Care Decisions Act a new chapter combining mental capacity and undue influence, which features the Seward Johnson will contest and related preventive lawyering issues shortened, more teachable chapters on future interests and perpetuities latest changes To The Uniform Probate Code a completely revised and reorganized trustee administration chapter Like its predecessors, this book is a lively, flexible, and understandable teaching tool that is accompanied by a detailed and witty Teacher's Manual, which is regarded as the best in the field.

This new Exam Pro contains sample tests that cover an entire wills, trusts and estates course, as well as mini exams in discrete topics such as intestacy and future interests, as well as take. The book covers the Uniform Probate Code and general common law principles. A detailed answer key explains why the correct answer is the best choice and why other choices are not.

This casebook presents a functional approach to Trusts and Estates. In addition to a focus on recent cases, the book uses questions and problems to focus student attention on issues that face estate planners, litigators and policy makers. In each chapter, it integrates discussion of drafting and planning issues with its treatment of doctrine and policy.In addition, this casebook is accompanied by power point slides to use in explaining concepts for which diagrams are useful, such as intestate succession, the elective share, anti-lapse statutes, abatement and future interests. The unusually helpful teacher's manual includes not only case summaries and detailed legal analysis, but detailed lesson plans and discussion questions for those new to law teaching. For more information and additional teaching materials, visit the companion site.