The Complete Book Of Wills Estates Trusts 4th Edition

An updated guide to estate planning explains the purpose of wills, describes common as well as unusual provisions, and discusses estate management, executors, contested wills, and probate.

Written in easy-to-read language with dozens of real-life examples, this book provides important information about mediation, arbitration, small claims court, and civil court procedures, and includes a chapter on working with a lawyer.

The classic legal guide with more than 100,000 copies in print—now substantially updated and revised! Whether grappling with modest or extensive assets, The Complete Book of Wills, Estates & Trusts has long been the indispensable guide for protecting an estate for loved ones. In this completely revised fourth edition, updated to cover the latest changes in estate law, attorneys Alexander A. Bove, Jr., and Melissa Langa synthesize their decades of field and classroom experience into honest, clear, and entertaining explanations of a host of complex legal topics, including: • How to create a will and living trust • How to use a trust to avoid probate and legal complications • How trusts work and how to use trusts to save taxes • How to contest a will and how to avoid a contest • How to settle an estate or make a claim against one • How to establish a durable power of attorney • How to protect assets from creditors In their straightforward and humorous style, Bove and Langa share easy-to-understand legal definitions and savvy advice on everything from taxes to choosing the right attorney, all illustrated with entertaining examples and actual cases. This is the best and only legal guide readers will ever need to ensure that their money and holdings remain in the family.

An updated and revised edition of the authoritative legal handbook on wills and estates, now features a new section on trusts.

Using practical, self-contained chapters, this text provides an overview of wills, trusts, and estates and can easily support a variety of programs and audiences. Designed with flexibility in mind, it captures the complexities of the field, while maintaining a clear tone that is accessible and concise. Throughout the text, core concepts are reinforced by illustrations, charts, tables, and cases. This edition features updated case materials and statutes, updated statistics, more review questions and projects, summarized appellate court cases and earlier coverage of non-traditional families.

Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. Learn more about Connected eBooks. 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. A comprehensive Teacher’s Manual provides a complete teaching summary of all materials in the book, and comprehensive PowerPoint slides provide helpful structure for classroom organization. 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 Teaching materials include: Teacher’s Manual that provides a complete teaching summary of all materials in the book PowerPoint slides that provide explanatory diagrams and structure for classroom discussion Transition Guide Sample Exams Sample Estate Planning Documents

Although a majority of Americans are aware that they need a will, about 70 percent of Americans don't have one. The irony is that the legalities involved are not very complicated; most people can get by with a good self-help book. Estate planning is largely the same. A comprehensive plan to avoid probate or save on estate taxes doesn't usually require a lawyer; most basic estate planning documents are easy and safe to prepare, but again, with the help of a good self-help book. In the third edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wills and Estates, readers will find- A complete inventory of everything to consider and include in estate planning. How a will fits in to an estate plan, and what to consider and include. How trusts work and whether you need one. Tax considerations for every aspect of an estate plan.