Administration of Wills, Trusts and Estates, 3E

by BROWN/MYERS/SCOTT

• ISBN13: 9780766852815
• ISBN10: 0766852814
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-22
• Publisher: Delmar

Summary

If you are interested in wills, trusts, and estates, this easy-to read text provides content and context for a complicated subject area. [The wills of Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Princess Diana, and George Burns are provided here for your review.] This new edition is enhanced by celebrity features that help you relate to a real-life scenario and step out of legal theory. All legal terms are clearly defined when first presented in the text. State-by-state information is presented clearly with the use of maps, tables and case studies. Charts and boxed cases help to make complex topics easier to understand.

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
About the Author	xxi
Table of Legal Briefs	xxiii
Part I PLANNING AN ESTATE
Where There's a Will ...	3	(18)
Where There's a Will ...	5	(4)
There Is Motivation	6	(1)
There Is Kindness	7	(1)
There Is Decision Making	7	(1)
There Is Retribution	7	(1)
There Is Surprise	8	(1)
There Is Appreciation	8	(1)
The Privilege of Having a Will	9	(1)
Risks in Writing One's Own Will	10	(2)
Finding the Testator's Intent	12	(1)
Where There's No Will ...	13	(8)
There Can Be No Named Beneficiaries	13	(1)
There Can Be No Named Guardian	14	(1)
There Can Be No Named Personal Representative	15	(1)
There Can Be No Testamentary Trust	15	(6)
Estate Planning	21	(26)
Purpose of Estate Planning	23	(1)
The Planning Team	23	(3)
Gathering Information	26	(2)
Domicile	26	(1)
Property	27	(1)
Beneficiaries	28	(1)
Objectives	28	(1)
Record of Personal and Business Affairs	28	(1)
Estate Planning Tools	28	(13)
Wills	29	(1)
Trusts	29	(4)
Gifts	33	(1)
Tax Consequences of Gifts	34	(1)
Powers of Appointment	35	(1)
Insurance	36	(1)
Retirement Plans	37	(3)
Family Limited Partnership	40	(1)
Postmortem Planning	41	(6)
A Bundle of Rights	47	(24)
A Bundle of Rights	49	(1)
Probate Property	50	(4)
Real Property	50	(1)
Personal Property	51	(3)
Nonprobate Property	54	(17)
Jointly Owned Property	55	(4)
Pay-on-Death Accounts	59	(1)
Uniform Nonprobate Transfer on Death Act	59	(1)
Community Property	60	(1)
Life Insurance and IRAs with Named Beneficiary	61	(1)
Living Trusts	61	(5)
Life Estates	66	(5)
Intestate Succession	71	(34)
Intestacy	73	(1)
The Passing of Intestate Property	73	(3)
Simultaneous Death	75	(1)
Homicide by Heir or Devisee	76	(1)
Rights of Surviving Spouse	76	(6)
Rights of Other Heirs	82	(16)
Consanguinity and Affinity	82	(1)
Half Blood	82	(2)
Degrees of Kindred	84	(3)
Lineal Descendants	87	(4)
Lineal Ascendants	91	(3)
Siblings	94	(1)
Next of Kin	94	(4)
Escheat	98	(7)
Part II WILLS
The Last Will and Testament	105	(32)
Wills and Testaments	106	(3)
State Statutory Formalities	109	(12)
Age Requirements	109	(1)
Testamentary Capacity	109	(1)
Necessity of a Writing	110	(1)
The Will's Execution	111	(10)
Changing and Revoking Wills	121	(8)
Changing a Will	121	(3)
Revoking a Will	124	(5)
Joint and Mutual Wills	129	(1)
Agreements to Devise or Bequeath Property	129	(1)
Grounds for Contesting a Will	130	(7)
Structure of a Model Will	137	(36)
Guidelines for Drafting a Will	139	(1)
Introductory Paragraphs	140	(10)
Exordium Clause	140	(5)
Funeral Arrangements	145	(5)
Instructions to Pay Debts	150	(1)
Main Body	150	(8)
Dispositive Provisions	150	(3)
Residuary Clause	153	(2)
Miscellaneous Clauses	155	(3)
Fiduciary and Tax Provisions	158	(5)
Appointment of Fiduciaries	158	(3)
Powers of Fiduciaries	161	(1)
No Surety on Bond	161	(1)
Tax Provision	162	(1)
Ending Paragraphs	163	(3)
Testimonium Clause	163	(1)
Attestation Clause	163	(2)
Self-Proof Clause	165	(1)
Letters of Instruction	166	(7)
Family Protection, Lapses, and Ademption	173	(26)
Protection of Family Members	175	(15)
Family Allowance	175	(2)
Homestead Protection	177	(3)
Exempt Property	180	(1)
Dower and Curtesv	181	(1)
Spouse's Elective Share	182	(5)
Pretermitted Children	187	(3)
Lapsed Legacies and Devises	190	(1)
Ademption	191	(8)
Part III TRUSTS
Trusts	199	(26)
The Trust Arrangement	201	(1)
Parties to a Trust	201	(4)
The Settlor	201	(1)
The Trustee	201	(2)
The Beneficiary	203	(2)
Creation of a Trust	205	(3)
Conveyance in Trust	205	(1)
Declaration of Trust	205	(1)
Trust Formalities	205	(3)
Express Trusts	208	(10)
Testamentary Trusts	209	(5)
Living Trusts	214	(4)
Implied Trusts	218	(7)
Resulting Trusts	218	(1)
Constructive Trusts	219	(6)
Specialized Trusts	225	(26)
Totten Trust	227	(1)
Special-Purpose Trusts	228	(2)
Spendthrift Trusts	228	(1)
Sprinkling Trusts	229	(1)
Marital Deduction Trusts	230	(3)
Distribution Outright	230	(1)
Life Estate with Power of Appointment	230	(1)
Credit-Shelter Trust	231	(1)
QTIP Trust	232	(1)
Charitable Trusts	233	(6)
Cy Pres Doctrine	233	(2)
Rule Against Perpetuities	235	(1)
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRATS and CRUTS)	236	(3)
Life Insurance Trusts	239	(12)
Part IV ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
Probate Courts and Uniform Laws	251	(20)
Introduction	253	(1)
Probate Jurisdiction	253	(1)
Federal Courts	253	(1)
State Courts	253	(1)
Probate Records	254	(1)
Uniform Laws	255	(16)
Uniform Probate Code	258	(1)
Uniform Simultaneous Death Act	259	(1)
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act	260	(6)
Uniform Anatomical Gifts Act	266	(5)
The Personal Representative	271	(30)
Appointment of Personal Representative	273	(1)
Personal Representative's Bond	273	(7)
Duties of Personal Representative	280	(3)
Titles of Personal Representative	283	(10)
Executor(-trix)	283	(1)
Administrator(-trix)	284	(1)
Administrator with the Will Annexed	284	(2)
Successor Personal Representative	286	(1)
Special Administrator	287	(1)
Public Administrator	287	(2)
Informal Administrator of Small Estates	289	(3)
Executor de Son Tort	292	(1)
Removal of Personal Representative	293	(8)
Probating a Will and Administering an Estate	301	(40)
The Need for Probate	303	(2)
Protection of Decedent	303	(1)
Protection of Heirs	304	(1)
Establishing Title	305	(1)
First Meeting with Client	305	(2)
Confidentiality	306	(1)
Formal Probate Proceedings	307	(26)
Petition for Probate or Administration	307	(3)
Notice to Interested Parties	310	(1)
Proof of Will	310	(3)
Allowance of Bond and Issuance of Letters	313	(3)
The Inventory	316	(8)
Payment of Debts, Taxes, and Expenses	324	(6)
Distribution	330	(1)
Final Account	330	(3)
Informal Probate Proceedings	333	(1)
Ancillary Administration	333	(8)
Estate Taxes	341	(26)
Fiduciary's Tax Obligations	343	(3)
Notifying the Internal Revenue Service	343	(1)
Obtaining Identification Number	343	(3)
Decedent's Final Income Tax Return	346	(2)
Income	347	(1)
Exemptions and Deductions	347	(1)
Fiduciary Income Tax Return	348	(4)
Income	348	(2)
Income in Respect of the Decedent	350	(1)
Exemptions and Deductions	350	(2)
Estate Tax Return	352	(15)
The Gross Estate	353	(3)
The Taxable Estate	356	(2)
Estate Tax Computation	358	(3)
Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax	361	(6)
Final Choices	367	(178)
The Right to Die	369	(1)
Advance Directives	370	(14)
The Living Will	371	(1)
Health Care Proxy Laws	371	(10)
Durable Power of Attorney	381	(2)
Patient Self-Determination Act	383	(1)
Patients Without Advance Directives	384	(1)
Anatomical Gifts	384	(7)
Donation by Will	385	(2)
Donation by Signed Document	387	(4)
Donation by Others	391	(1)
The Decedent's Body	391	(10)
APPENDICES
Appendix A Record of Testator's Personal Information and Business Affairs	401	(7)
Appendix B Sample Last Wills and Testaments	408	(37)
Theodore Roosevelt	408	(1)
George Burns	409	(3)
John F. Kennedy, Jr.	412	(2)
Elvis A. Presley	414	(4)
John Winston Ono Lennon	418	(1)
Richard M. Nixon	419	(7)
Doris Duke	426	(5)
Jacqueline K. Onassis	431	(14)
Appendix C Uniform Simultaneous Death Act	445	(1)
Appendix D Uniform Transfers to Minors Act	446	(6)
Appendix E Uniform Probate Code (Abridged)	452	(93)
Glossary	545	(14)
Index	559