LEGL 2753 - Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Description
Provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the issues involved in estate planning and the probate process. Studies testate and intestate inheritance and other issues in estate planning designed to teach students how to recognize estate planning issues. Students will become familiar with ethical obligations in this field and with techniques for fact gathering, inheritance and estate tax principles, use of trusts, will drafting, and probate procedures.

Pre-Requisite
Completion of LEGL 1043 with a grade greater than or equal to C.

3 Credit Hour(s)

Contact Hours
45 lecture hours

3 Faculty Load Hour(s)

Semesters Offered
Fall

ACTS Equivalent
N/A

Grade Mode
A-F

Learning Outcomes

Explain why estate planning is necessary
Differentiate between different types of property and property ownership how these distinctions affect planning
Explain the difference between testacy and intestacy and the consequences of each
Create a valid will and understand the purpose of the different clauses contained therein
Understand the need for and be able to draft advanced directives such as living wills and durable power of attorneys
Understand the issues that arise in non-traditional families and the role of estate planning
Explain what is required to create a trust, how a trust works, and why certain, specialized trusts might be desired or necessary
Explain the role of a personal representative in a probate proceeding
Understand how the probate process works
Identify tax considerations in estate planning and probate
Understand the ethical rules as it relates to paralegals in the estate planning or probate contex

General Education Outcomes Supported
None

Standard Practices
None