Wills, Trusts and Probate Law

Probate attorneys handling wills, trusts, and estate administration must typically advise their clients on matters such as beneficiary designation, how to form a life estate in property, what will happen to property if your client fails to make an estate plan, and more. FindLaw’s Corporate Counsel Center Law Library has law articles written to help you better understand specific estate planning techniques and when to consider forming a trust on your client’s behalf. If your client needs a living will or an advance health care directive, click on the articles below to help inform your research and learn the requirements of each state, such as the number of witnesses necessary and who can be designated as a health care surrogate.

Law Library

Wills, Trusts and Probate Law Articles

Keep Those Beneficiary Designations Current

Property passes three ways on death - by will, by contract, and by operation of law. Many people pay close attention to the state of their wills, keeping them updated as situations change. Passage of property by operation of law is something over ...
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Key Employee Stock Ownership Plan Grant Invalidated

The Delaware Court of Chancery in Sanders v. Wang, 1999 Del. Ch. LEXIS 203, 1999 WL 1044880 (Del. Ch. Nov. 8, 1999), granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of shareholders of Computer Associates, Inc. ("CA") on a breach of fiduciary duty claim ...
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Last Will and Testament Letter Of Instructions

In addition to your Will, there is another less formal document that you should consider drafting, that is, a letter of instructions. Its purpose is to provide the Executor of the estate and beneficiaries some additional and more personal ...
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Last Will And Testament

A Last Will and Testament is the means by which a person disposes of property after his or her own death. The Last Will and Testament can only dispose of those assets that are in the sole name of the person who has died. The Last Will and Testament ...
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Leveraging the “Supergrat”: Estate-Planning Strategies.

Creative split-interest trusts are one of the most favored estate-planning strategies for passing wealth to succeeding generations. As planning grows more sophisticated in reaction to the special valuation Sections 270 1-2704 rules for transfers to ...
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Like-Kind Exchanges

Like-kind exchanges are a popular method of deferring taxes on the disposition of business or investment property, especially real estate. Fortunately for taxpayers, recent proposals to restrict like-kind exchanges were not included in the recent ...
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Living Trust as Alternative to a Will: What a Living Trust Is and Is Not

A living trust (also known as a "revocable trust" or "inter vivos trust") can be an alternative to a will. Like a will, a living trust may direct the distribution of your property upon your death. And, like a will, a living trust may be altered, or ...
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Living Trust Seminar

In this seminar we're going to discuss subjects most of us would rather avoid: death disability and taxes. Many people do not give a single thought to the certainty of their own death, yet it will happen to each and every one of us. Estate planning ...
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Living Trusts: A Way to “Move” Your Estate

I often compare living trusts to a moving van. The comparison is novel, perhaps, but surprisingly appropriate. A trust and a van are somewhat similar in functions because they both are vehicles that are capable of moving your assets. A van can move ...
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LIVING TRUSTS: How To Avoid Probate

Probate can take two forms. The most common form of probate is the Court process that oversees the transfer of a decedent's assets to his or her heirs. In many states, the decedent's will has to be filed with the Probate Court, notice of death has ...
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