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

I Don’t Need A Will

When I speak before a civic group or a neighborhood association, I usually can hear someone whisper in the back ground, a "I don't need a will. I just came tonight because my wife (husband, daughter, son, girlfriend--you can insert lots of persons ...
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Estate Planning for Non-Resident Spouses

This memorandum discusses generally the U.S. gift tax and estate tax issues to consider for a married couple when the husband or wife or both are not citizens of the United States. In general, the U.S. gift tax and estate tax laws permit unlimited ...
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Why Do I Need A Will?

Many time people will tell me that they don't need a Will. It is often a husband and wife who have already put the house and bank accounts in both names. What they don't realize is in that situation it is usually the automobile that causes a ...
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Citizenship in Estate Planning: A Trap for the Unwary

What is your marital status? What is your family history? What is your net worth? How are your assets owned? These are the typical questions asked by an estate planner during an initial estate planning conference. One important and often overlooked ...
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Contemplating A Charitable Sales Promotion? Think Before You Solicit

In recent years, charitable sales promotions have become an increasingly popular way for consumer products companies to support charitable causes while, at the same time, fostering commercial goodwill. Companies that may not have traditionally ...
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Life Estate Q and A

A "life estate" is an estate whose duration is limited to the life of an individual (usually the party holding the life estate), and a legal arrangement whereby the "life tenant" during his or her life retains use (the rights to rents and profits ...

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A Comparison of Wills and Trusts

Article provided by the Prince Law Firm. Please visit our Web site at www.probateprince.com. There are several key differences between wills and trusts as instruments created to transfer property, making each desirable for different reasons ...
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Alternatives to Florida Guardianship: Advantages and Disadvantages

One of the major substantive changes to Florida Guardianship Law which was brought about by the October 1989 legislative revisions, was the requirement that there be no least restrictive available alternative to guardianship, before the court could ...
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Amnesia and the Law

The majority of head injuries occur as a result of motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries or defective products for which someone else may be responsible. Since lifelong rehabilitation care for a person with head injury is costly and not always ...
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Attorney Or Title Company?

One of the least understood issues for the purchaser, seller or owner of a house is should I use an attorney or title company for my purchase, sale or refinance? Most real estate companies in Northern Virginia have a financial connection to a title ...
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