Estate Planning
Overview
Estate planning arranges for the transfer of an individual's estate at the time of death. An estate consists of all property owned at death before it is distributed by will, trust, or intestacy laws. An estate may contain both real property (real estate, including houses and investment properties) and personal property (all other property, including bank accounts, securities, jewelry and automobiles). Typically, the process of estate planning involves extensive consultation with a number of professional advisors, including lawyers, financial counselors, accountants and life insurance representatives.
Purpose of Estate Planning
Estate planning benefits those with large estates, as well as those with modest assets. Creating an estate plan ensures that all property will be distributed according to the personal wishes of the deceased, and that those who are benefiting from the estate receive the largest distribution possible with a minimum amount of delay. Specifically, estate planning allows an individual to decide exactly who will benefit from their estate, and to what extent. Estate planning also ensures that the estate will not be destroyed by taxes imposed on the transfer of assets at death. In addition to providing financial security, estate planning encourages individuals to make important decisions, such as appointing a guardian for minor children, choosing healthcare preferences, and securing funeral arrangements.
Legislation
Bill Introduced: S.3470 Support for Iraq Oil Trust Act of 2008
A bill to require United States Government representatives to present to the Government of Iraq a plan to establish an oil trust.Bill Signed by President: H.R.6580 Hubbard Act
To ensure the fair treatment of a member of the Armed Forces who is discharged from the Armed Forces, at the request of the member, pursuant to the Department of Defense policy permitting the early discharge of a member who is the only surviving child in a family in which the father or mother, or one or more siblings, served in the Armed Forces and, because of hazards incident to such service, was killed, died as a result of wounds, accident, or disease, is in a captured or missing in action status, or is permanently disabled, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the dollar limitation on contributions to funeral trusts, and for other purposes.
August 28, 2008: Signed by President.Bill Enacted: H.R.3221 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
A bill to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes.
July 29, 2008: Became Public Law No: 110-289.Bill Enacted: H.R.6331 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008
To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to extend expiring provisions under the Medicare Program, to improve beneficiary access to preventive and mental health services, to enhance low-income benefit programs, and to maintain access to care in rural areas, including pharmacy access, and for other purposes.
July 14, 2008: Became Public Law No: 110-275.Bill Introduced: H.R.6382 Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act of 2008
To make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and for other purposes.
Articles
Boomer-Ang Eldercare: Deductible Claim?
Tax Notes, Vol. 134, No. 5, 2012 Wendy C. Gerzog University of Baltimore - School of Law Date Posted: February 06, 2012 Accepted Paper Series 64 downloads Planning and Drafting Basics Under the New Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code Roger Williams University Law Review, Vol. 16, p. 535, 2011 Kent D. Schenkel New England Law - Boston Date Posted: February 04, 2012 Last Revised: February 09, 2012Mother's Baby, Father's Maybe!-- Intestate Succession: When Should a Child Born Out of Wedlock ...
Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, Vol. 22, p. 531, 2011 Camille M. Davidson Charlotte School of Law Date Posted: January 30, 2012 Accepted Paper Series 1 downloads Over My Dead Body: A Better Approach to Testamentary Restraints on Marriage HLS Student Working Paper No. 410 Ruth Sarah Lee Harvard Law School Date Posted: January 30, 2012 Last Revised: February 08, 2012Testamentsformen: 'Willkür' oder Ausdruck einer Rechtskultur? (Testamentary Form Requirements: ...
Rabels Zeitschrift Für Ausländisches und Internationales Privatrecht, Forthcoming, Max Planck Private Law Research Paper No. 12/3, Reinhard Zimmermann Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law Date Posted: January 21, 2012 Accepted Paper Series 10 downloads The Inappropriate Imposition of Court-Ordered Mediation in Will Contests Cleveland State Law Review, Vol. 59, 2012 Victoria J. Haneman University of La Verne College of Law Date Posted: January 19, 2012 Accepted Paper Series 20 downloads The Tax Man Wins the Nobel Prize Tax Notes, Vol. 133, p. 1421, 2011 Bridget J. Crawford and Jonathan G. Blattmachr Pace University School of Law and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP Date Posted: January 16, 2012 Accepted Paper Series Finding the Oscar Howard Law Journal, Vol. 55, No. 1, 2011, GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2012-2, GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2012-2 W. Burlette Carter George Washington University - Law School Date Posted: January 08, 2012 Accepted Paper Series 17 downloads When You Pass on, Don't Leave the Passwords Behind: Planning for Digital Assets Probate & Property, Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 40, January/February 2012 Gerry W. Beyer and Naomi Cahn Texas Tech University School of Law and George Washington University - Law School Date Posted: January 07, 2012 Accepted Paper Series 140 downloads Wills for Everyone: Helping Individuals Opt Out of Intestacy Boston College Law Review, Vol. 53, 2012, Rutgers School of Law-Newark Research Paper Reid K. Weisbord Rutgers University School of Law - Newark Date Posted: January 02, 2012 Last Revised: February 07, 2012Two Cheers for the Bundle-of-Sticks Metaphor, Three Cheers for Merrill and Smith
Econ Journal Watch, Vol. 8, No. 3, p. 215, September 2011 Robert C. Ellickson Yale Law School Date Posted: December 28, 2011 Accepted Paper Series 130 downloads Calidad de Vida en la Ancianidad: Más Libertad de Testar es Más Justicia (The Old Age Life Quality: Increasing the Eldersâ Freedom to Dispose By Will Implies More Justice) Oñati Socio-Legal Series, Vol. 1, No. 8, 2011, Alfredo Fernando Ronchetti Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires Date Posted: December 22, 2011 Accepted Paper Series 13 downloads From Here to Eternity: The Folly of Perpetual Trusts U of Michigan Public Law Working Paper No. 259 Lawrence W. Waggoner University of Michigan Law School Date Posted: December 22, 2011 Last Revised: January 31, 2012The Contribution of Fiduciary Law
THE WORLDS OF THE TRUST, L. Smith ed., Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming, U Iowa Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-05 Thomas P. Gallanis University of Iowa - College of Law Date Posted: December 11, 2011 Last Revised: January 25, 2012
