David Horton

Reid Kress Weisbord

Stephen K. Urice

Wills, Trusts, and Estates: The Essentials (“Essentials”) offers a sleek and slender presentation of wealth transfer law for an introductory law school course. Written by widely recognized scholars in the field, this text comprehensively yet concisely covers the core legal principles that are tested on the bar exam and essential to a trusts and estates practice. For a fresh perspective, Essentials incorporates current events, lively cases, and engaging examples. It also enables students to maximize out-of-class preparation time by delivering information efficiently in a streamlined and straightforward way. Each chapter contains: (1) clearly explained summaries of each doctrine, (2) explanatory narration accompanying all relevant statutory authority, (3) thoroughly edited judicial opinions followed by analytical questions and answers, and (4) realistic problem sets designed for classroom instruction that illustrate and apply each concept. New to the Second Edition: Additional core topics, including: federal constitutional law and racial discrimination in testamentary gifts; survival and wrongful death actions; forgery; tortious interference with an inheritance expectancy; electronic and do-it-yourself wills; tax apportionment clauses; waiver of spousal elective share by agreement; revocation of insurance beneficiary designations; directed trusts; and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. New cases, including recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court, and new statutes, including uniform acts on electronic wills and directed trusts. New selection of meaningful secondary sources, including relevant empirical scholarship drawn from our own research and other prominent scholars. Professors and students will benefit from: A text that makes a challenging course accessible, lively, and interactive. It is concise yet comprehensive, and adaptable for two, three, and four credit courses. An emphasis on the development of problem-solving skills by presenting problem sets that allow students to apply newly learned legal doctrine in realistic scenarios, mostly based on litigated cases. Many problem sets are as detail-rich as the cases, which facilitates in-depth discussion of doctrinal nuance. Legal doctrine explained up front and in plain English. According to student feedback, the inclusion of plain English doctrinal summaries often obviates the need for students to purchase a study supplement. For professors, this format provides a baseline on which to build a livelier and sophisticated classroom discussion of the cases and problem sets. The questions and answers following the judicial decisions that encourage student self-assessment. Accompanying family tree diagrams in the textbook (and on the PowerPoint teaching slides) in addition to most judicial opinions, thereby allowing students to quickly ascertain the facts of each case and focus on the application of law.

The Essentials

Wills, Trusts, and Estates

David Horton (Law teacher)

"This Trusts and Estates casebook provides the fundamentals in an accessible and straightforward manner. Designed with particular attention toward new professors and those looking for a shorter book that covers all the crucial aspects of trusts and estates practice"--

Written by well-recognized scholars in the field, Wills, Trusts, and Estates: The Essentials by Reid Weisbord, David Horton, and Steven Urice provides a unique platform for teaching Trusts and Estates as an accessible, engaging area of the law. As its title implies, Essentials covers only the core legal doctrines and does so in a concise, straightforward format that focuses on practical application rather than theory. The organizational structure of each chapter facilitates student learning by providing: (1) a clear explanation of the doctrine in plain English, (2) an excerpt of relevant statutory authority where applicable, (3) an illustration of the doctrine through a carefully-selected judicial opinion, and (4) an application of the doctrine in a problem set. Each judicial opinion is followed by a series of questions, as well as narrative answers to each question. The problem sets, which are heavily emphasized, simulate the practice of law in a realistic T&E setting. Key Features: Makes a challenging course uniquely accessible. Plain English explanation of legal doctrine at the beginning of each section helps ensures students have a basic foundation of substantive knowledge, allowing the professor to focus classroom discussion on applying the doctrine. Delivers well-edited judicial opinions in a format that allows students to achieve mastery of the materials before entering the classroom. Emphasizes problem-solving through detailed problem sets that allow students to apply newly learned legal doctrine to real-world situations. Offers concise, yet comprehensive coverage. All core Trusts & Estates topics are covered in fewer than 650 pages.

Reid Kress Weisbord

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