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LAW-2696 Estate Planning
Ms. Catherine F. McCarron,
2 credits day; 2 credits evening.
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive, practice-oriented guide
to estate planning for individuals and families, based on exploration of actual client fact patterns.
Emphasis is placed on the considerations and issues practitioners will encounter in formulating
foundation estate planning documents for a diverse clientele, with particular focus on identifying
client concerns and objectives as they arise in planning for the disposition of real and personal
property, as well as ethical considerations commonly encountered. Additional topics covered
include the types of trust commonly used by estate planners, marital deduction planning,
reducing or eliminating the federal and state estate taxes, reducing or eliminating the probate
estate, charitable gifts and giving, life insurance planning, disability planning, and special
situations such as supplemental needs trust planning and Mass Health eligibility. The course will
further explore proven business development strategies essential for sustaining an ongoing estate
planning practice. Students will be evaluated based on a final project.
Prerequisite: Trusts and Estates, Prior or Concurrent enrollment: Estate Administration and
Estate and Gift Tax is strongly recommended.
Elective Course
Final Project Required
Relevant Courses and Course SequencingJD/LLM Course
<<Course Updated: March 11, 2016>>