Florida Wills, Trusts, and Estates, Second Edition builds on the strengths of the first edition and provides extensive coverage of wills, trusts, and estates. Updated through July 2011, the second edition reflects extensive statutory, judicial, and scholarly developments since 2007. The chapters covering intestacy, reformation of wills, homestead, undue influence, and revocable trusts have been significantly revised to address legislative changes in Florida made in 2010 and 2011. In addition to its coverage of wills and trusts, this edition includes a chapter addressing the Florida Power of Attorney Act, enacted in July 2011, which is a complete revision of the laws governing both durable and nondurable powers of attorney and brings Florida in line with the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. Moreover, this edition includes an estate planning chapter that reflects changes made in 2010 to the Federal estate tax system. Despite widespread adoption of uniform codes, the rules governing wills and trusts continue to be state law driven. The authors' philosophy is that students gain critical insights into complex issues in these areas by studying the laws of one jurisdiction as a whole and that Florida law is a perfect platform for this endeavor. Therefore, the second edition continues to be grounded in Florida law. Although Florida law is the focus, this edition includes discussions of the uniform codes and Restatements, particularly where they depart from Florida law. Thus, this book is an excellent choice for teaching wills, trusts, and estates in any jurisdiction. The book is invaluable for academicians, students, and practitioners, alike. The book includes an appendix with wills and trusts forms provided by Northern Trust Corporation and a comprehensive Teacher's Manual.

To encourage students to view wills, trusts, and estates issues from the standpoint of both planners and litigators, the authors include numerous questions that require students to think about ways to draft or plan to avoid litigation, while accomplishing clients' goals. While the book is intended for the basic wills and trusts course, it may also be used in advanced trusts and estates courses, as it includes chapters on estate planning, powers of appointment, advanced directives, and probate. The rules governing wills and trusts continue to be state-law-driven. The authors' philosophy is that students gain critical insights into complex issues by studying the laws of one jurisdiction as a whole. Florida law is a perfect platform for this endeavor because it has extensive probate and trust codes and significant case decisions addressing current and cutting-edge issues.

A do-it-yourself manual for making your own living trust, with checklists, step-by-step procedures, worksheets, and forms.