Areas of Concentration
Estate Planning
Primary Contacts: Professor Thomas Featherston
The Estate Planning area of
concentration is designed to give students a well-rounded legal education
with focused study in the areas of trusts, estates, and estate planning and
administration so that students can begin a career with a fundamental
understanding of the major aspects of estate planning and probate procedure.
This area of concentration builds upon a number of courses required of all
students, such as Trusts & Estates I, Business Organizations I, and Federal
Income Taxation. Students enrolled in the Estate Planning area of
concentration work under the direct supervision of an experienced estate
planner devising an estate plan, working on drafts of documents, and working
through the steps of the administration of an estate.
Practice in the trusts and estates area has changed dramatically over the
last decade. Some trusts and estates lawyers specialize in trust, estate and
fiduciary liability dispute resolution. Societal and economic factors are
contributing to an explosion in litigation in this area as the traditional
family unit continues to break down and the amount of accumulated wealth
increases. Consequently, students interested in this type of litigation may
concentrate in Estate Planning, take the Trusts and Estates II and
Administration of Estates courses in conjunction with a General Civil
Litigation concentration, or coordinate their classes so that they
successfully complete both concentrations.
The student seeking a more traditional trusts and estates practice by
concentrating in Estate Planning will discover that, in addition to the
traditional tax emphasis, increasing coverage is given to asset preservation
and family business planning. Students who anticipate a general business
planning practice may coordinate the Estate Planning concentration with the
Business Transactions concentration due to the interrelationship between
closely-held business planning and the owner’s personal estate planning.
After taking Trusts & Estates I , Business Organizations I, and Federal
Income Taxation (courses required of all students), those choosing to
concentrate in Estate Planning complete the following courses:
Administration Capstone
Administration of Estates
Estate Planning
Partnership Taxation
Trusts and Estates Capstone
Trusts and Estates II
Estate Planning students must either complete the Client Counseling course
or participate in the annual Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee Client Counseling
Competition.