Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration

Janis Walter, professor emeritus, teaches part-time at the University of Cincinnati’s ABA-approved paralegal program. She has served as chair of the ABA’s Approval Commission on Paralegals and was a member of the Standing Committee. She participates as a Specially Designated Commissioner for the ABA on site visits across the U.S. Professor Walter is also an active member of the American Association for Paralegal Education, where she served as editor of the Paralegal Educator. She has presented at many different forums on topics ranging from teaching effectiveness to handling adoptions. Professor Waler authored The Ohio Courts, a series of widely popular case studies covering civil litigation, criminal law and family law, and she developed three learning labs for a virtual law office. Professor Walter holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Kentucky and Ohio and before the United States Supreme Court. She still practices in the areas of estate law, family law and personal injury. Emma Wright Fletcher is assistant professor and program coordinator in the Paralegal Studies Program at the University of Cincinnati. In addition to teaching in a traditional classroom setting, Professor Wright Fletcher has implemented distance learning classes into the university's paralegal program and has integrated technology into her traditional classes. She has participated in numerous site visits on behalf of the American Bar Association’s Approval Commission. She is also a member of the American Association for Paralegal Education. In addition, she is a partner in the Wright Law Group, where she focuses her practice on estate administration, family law and criminal law. Professor Wright Fletcher holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati and a law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Ohio.

1. The Estate Plan, and the Purpose and Need for a Will.
2. The Concept of Property Related to Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration.
3. The Law of Succession: Death Testate or Intestate.
4. Wills: Validity Requirements, Modification, Revocation, and Contests.
5. Preparation to Draft a Will: Checklists and the Conference with the Client.
6. Final Draft and Execution of a Valid Will.
7. The Participants and the Proper Court.
8. Personal Representatives: Types, Pre-Probate Duties, and Appointment.
9. Probate and Estate Administration.
10. Informal Probate Administration.
11. Tax Considerations in the Administration of Estates.
12. Introduction to Trusts.
13. Classification of Trusts, the Living Trust, and Other Special Trusts.
14. Estate Planning.
15. Long-Term Care.
Appendix A: Sample Forms
Appendix B: Sample Marital Deduction Testamentary Trust.
Glossary.
Index.