Florida Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Building on the success of the prior editions of this highly regarded casebook, the fifth edition of Florida Wills, Trusts, and Estates continues its innovative approach of covering trusts as extensively as it does wills. This edition presents modern trends in wills, trusts, and estate planning and also includes discussion of newly enacted laws, including the Florida Uniform Directed Trust Act and the Florida Community Property Trust Act, and recently enacted statutes addressing forfeiture of rights in cases of abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult. Although Florida law is the focus, this casebook also discusses laws from other states and uniform acts approved by the Uniform Law Commission.

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 client goals. The casebook is intended for the basic wills and trusts course, but 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 driven by state law. 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.