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Best Probate and Estate Planning Resources

Probate and estate planning issues often are complicated and time-consuming to research. In connection with the Probate and Estate Planning theme issue, the Libraries, Legal Research and Publications Committee has collected the following primary and secondary authorities and Internet resources to assist practitioners handling a probate or estate planning matter.

Michigan-Specific Resources

    Annual Probate Seminar CD-Rom (ICLE 1998)

    Capsoft Michigan SCAO Probate Forms

    Lynn Chard and Anna Headly, eds., Michigan Probate Sourcebook (2nd ed)(ICLE 1991 and supps)(compilation of text of Michigan's probate-related statutes, court rules, and SCAO forms)

    George Cooney and David Shaltz, eds., Advising the Older Client (ICLE 1998)

    George Cooney, Jr. and Harold Draper, Probate Administration in Michigan: A Systems Approach (ICLE 1994 and supps)

    Leonard Edelman, Michigan Probate: A Practice Systems Library Manual (West Group 1981 and supps)

    Joe Foster, Jr., and Everett Zack, Independent Probate Administration in Michigan (3rd ed)(ICLE 1995)

    Frederick K. Hoops, Planning for Estates and Administration in Michigan (West Group 1983 and supps)

    Michael Irish and John Harvey Martin, Michigan Will Drafting (ICLE 1988 and supps)

    Joyce Lower and Henry M. Grix, Michigan Estate Planning, Will Drafting and Estate Administration Forms (Lexis Law Publishing 1989 and supps)

    Katherine Martin, Counseling the Elderly Client in Michigan (West Group 1991)

    Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal (published quarterly by the Probate and Estate Planning Section)

    Michigan Probate Law Pamphlet  (West Group 1996 and supps)

    Richard Lowe and George Bearup, Michigan Revocable Grantor Trusts (ICLE 1991 and supps)

    Patricia Gormely Prince and Carol Karr, Taxation of Estates and Trusts: A Michigan Practitioner’s Guide to Post-Death Administration (ICLE 1994)

    Gerald Supina and Kay Holsinger, eds., Michigan Probate Litigation: A Guide to Contested Matters (ICLE 1998)

General Resources
    Dwight Bickel, Living Trusts: Forms and Practice (Matthew Bender 1993 and supps)

    William Brown, Estate Planning: A Practical Guide (West Group 1991 and supps)

    William Brown, Trusts (West Group 1996 and supps)

    Natalie Choate, Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits (2nd ed)(1996 and supps)

    David English and Rebecca Morgan, Tax, Estate, and Financial Planning for the Elderly (Matthew Bender 1985 and supps), with companion volume, David English, Michael Gilfix, and Rebecca Morgan, Tax, Estate, and Financial Planning for the Elderly: Forms and Practice (Matthew Bender 1991 and supps)

    Estate Planning and Taxation Coordinator (RIA

    Estate Planning Package (CD-ROM)(Matthew Bender; includes seven publications dealing with estate planning

    Federal Estate and Gift Tax Reports (CCH)

    M. Carr Ferguson, Federal Income Taxation of Estates, Trusts, and Beneficiaries(3rd ed)(Aspen Law and Business 1998)

    Ernest Fiore, et al, eds., Modern Estate Planning (Matthew Bender 1993)

    Jonathan Forster and Gregory Rupert, Handling Federal Estate and Gift Taxes (5th ed)(West Group)

    T. Randolph Harris, ed., Modern Estate Planning (Matthew Bender 1981 and supps)

    Frederick K. Hoops and Frederick H. Hoops III, Family Estate Planning Guide (4th ed)(West Group 1995 and supps)

    Lawrence Keller, Wills (West Group 1992 and supps)

    Donald Kelley, David Ludtke, and Burnell Steinmeyer, Jr., Estate and Entity Planning: Family Business Organizations (2nd ed) (West Group 1996 and supps)

    Sidney Kess et al., Financial and Estate Planning (CCH 1994 and supps)

    Louis A. Mezzullo and Mark Woolpert, Advising the Elderly Client (West Group 1992 and supps)

    Walter Nossaman and Joseph Wyatt, Jr., Trust Administration and Taxation (Matthew Bender 1946 and supps)

    Eunice Ross and Thomas Reed, Will Contests (West Group 1992 and supps)

    P. Strauss et al., Aging and the Law (CCH 1990 and supps)

    Tax and Estate Planning Library (CD-ROM) (Matthew Bender; includes many publications dealing with tax planning)

    Tax Management Estates, Gifts and Trusts Portfolio Series (BNA)

    George Turner, Irrevocable Trusts (3d ed) (West Group 1996 and supps)

    George Turner, Revocable Trusts (3d ed) (West Group 1995 and supps)

    Harold Weinstock, Planning an Estate: A Guidebook of Principles and Techniques (4th ed)(West Group 1995 and supps)

    David Westfall, Estate Planning Law and Taxation (Warren, Gorham & Lamont 1994 and supps)

    Robert Wilkins, Drafting Wills and Trust Agreements (West Group 1995 and supps)

Online Services
    Lexis and Westlaw each have specialized probate and estate planning databases that contain federal statutes and regulations, federal and state case law, and numerous secondary authorities.

Internet Resources
    Internet resources of many types relating to probate and estate planning matters are collected in Michael O. Love "Probate and Estate Planning Resources," The Internet Guide for Michigan Lawyers (ICLE, July 1998). The following websites are some of the most helpful ones found in the Internet Guide:

    Associations

    Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan

    http://www.icle.org/sections/probate/index.htm (contains information about the section, with articles from the Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal and links to other legal resources)

    American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

    http://www.actec.org (has general information about the organization)

    National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

    http://www.naela.org/ (has information for elderly clients about their legal needs, as well as information about joining the academy, which sponsors seminars and conferences and offers taped lectures and practice materials on elder law topics)

    Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association

    http://www.abanet.org/rppt/home.html (provides information about ABA membership, meetings, and seminars, as well as other general news; includes selected articles from the Probate & Property newsletter)

    Taxation Section of the AB

    http://207.49.1.6/tax/sites.html (useful umbrella site that contains links to substantive federal tax sites, federal court sites, foreign tax sites, gateways to other tax sites, miscellaneous tax sites, state tax sites, mega search of the Web, and software sites)

    General Resources

    Cornell’s Estate Planning Law Materials

    http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/estate_planning.html

    (includes links to federal estate and gift tax laws, the Uniform Probate Code, and state probate laws)

    Law Journal Extra! Trusts and Estates Source

    http://www.ljextra.com/practice/trusts/index.html (contains links to National Law Journal columns, discussion groups, government agencies, statutes, decisions, related resources, and law firm memos)

    Senior Law

    http://www.seniorlaw.com/ (has well-organized list of links to Web sites dealing with the elderly and elder law issues; includes a directory of elder law attorneys on the Web, articles written by attorneys, and links to Medicare and Medicaid resources)

    Tax and Estate Planning Resources on the World Wide Web

    http://www.1.mhv.net/~teahan/weblaw.htm (provides a good introduction to Web research in probate and estate planning; author outlines strengths and weaknesses of Web-based research with a particular focus on New York)

    Trust and Estate Sites

    http://www.ca-probate.com/index.htm (gives a quick overview of legal research sites available on the Web)

    Trusts and Estates

    http://law.house.gov/112.htm (this is a useful umbrella site that contains wills, estates, and probate codes for selected states; articles relating to wills and probate issues)

    Government Resources

    Michigan

    Michigan Aging Services System

    http://mass.iog.wayne.edu/ (contains information for those providing services to the elderly; includes news and legislative developments affecting the older population, a senior resource directory, a list of the Michigan Area Agencies on Aging, and population statistics)

    Federal Resources

    Federal Administration on Aging

    http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/ (provides information for consumers and those who provide services to the elderly; includes state long-term-care profiles, directories of state agencies on aging and state long-term-care ombudsman programs, statistical information on older persons, a guide to choosing a nursing home, and links to retirement and financial planning resources)

    Social Security Online

    http://www.ssa.gov/ (contains alphabetical index of Social Security rulings updated through 1996 and information about Social Security Administration (SSA) benefit programs, including cost-of-living adjustment and wage-indexed amounts; also provides SSA forms, including requests for hearings; SSA legislative information; and reports on the status of the Social Security and Medicare programs)