Estate planning is a broad practice area, encompassing financial and non-financial issues related to end of life decision making and the transmission of property. It includes helping clients arrange their financial affairs to make arrangements for their property and their personal needs -- during their lives, in case of disability, and after death.
Clients at all income levels and with all kinds of families have estate planning needs, and the estate planning practice varies greatly depending on the type of clients an estate planner represents. The estate planner will focus on issues of the client's overall estate-planning objectives and how best to accomplish them with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, long-term health care, end of life care, and other planning vehicles. Those representing wealthy individuals and families must have in-depth knowledge of tax and business law, since they may use sophisticated planning vehicles such as specialized trusts, family-limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and private charitable foundations to reduce potential tax burdens.
Some estate planners focus on the needs of the elderly. Elder law is a growing field that overlaps with estate planning. Lawyers practicing elder law handle estate planning issues, but focus on issues the elderly face, such as the preservation/transfer of assets when a spouse enters a nursing home, medicaid, medicare claims and appeals, conservatorships and guardianships, long-term care placements, elder abuse, and fraud recovery cases.
Elder law practitioners may also handle disability law, since the issues are often similar. Attorneys who primarily work with the elderly or clients with disabilities often bring more to their practice than legal expertise. They are familiar with the real life problems, health and otherwise, of the elderly and disabled, and they often are tied into a formal or informal system of social workers, psychologists and other professionals.
Estate planners work in law firms of all sizes, the trust departments of financial institutions, and in development offices of nonprofit organizations and foundations. Estate planners, no matter who their clients are, must have good people skills, enjoy attention to detail, and a have a sophisticated understanding of family dynamics and how those dynamics affect legal outcomes.
Core/Foundation Courses
These are the basic courses that -- at a minimum -- employers expect a student interested in this specialty to have.
- Introduction to Estate Planning
- Law and the Elderly
- Tax I (A or B)
- Taxation of Trusts & Estates
- Trusts and Estates
Recommended Courses
Students interested in this practice area should consider including one or more of the following courses as electives.
- Administrative Law
- Business Organizations I
- Client Interviewing and Counseling
- Marital Property (for those practicing in Wisconsin)
- Selected Topics in Estate Planning
- Use of Trusts in Estate Planning
Enrichment Courses
These courses deepen or broaden the skills and substantive information that a lawyer in this field needs and may also provide advanced courses for students interested in a specialty within this area of practice.
- Health Law
- L&CP: Domestic Violence
- L&CP: ERISA
- L&CP: Law and People with Disabilities
- L&CP: Patient Advocacy
- Taxation: Concepts for Business and Personal Planning
(Note that whether a particular course is scheduled depends on faculty availability and student demand.)
Clinics, Internships, and Externships
None currently in this practice area.
Student Organizations and Related Activities
None currently in this practice area.
Faculty
Here are some of the full-time faculty who teach or have an interest in this area of law:
Howard
Erlanger
Room 9109
263-7405
erlanger@ssc.wisc.edu
In addition to our full-time faculty, the Law School's adjunct
faculty members -- prominent practicing lawyers and judges -- bring
their specialized knowledge and experience to the classroom.
Advice From Faculty & Friends
[If you are a faculty member or adjunct lecturer and would like to add information, give advice, or share your experiences, please email Carolyn Lazar Butler at clbutler2@wisc.edu .]