Estate planning practice entails preparing clients for death, while also pursuing various lifetime objectives. The issues that estate planning addresses include the transfer of wealth at death, asset management during life, medical decision-making, and planning for incapacity or disability. Given the breadth of these issues, estate planning intersects with a variety of areas of law, including property, tax, family law, business law, and elder law.
The needs of clients who seek estate planning services vary greatly depending upon the size and nature of their wealth, their familial situations, and their specific goals. For clients with substantial wealth, estate planning might entail the preparation of sophisticated trust instruments that not only dispose of wealth at death but also minimize tax liability and provide for asset management during life. Some clients’ estate plans might also call for succession of control of family-owned businesses or charitable giving, which might necessitate the establishment of various types of business entities or private charitable foundations.
Even for clients of modest means, estate planning is important. For these clients, estate planning may entail preparation of simple wills or trusts that distribute property and plan for the needs of minor children and surviving spouses, advanced health directives that provide guidance regarding how medical decisions should be made if the client is unable to make them, and powers of attorney that empower others to act on behalf of the client in times of incapacity or disability.
In addition to crafting and implementing plans to achieve these various goals, estate planning lawyers also assist clients and their families in carrying out these plans. Upon the death of a client, an estate planning lawyer may assist the deceased client’s personal representative in navigating the probate process, including in the routine administration of the decedent’s estate and in estate disputes. Similarly, estate planning lawyers may also assist in the administration of trusts both during the client’s life and after death.
We offer a wide range of relevant courses. Not every course is offered regularly, and to be a well-rounded lawyer you should take many other courses as well.
Courses foundational to the topic
- Contract Law
- Property Law
Courses focused on the topic
- Estate Planning
- Wills, Trusts, and Estates
Courses aware of the topic
- Elder Law
- Family Law
- Fiduciary Administration
- Income Tax
- Restitution and Unjust Enrichment
Relevant combination degrees include Social Work, Accountancy, and Heatlh Administration
American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal
The University of South Carolina School of Law plays a unique and integral role in publishing the Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Journal of the ABA Section on Real Property, Trust and Estate Law.
The Journal is the premier scholarly publication in the fields of real property, probate, estate planning, and trust law. It is one of the largest law reviews in the country in terms of numbers of subscribers, which include ABA Section members, major law firms, and law libraries.
South Carolina law students perform the core editing for the Journal, ensuring that its rigorous scholarly standards are maintained. Our law students also work with the Journal’s professional editorial board, which is composed of law professors and practicing lawyers located nationwide, and they have opportunities to interact with Section leadership and staff.
Externships
- Judicial Externship (select Probate Court placements)