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Canyon College



COURSE SYLLABUS: WILLS, TRUSTS and ESTATES

Course Title: Department: Instructor:

LS344 - WILLS, TRUSTS and ESTATES Legal Studies George E. Guay III, J.D. E-Mail - Vitae

TEXT: Online Bookstore

Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates. 3rd Ed. West Publishing, 2003. ISBN #: 0766852814

Course Description

Students in this course will learn about issues concerning the distribution of one’s property at the time of death. This course will explore the differences between dying testate or intestate. It will consider the elements necessary for creating a valid will and the process involved in distributing the estate at the time of death. Also, students will learn about trusts, especially as estate planning mechanisms to mitigate the impact of estate taxes.

Components of Final Grade:

Chapter quizzes (14) Research paper

80% 20% 100%

Course Requirements

Students will have a week’s prior notice before any modification of course requirements would take effect.

Grading

Students will complete fourteen quizzes (80% of the grade) and will write a research paper on any topic of interest to the student relating to class topics (20% of the grade).

Testing

The student will successfully complete an "open book" quiz based upon material in each of the chapters in the text. Each quiz has twenty multiple-choice and/or true-false questions. Students are not timed. These are open-book quizzes.

Students need to use the following link to take the quizzes: http://www.platon-line.com/wiseQuiz2b3/index.php?templateid=1

These exercises constitute 80% of a student’s grade for the course.

Research Paper

Students have to write a ten-page paper (excluding title page and references) on any topic raised in the text. Students will need to cite to other material that is peer-reviewed (i.e., that has been reviewed by peers in the author’s field). Students need at least five references.

The pages need to be double-spaced, with one-inch margins and 10-point type. Students need to put footnotes and references in an appropriate and consistent style. Students may select which style they’d like to follow, although most might find it easiest to pick between APA and MLA style.

This exercise constitutes 20% of a student’s grade for the course.

NOTES

Instances of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to reliance upon others for answers to questions or for access to information which could lead to the earning of a grade in this class outside of the described and required conditions, will result in a grade of zero per incident. All participants engaging in this conduct will receive a zero.

Students should know that this class will abide by the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact the instructor as soon as possible so that reasonable accommodations can be made so that a student can gain the fullest benefit of the course. Students should expect to provide necessary documentation.

Syllabus

If there is any question in a student's mind as to what is required for this class, the student has the responsibility to resolve such questions.

Course Schedule

This is outline is a suggested sequence for doing the assignments. It is not mandatory; students should work through the material at a pace that feels comfortable to them.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7

Chapters 1-2 Chapters 3, 4 Chapters 5,6 Chapters 7, 8 Chapters 9, 10 Chapters 11, 12 Chapters 13, 14