582 Wills & Administration (Bonora & Lafuente)

LAW582 

Wills & Administration

(Bonora & Lafuente)

Prerequisite courses: 

Prerequisite for: 

Instructor(s): Doris Bonora & Erin Lafuente

Course credit: 3

Method of presentation: Lecture

METHOD OF EVALUATION

GRADING BREAKDOWN

Participation              15% of Final Grade

Presentation              30% of Final Grade

Personal Directive     10% of Final Grade

Power of Attorney     10% of Final Grade

Will                           35% of Final Grade

PRESENTATION (20% presentation 10% written submission)

• The instructors will divide the class into groups of 4 or 5.

• Each group will be assigned a discussion topic related to the class topic of the day.

• The instructors will assign a side of the discussion topic for each student to discuss. Students will advocate for their assigned positions.

• Students will receive their assigned group and position via email by ____.

• Students will do their own research individually to find case law, or legislation to support their assigned position.

• Students should consult with their group to discuss their positions and divide issues and ideas so that the presentation makes sense as a whole.

• Each student will have 5 minutes to present their position, which does not include answering questions and class discussion.

• Each student will submit a 750 word maximum summary of their by 4:30 on the Friday after their presentation.

• Once all the presenters have presented, the presenters collectively  will provide a summary of the law on the topic.

•  Students may choose one person to present the answer, or may divide this portion among the group as they wish.

• Following the presentation, there will be a class discussion on the topic.

CLASS PARTICIPATION (15%)

• Please note: Missed classes must be reported in advance

• Responding to the instructors questions during lecture.

• Thoughtful contributions during class presentation discussions,

• Quality of questions asked to presenters (including if question is too difficult, or unclear)

ESTATE DOCUMENT DRAFTING ASSIGNMENT (55%)

Each student will draft a Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Personal Directive based on fact patterns and precedents provided by the instructors on the dates outlined in the course schedule.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The objective of the course is to teach the basics of wills and estates.  We will review the seminal cases and treat the class as a true estate practice where you act as a barrister and solicitor.  You will be a solicitor and draft a will, enduring power of attorney and personal directive.  You will also be barrister and present arguments in a moot setting on the important issues that arise in a wills and estates practice.

You will be tested on your drafting skills,  presentation skills and class participation.   

Policy about course outlines can be found in Course Requirements, Evaluation Procedures and Grading of the University Calendar.

SPECIAL COMMENTS

Description updated 2023-24. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.

REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY):

None – you will do your own research for the presentation and cases and statutory materials will be referenced in the class notes.