This material is offered for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Persons with a specific legal concern should engage competent counsel. All contents copyright ©2002 Frederick R. Franke, Jr.

Estate Planning Fundamentals: An overview of common estate planning techniques.

The Maryland Law of Estates & Trusts: Material derived from Mr. Franke's lecture notes from the Estates and Trusts course he taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Family Limited Partnerships: A summary of the tax and non-tax advantages of family limited partnership planning.

Valuation Discounting: A detailed outline of discount planning with family limited partnerships and other entities that includes a "Chapter 14" analysis and a discussion of the developing case law impacting family limited partnerships.

2001 Tax Act: A detailed outline of the new federal tax act. This includes a discussion of the income tax changes – including 529 Education Plans – and the impact of estate tax "repeal."

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: An overview of how irrevocable life insurance trusts work.

Revocable (Living) Trust: A detailed outline that serves as an introduction for tax professionals to revocable living trust planning.

Estate Organizer: A tool for people to use to organize important personal and financial information. (Adobe PDF document)

Guidelines for Execution of Estate Planning Documents: An overview of execution instructions.

Choice of Business Entity: A summary of some of the considerations for selecting the "right" business entity, whether for family transactions or for other arrangement.