This area of specialty is ideal for legal assistants working with attorneys whose practice consists of some or all probate. This unit of study introduces the legal assistant to the essential requirements of wills, trusts, types of estates and estate taxes. It takes the student on a step-by-step process through all procedures involved in both formal and informal probate. Special emphasis is placed on the roles of various participants in the administration of a probate matter-the lawyer, the personal representative of the estate, the court and the legal assistant. A review of the responsibility that can be delegated to the legal assistant is included. Attention is given to training legal assistants in how to execute many of the probate forms necessary from the commencement through completion of the probate procedure.
