LREP : I. GENERAL EP RESEARCH: helpful estate planning information, estate planning links by topic

I. GENERAL EP RESEARCH

LREP > I. GENERAL EP RESEARCH

As mentioned on my Home Page, I am very thankful and honored that Legal Research for Estate Planners (LREP) has evolved to a national resource on estate planning (with reviews provided by many fellow practitioners) from its single page beginning. To allow efficient research, LREP is divided into six (6) systematic categories, descending from more general estate planning (EP) research information to more specific, practical information on estate planning. This LREP category provides general estate planning information, including gateways, tax sites, and research resources. I hope that you find this category of sites helpful.

A. Overview Articles on EP Research; B. EP Gateways; C. Accounting Tax Sites; D. Helpful EP Texts & Treatises

A. Overview Articles on EP & Tax Law Research

Joseph G. Hodges, Jr., Technology Corner, The Journal of Practical Estate Planning (February-March 2002) (Commerce Clearing House (CCH)) (written by distinguished ACTEC fellow) (5/24/2002)

Donald H. Kelley and Joseph G. Hodges, Jr., Trusts and Estates Resources on the Internet, Trusts & Estates (March 2001) (under “Legal-Specific Web Sites”) (accessible via Trusts & Estates under "Table of Contents") (7/4/2001)

B. General EP & Tax Law Sites (Back to T op of GENERAL EP RESEARCH)

1. Selected Gateways (some of the most comprehensive general sites):

FindLaw® Wills, Trusts, Estate & Probate or FindLaw® Tax (a good starting point on the Internet for legal research projects; design similar to Yahoo)

CataLaw® Wills, Estates and Trusts Law or CataLaw® Tax Law (another good starting point, but unique design to rank catalogued sites, which many users prefer)

Estate Planning Links Web Site - Dennis Toman (Greensboro, NC) (created by Dennis M. Kennedy) (a very good site; design similar to Yahoo, but solely on estate planning) (

10/11/2003)

Hieros Gamos® Estate and Trust Law or Hieros Gamos® Guide to Taxation Law (another good starting point, but blended design (similar to Yahoo and CataLaw))

The Tax Prophet® - Robert L. Sommers (San Francisco) (very good; novel design)

lexisONE(sm) Legal Research ("The Resource for Small Firms"; features link to subscription or fee-based Lexis-Nexis, free legal forms, the Legal Web Site Directory with practice areas including Probate and Estate Law, and more) (5/31/2002)

Tax Professional's Corner - IRS (very helpful) (

12/6/2002)

2. Other General Sites:

Trusts and Estates, Wills and Probate - Martindale-Hubbell®'s Lawyers.com® (various articles, message boards, and more) (

12/6/2002)

Probate, Trusts, and Estates - MegaLaw.com (9/2/2001)

Essential Links™ to Taxes

Tax and Accounting Sites Directory - Professor Dennis Schmidt (links to various legislative sources)

Tax World - Professor Thomas C. Omer (U. of Illinois at Chicago) (very good; more focused on accounting)

Will Yancey's Home Page (very good vintage site; also more focused on accounting)

Uncle Fed's Tax Board – National Tax Services

C. Accounting Tax Sites (Back to T op of GENERAL EP RESEARCH)

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (excellent site)

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Journal (hundreds of free articles)

Deloitte & Touche On-line (

10/11/2003)

Ernst & Young On-line

KPMG International On-line

PriceWaterhouse Coopers On-line

D. Helpful EP & Tax Law Texts (Back to T op of GENERAL EP RESEARCH)

1. General Tax and Estate Planning Texts and Resources: (see also Tax & EP Outlines under EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

Tax Management Portfolios: Estates, Gifts & Trusts, Federal Income Tax, and Foreign Income Tax Series (Bureau of National Affairs (BNA); superb explanations on almost any tax topic; website now includes Microsoft® Word™ version of tables of contents and descriptions of every Portfolio in every series)

STEPHENS, MAXFIELD, LIND & CALFEE. FEDERAL ESTATE & GIFT TAXATION (7th ed. 1996 & Supp. 1998) (Warren, Gorham & Lamont (WG&L); one of my favorite books)

ZARITSKY, TAX PLANNING FOR FAMILY WEALTH TRANSFERS (3d ed. 1997 & Supp. 1999) (WG&L; another favorite book)

2. Income Tax Texts: (see also Tax & EP Outlines under EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

CHIRELSTEIN, FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION (8th ed. 1997) (Foundation Press; excellent)

FERGUSON, FREELAND & ASCHER, FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF ESTATES, TRUSTS & BENEFICIARIES (Supp. 1999) (Aspen Law & Business (now part of CCH)) (

4/18/2004)

3. Partnership Tax Texts: (see also Tax & EP Outlines under EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

GUNN, PARTNERSHIP INCOME TAXATION (2d ed. 1995) (Foundation Press; very helpful in understanding a difficult subject)

CUNNINGHAM & CUNNINGHAM, THE LOGIC OF SUBCHAPTER K: A CONCEPTUAL GUIDE TO THE TAXATION OF PARTNERSHIPS (1996) (West)

4. Corporate Tax Texts: (see also Tax & EP Outlines under EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

BITTKER & EUSTICE, FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION OF CORPORATIONS AND SHAREHOLDERS (1998 & Supp. 1999) (WG&L)

SCHWARZ & LATHROPE, CORPORATE AND PARTNERSHIP TAXATION (3d ed. 1997) (Black Letter Series: West; great examples)

5. Other Entity Tax Texts and Resources:

KRAMER & POPE, eds., FEDERAL TAXATION 1999: CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIPS, ESTATES, AND TRUSTS (1998) (Prentice Hall; a summary of entity taxation; others, such as individual federal income taxation, are also published)

SARGENT & SCHWIDETZKY, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY HANDBOOK (1998-99) (West Group (Securities Law Series); very good comparison of entities and samples/forms)

6. Tax Research:

RAABE, WHITTENBURG, BOST & SANDERS, FEDERAL TAX RESEARCH (5th ed. 2000) (West; if you cannot find something on the Internet, this book will probably direct you to the necessary source(s))