The fourth edition of this book updates laws affecting intestate succession, wills, guardianships and trusts. It introduces wills terminology to the lay audience and summarizes the law of trusts with references to the Uniform Trust Code and the Restatement of Trusts.

It uses problems arising from celebrity peccadilloes and deaths, such as those of Brooke Astor, James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Anna Nichole Smith to illustrate legal issues. The book can be adopted to supplement a traditional wills and trusts class or as the sole text for a seminar.