ACTEC Law Journal
ACTEC Law Journal published three times a year, explores in-depth tax, trust and estate topics as well as those that deal with the practical consequences and applications of the rapidly changing rules in these areas of law. Previously published as Probate Notes (1975-1990) and ACTEC Notes (1990-2001). Fellows may access back issues at actec.org. Non-Fellows may subscribe or purchase issues in the ACTEC Store.
ALI-CLE Estate Planning Course Materials Journal
ALI-CLE publishes the Estate Planning Course Materials Journal six times a year to bring you the most up-to-date estate planning materials from ALI CLE courses. ALI CLE editors cull through the thousands of pages of outlines, forms, updates, and checklists produced each year by our distinguished estate planning faculty. You get advice on the best new tools and methods for saving your clients money; outlines that are easy to read and practical in scope; time-saving forms and checklists that are easily adapted to your practice.
Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct
ACTEC Commentaries Sixth Edition (2023) This Sixth Edition of the ACTEC Commentaries continues the tradition of providing guidance on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct particular to estate and trust practitioners.
This edition addresses changes to the estate planning and probate practice, and the practice of law in general, since 2016, when the Fifth Edition was published. Topics include the effects the recent pandemic has had on the use of technology in the practice and subsequent changes to the formalities of document execution that had been in place for centuries; increasing concern about elder abuse and the dilemma of the client with diminishing capacity; and changes in family law and issues that have been addressed in cases and ethics opinions around the country since the Fifth Edition.
Engagement Letters
ACTEC Engagement Letters: A Guide for Practitioners, Third Edition, 2017, a companion volume to the ACTEC Commentaries, Fifth Edition, includes checklists and forms which address engagement scenarios to assist lawyers in providing professional and ethical services to clients.
Guide for Agents Acting Under Durable Financial Powers of Attorney
Guide for Agents Acting Under Durable Financial Powers of Attorney, prepared by the Practice Committee in May 2020 for use by ACTEC Fellows and their clients, provides a consensus of considerations for one acting as an Agent on behalf of a Principal, appointed under a Durable Financial Power of Attorney. The Guide presents extensive information regarding the responsibilities, scope of authority and specific expectations of serving in this role as a fiduciary.
Quicken Fiduciary Accounting Templates
The ACTEC Fiduciary Accounting Templates that have been designed for use with Intuit’s popular Quicken checking account and bookkeeping software (but not QuickBooks) are an outgrowth of a professional CLE program that was first presented in the spring of 1994 at ACTEC’s Annual Meeting. The purpose of that program was to demonstrate how a relatively inexpensive off-the-shelf bookkeeping software program, such as Quicken, could be effectively used to produce accounting reports for estates and trusts that conform to the National Accounting Standards and Model Account Formats that were developed by the Committee on National Fiduciary Accounting Standards in 1975.
Tax Tables
The ACTEC Tax Tables guide is a handy resource for frequently used tax information, revised through April 18, 2023. Content includes tables for Income Tax; Social Security; Estate and Gift Tax; Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax; Other Inflation-Adjusted Numbers; Treasury Unisex Actuarial Table Examples; Life Expectancy Tables; Qualified Plans, including SECURE 2.0 details; Interest Rates; and Charitable Deductions.
The publication was compiled for the College by ACTEC Fellows Susan T. Bart and Karen S. Gerstner.
What It Means to Be a Trustee: A Guide for Clients
What It Means to Be a Trustee is a primer for those considering the role of trustee. Perhaps you are considering naming a trustee for your family, or perhaps someone has suggested that you serve as a trustee yourself. The text is a consensus of suggestions and considerations. Reading the text will not equip you to be a trustee, but, instead, the authors intend to offer you an appreciation of what it means to be a trustee. For those considering accepting a trusteeship, the goal is not to encourage or discourage but rather to ensure that any such decision is made with sufficient information to understand the basic ramifications.
