The Uniform Probate Code and the Uniform Trust Code are not laws. They are models that some states have used when writing their own probate and trust laws.

At this point in time, some states have used the Uniform Trust Code and/or the Uniform Probate Code as a model when writing their own laws. Some states have used bits and pieces of the models, and some states have not used them at all.

Your state may or may not have used one of the uniform models. Even if your state did use one of the model laws, chances are your state’s legislature would have changed it to customize it to their own laws and practices. What’s important to you is the actual law in your state, not a hypothetical model.

As you know, you can find a lot on the internet. Sure, you could go online and find the Uniform Probate Code and the Uniform Trust Code and you could read them. But would you then know the law? No—at best you would be confused (and perhaps bored) and at worst you would base your decisions on incorrect information.

So Savvy Clients don’t need to know about uniform laws (unless they love reading model legislation)!

You need an estate planning lawyer admitted to the bar in your state because he or she will know what the law actually is, as opposed to a hypothetical law you heard about.

Excerpt from the book Estate Planning for the Savvy Client: What You Need to Know Before You Meet With Your Lawyer by Mary L. Barrow, Esq.

Copyright ©2020, 2017 by Mary L. Barrow

THIS EXCERPT IS A BRIEF SUMMARY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE ADVICE OF COMPETENT LEGAL COUNSEL FROM AN ATTORNEY ADMITTED OR AUTHORIZED TO PRACTICE LAW IN YOUR JURISDICTION. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY BEFORE IMPLEMENTING OR CHANGING ANY ESTATE PLANNING STRATEGY.