CLE Course Description
Texas Estate, Will, Trust, and Probate Case Review
Course 1, Current Cases on Trial and Appellate Court Jurisdiction
© A. Hawkins 2000 
CLE Course Provider
YouKnowItAll.com

Tuition 
Tuition for this course is $60.

Time
The course is a 3.0 hour course.
If you study all of it carefully, you may greatly exceed 3.0 hours. The nature of the course allows you to select cases of the most interest to you for your focus while spending less time on other cases if you wish to do so. 

MCLE

MCLE Credit for states other than Texas varies. Some states accept this course. Some may not. If you need information about a particular jurisdiction, or need assistance to meet the requirements of a particular state, please contact us so we may assist you. The methods for reporting credit vary.

Texas MCLE Approval

This course has been approved by the State Bar of Texas for mandatory continuing education participatory MCLE credit of 3.0 hours, none of which qualifies for ethics/professional responsibility credit.

We send the report of your credit to the State Bar of Texas.

Texas State Bar College

This course has been approved by the Texas State Bar College for 3.0 hours.

Specialization MCLE Credit

This course has been approved by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for certification and recertification continuing legal education requirements for attorneys and legal assistants in the following specialty fields:

Approved Hours    Specialty Field


3.0       
            Estate Planning and Probate Law

                        3.0                   Civil Appellate Law

                        3.0                   Civil Trial Law

After you take the course, to earn the MCLE credit, you will be asked to certify to youknowitall.com that you have spent at least the specified time studying this course material.  If you spend less time, and wish to receive the credit for that time, please alert us to that. We will accommodate you and adjust the tuition and CLE credit to reflect the lesser time.

In order to receive  participatory MCLE credit, you are required to participate in the Discussion Group by having the opportunity to read the comments and questions of other students and having the opportunity to make your comments and ask your questions so other students and the teacher can respond. The Discussion Group, also known as the Discussion Forum, allows you that opportunity. You can be educated by the comments and questions of the other students, and you can educate the other students by your comments and questions.

Approval of on line CLE courses by the State Bar of Texas MCLE committee is experimental. We encourage you to express your views about the value of online CLE to the MCLE committee.

Scope and Objective  

This continuing legal education course reviews selected recent Texas probate and guardianship jurisdiction published appellate opinions issued through July 12, 2000.  This is the first of a series of courses on Texas estate litigation cases. Subsequent courses will cover other issues that have arisen within probate litigation. Sequels will be prepared as court opinions and student interest warrants.

 

The philosophy of this series of courses is that you are better educated if you read the words of the court, rather than only the words of the author.  Therefore, this course relies of the opinions of the court, with editing to provide focus on the particular issue and to make the material easier to read and comprehend. The author provides commentary, ideas, and questions as a supplement to the words of the courts.

Teacher  
A. Hawkins is the author of the written materials, teacher, and discussion group leader. Hawkins received his Juris Doctorate degree from the Duke University School of Law, and his Master of Laws in Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law. Hawkins has practiced law, including litigating the issue of probate jurisdiction in Texas trial and appellate courts. He does not claim to have mastered the law, much less the law of probate jurisdiction, which no one has mastered. Nevertheless, he is the guru for this course.

Medium and Location  
The course is an online internet course, at http://www.youknowitall.com.

You may print the text of this course, or read it on your computer screen. The choice is yours.

Dates  
This course is continuously. As a practical matter, this course is always available. 

Due to regulatory requirements, this course has official beginning and ending dates and is repeated on a regular schedule of three times per month with one course from the first to the tenth of each month, another from the eleventh to the twentieth of each month, and a third from the twenty-first to the last day of each month. You may join the course at any time during these scheduled times. You do not have to sign up on or before the first day.  We will need to know when you take it, so you can get MCLE credit in the correct time period and meet the regulatory requirements..

Value 
This course costs $60.  Is this what they call nominal, a pittance, a good deal, or a cheap date? We hope that you will think so.  If you don’t think it is worth it, don’t pay. If you think it is worth it, pay.  Is that cool? We think so. If you don’t find value in this course, don’t pay us, and we won’t process MCLE credit for you. If you do find value, pay us and we will process the MCLE credit.  And . . . you are the judge! It costs you nothing to try us. All you risk is your time. We aren’t worried. We believe you will find it to be a worthwhile course, i.e., not just a cheap date but a memorable one. We think you will become a knowitall, pay us, get the MCLE credit, and recommend us to your friends so they too can knowitall. 

If you don’t need MCLE credit, we can skip that part and you can take the course and pay us what you think is fair. Again, you be the judge. Decide the value to you and pay us what you decide. It is the honor system. Be honorable.  We may change this policy later, but for now, that is how we are operating. Try it, we think you will like it.

Serious  
We are serious about the substantive law. We just don’t take ourselves too seriously. We sat at too many of those long skinny hotel tables wondering when the speaker will finish. We want to teach. We want you to learn. We plan to have fun doing it. We think you will like it this way, but if not, tough luck. If you must have your education dry as dust, either go elsewhere for it, or take our course in west Texas on a windy spring day so the dry dust in the air can satisfy your desire for dry material, or dry humor.

Humor  
Most humor is supplied by those who make the law, and those who apply it. Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes not. Look for it. It makes the study of law less tedious. 

Your Required Responses
1. Your participation in a Discussion Group, aka Discussion Forum, is required for participatory Texas MCLE credit.  This rule does not require you to state any comment or question. The rule does require you to have the opportunity to comment, ask questions, and the opportunity to read the comments and questions of others. 

2. Your certification of completion in which you certify that you actually put in the hours that you claim and that you attended the Discussion Group

3. Your evaluation of this course in which you tell us if it was worthwhile for you.  

Questions or Problems?

If anything is not clear, or if anything on the web does not work correctly, please let us know so we can help. We may be reached  

by email at: 
ahawkins@youknowitall.com

or by telephone at:
A. Hawkins at:
915-352-5709 (Texas)
602-770-5906 (Arizona)

Payment

If you decide to take the course, you may pay by check as follows:

Please make the check out to A. Hawkins and mail it to:

A. Hawkins
PMB #147
3370 N. Hayden Road #123
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251

        To go to the text of the course itself, click on the name of the course below.

Texas Estate, Will, Trust, and Probate Case Review
Course 1, Current
Cases on Trial and Appellate Court Jurisdiction