Estate Planning For Dummies

by N. Brian Caverly, Brian Caverley

If you're like most people, you want to be sure that, once you've passed on, no more of your property and money will be lost to the government than is absolutely necessary. You want to know that you'll be leaving your heirs your assets and not your debts. You want to be absolutely certain that your will is ship-shape, your insurance policies are structured properly, and that every conceivable hole in your estate plan has been filled. And most of all, you'd like to do all of this without driving yourself crazy trying to make sense of the complicated jargon, jumble of paperwork, and welter of state and federal laws involved in the estate planning process.Written by two estate planning pros, this simple, easy-to-use guide takes the pain out of planning for your ultimate financial future. In plain English, the authors walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to: Put your estate into orderMinimize estate taxesWrite a proper willDeal with probateSet up trustsMake sure your insurance policies are structured properlyPlan for special situations, like becoming incompetent and pet care Craft a solid estate plan and keep it up-to-date

Don't leave the final disposition of your estate up to chance and the whims of bureaucrats. "Estate Planning For Dummies" gives you the complete lowdown on: Figuring out what you're really worthMastering the basics of wills and probateUsing will substitutes and dodging probate taxesSetting up protective trusts, charitable trusts, living trusts and moreMaking sense of state and federal inheritance taxesAvoiding the generation skipping transfer taxMinimizing all your estate-related taxesEstate planning for family businessesCreating a comprehensive estate plan

Straightforward, reader-friendly, easy-to-use, "Estate Planning For Dummies" is the ultimate guide to planning your family's future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance, Reference, Business

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2003

Reviews

[Bruce]

Like other Dummies books, it is approachable and basic, but gives you an elementary grasp of the topic. It makes a good reference book.

However, the topic, wrapped up in tax legislation, gets dated quickly. If they cut out the cute parenthetical jokes, frequent repetition, and the constant citations to other parts of the book, they could make it 1/3 shorter.

[Marsha Lynn]

Good information, well organized. It's time for a new edition, however. In 2003, the authors could see change coming down the road and had to deal with multiple uncertainties. It would be nice to know the current situation without doing extensive research.

[Shane Kennedy]

A decent read for those seeking an intro. Its references are dated to the early-mid 2000s, which since then there’s been a good amount of changes that impact the material.

[Jeffrey Poston]

It was a good resource... to prepare me to go the attorney! It's got all the terms and definitions that served as a great introduction to the topic. No way anyone can actually write a trust or other estate document with an attorney (my opinion), but this book served its purpose, which was so that I could talk intelligently about the topic with the attorney.

[Stacie]

I didn't get to finish this but it was quite informative. I would definately recommend it as a must read for everyone. I do plan to buy it to keep in my home library for frequent reference.

[Adam Grandberg]

Good resource for "estate planning" as the title suggests.

[Juanita Pipkin]

Great for basic information about Estate Planning or as a reference to use when meeting with a professional