Estate Planning Basics

by Denis Clifford

Estate planning. Not exactly the way most people would like to spend a free, sunny weekend (or even a rainy one). The process sounds arduous, time-consuming and more than a little scary.In order to make estate planning as painless as possible, Nolo presents Attorney Denis Clifford's new handbook, Estate Planning Basics. This Quick & Legal book provides concise, straightforward and easy-to-read explanations of the major components of estate planning, so that regular folks don't have to spend hours wading through endless options (most of which apply to the wealthy). These explanations include: - choosing beneficiaries- estate planning by parents with minor children- wills- living trusts- other probate avoidance methods, including using a retirement plan like an IRA or 401(k) as an estate planning device- estate taxes, and tax reduction methods- trusts for people in second marriages, or for those leaving property to a disabled person- planning for the handling of medical and financial decisions if one becomes incompetent.With over twenty years of experience in helping people plan their estates, Attorney Denis Clifford gives readers the reliable, plain-English answers they need, whether they're doling out the family heirlooms or steering clear of estate taxes. And now, thanks to Estate Planning Basics, these tasks don't have to take all weekend.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Finance, Law, Adult, Legal

212 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I never planned to attend a seminar on living trusts, I appreciated the information on why I shouldn’t.

I learned, among other things, that the IRS treats living trusts property and can’t be used to lower one’s income tax but neither will one lose any tax benefits.

Estate Planning Basics was informative.

[Rama Rao · Rating 1 out of 5]

Planning for your assets

I did not learn much from this book about making trusts or will. The author provides an overall picture about estate planning without going into any significant details. In fact, I learnt more from blogs and estate planning websites. I was researching about making a Trust that protect my beneficiaries, and learn about federal and state laws, estate, and inheritance taxes. I was also considering situations, like health, debt flow to the beneficiaries, pet care, charitable trusts, living trusts, and avoiding the generation skipping transfer taxes and making a comprehensive estate plan.

An estate is everything you own, money, property, and other personal belongings. An estate plan is not only for wealthy, but everyone who own anything of value or if you have dependents who need to be cared for. A living trust is a legal document, or trust, created during an individual's lifetime (the trustor or grantor) where a designated person, the trustee, is given responsibility for managing that individual's assets for the benefit of the eventual beneficiary. A living trust is designed to allow for the easy transfer of the trust creator bypassing the complex legal process of probate. I found that opting for revocable trust over irrevocable trust has some major benefits.

[Gregory Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Worthwhile Primer

This book is an easy-to-read outline of the key things one should do when planning an estate. I had my documents prepared some time ago, but thought it was now time to update the documents given the many changes in my life. The book covers such subjects as:
- Wills
- Living Trusts
- Young Beneficiaries
- Avoiding Probate
- Planning for Incapacity

Getting your will and other estate planning documents in order is never a fun task. Given that this is my second time up at-bat preparing these documents I wanted to make sure I was a little smarter than the first time around. The book is probably better suited to those with fairly modest estates, however the principles are the same whether the estate is large or small (with the exception of estate taxes which do not impact too many people nowadays as you need a pretty big estate ($11 million and up) to worry about this).

He spends a fair bit of time discussing probate and the benefit of living wills which was quite informative. Overall a quick and worthwhile read.

[Arwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOLO books are always excellent, and this one is no exception. I even enjoy its smaller size because it's easier to handle.

This actually came to us at a really good time because now that many of our friends and family are having kids they are beginning to think about what would happen if they were to pass away. It has a nice large section just on Children.

It also does a good job explaining wills and living trusts, and ways to help avoid probate. The back has several estate plan examples for people in different situations in life.

I always recommend NOLO books 100%. If you are in the beginning stages of planning for your estate pick up this book.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book clear, honest and straightforward on the topic of creating trusts and estate planning. It has a slight anti-lawyer flavor, which is not necessarily bad. The only places it leaves unclear are state specific issues that understandably are perhaps too detailed for an overview book. The book does list sources to obtain state related information.
If you want to understand the topic of estate planning, in my case, specifically revocable living trusts, this is a great book.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's in the title: "Basics." And this book is quite basic. The only thing new I learned was that Texas is the only state in the union that doesn't allow you to avoid probate on a brokerage account with a TOD designation, which was news to me, because my brokerage didn't tell me that when it accepted my form designating beneficiaries for my brokerage account....

[John Howland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource that gives easily understood concepts in an approachable manner. The most complicated part of the book is the title. It is probably the most financially impactful book I’ve read as there are a lot of money saving tips throughout

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

do-it-yourself, unless you shouldn't. the last chapter was the most insightful.

[Clark Herring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and simple explanation about wills and trusts. allowed me to learn the terminology to start the process.

[Dee’s Cozy Corner Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear information on topic. Very pertinent information. No probate.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Other than referencing some other books that look like they might be interesting I found little useful in the book

[Birdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you have a will yet? If not, or if yours needs updating as mine did, you might find this book very helpful. Stop procrastinating! Just do it!

[Sachin Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative book on planning the estate for the beginners.

[Karen Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book if you don’t know about estate planning. Recommend book and easy read and well broken out for easy look up of terms and concepts.

[Laura]

Since published in 1999, not very helpful.

[Darryl Kaifesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, a though to grasp some of the information, but definitely useful

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOLO publishes business and legal guides that are consistently easy to comprehend and helpful to the layperson. This 7th edition of Estate Planning Basics is straightforward in it's organization and in the advice that it offers.

If you've avoided dealing with estate planning, the book does give some steps that can be implemented as you're still deciding how best to allocate whatever assets you might have. Here are a few of the things that I found particularly helpful:

(1) the description of different ways to transfer property (wills, living trusts, pay-on-death accounts for bank deposits and securities, transfer-on-death real estate deeds, transfer-on-death vehicle registration, joint tenancy, tenancy by entirety) some of which can be undertaken without necessarily hiring an attorney;
(2) Estate Planning Basics - doesn't cover all the different scenarios and instead suggests a variety of NOLO books for more specialized concerns such as blended families, families with young children, online living trusts, special needs trusts, trusts for pets, planning for long term care, etc.
(3) shared gifts - raises questions re: partitioning, whether the beneficiaries should sell the property or share ongoing ownership of the property.
(4) "dead hand" controls -trying to impose conditions that control use or gifting of the property after you die - whether to keep property within the family or giving the gift only under some conditions, or control the property for a set period of time.
(5) suggesting couples use a survivorship clause or a simultaneous death clause in their wills
(6) legal challenges and lawsuits against your estate
(7) drafting an ethical will as a separate document. An ethical will is a document through which someone expresses the beliefs and experiences that have mattered most in his/her life and while this can be valuable both to the person writing it and to his/her heirs, they recommend that you use a separate document for your ethical will so that it is not joined with the practical details of the will or trust and managing material assets.
(8) the importance of creating a UTMA (Uniform Trust for Minors Act) trust for minor children or a family pot trust and their benefits over assigning a "property guardian" to manage the minor children's property.
(9) the value of tax-saving educational investment plans (529 plans) and Coverdell accounts for families with young children.
(10) Spendthrift trusts for adult children
(11) Suggestions re: ways to leave gifts for other people's children depending on the value of the gift, etc.
(12) Planning for incapacity, medical care and finances: discusses and compares the living will, durable power of attorney, advance health care directive, health care agent, attorney in fact for finances, springing power of attorney, durable power of attorney for finances. Also discussed are DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders and POLST Forms (Physician's Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment).
(13) the discussion on the types of legal wills such as the holographic (handwritten) wills (which the author does not recommend), pour over wills (also not recommended), statutory wills (only recommended for uncomplicated situations), electronic wills (only valid in Nevada), oral wills (also not recognized in most states), and video wills (not recognized).
(14) discussion of how all property left by will must go through the expensive process of probate. The author discusses the importance of having the will be part of one's larger estate plan.
Overall, Estate Planning Basics, is good at what it does insofar as it gives the reader a broad perspective on estate planning. It's likely a good beginning book to help someone develop an understanding of the possible issues and find resources geared towards his/her specific needs.

The main reason that I only gave the book 3 stars is that more than other NOLO books, this Estate Planning Basics, focuses and is limited to an overview. While Atty. Clifford discusses a variety of scenarios and fact patterns, the book doesn't have sample forms for the reader to use. Admittedly, sample forms may do more harm than good as it may encourage readers to undertake drafting these documents on their own without fully reflecting or comprehending the importance of certain choices. Another negative is that the section on same-sex marriages hasn't been updated to reflect the changes in federal law.

ISBN-10: 1413319254 - Paperback $16.86
Publisher: Nolo; Seventh Edition edition (August 30, 2013), 240 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine Program.

About the Author:
Denise Clifford is a practicing estate planning attorney and the author of several bestselling books on estate planning, including Make Your Own Living Trust and Plan Your Estate (Nolo).

[Karen Ireland-Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is precisely as advertised – a simple to read, well organized primer on the basic elements of an estate plan. [return]Each chapter begins with a short overview of the topic to be covered – beneficiaries, children, and wills for example. The language is relatively simple, yet not patronizing. [return]Within each topic, more concise subheadings introduce a short discussion of that subtopic. None of these are very long, ranging from a single paragraph to a couple of pages. Specialized related topics are discussed in highlighted boxes. Resources for further information – usually Nolo products - are also lined out. [return]Nolo’s underlying philosophy is that consumers usually don’t need attorneys. Instead, through fill-in-the-blank forms and checklists (offered, of course, by Nolo online, for a fee), the consumer is told repeatedly that an attorney is unnecessary for “most” estate plan situations. From time to time, the author will opine that a reader with a certain type of problem or needing a specialized kind of legal document needs to see an attorney. [return]I’m a huge fan of demystifying the law. I believe that legalese isn’t necessary (and that some attorneys use it to appear learned), and that most people can represent themselves or draw up a simple will. [return]On the other hand, law is full of pitfalls, even for those of us who passed the bar exam. A consumer who fails to study this very carefully may make a problem, rather than solve one. A concern for me is that I don’t believe that the information in this book is always sufficient for a consumer to *identify* an issue that could be problematic. [return]Otherwise, I have only one little quibble with the content. That was the author’s failure to even mention the existence, let along the effect, of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs) on the distribution of retirement funds post-divorce. [return][return][Full disclosure - I am an attorney. One of the things I really liked about this volume was that it covers the same topics as a first-year law student’s probate class, vastly simplified. I’d forgotten how much ground gets covered!]

[Alain Burrese · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Estate Planning Basics” by attorney Denis Clifford is exactly what the title suggests, a basic primer on estate planning. It is a very good guide for the person who doesn't know where to begin when it comes to planning their estate. As Nolo books are known for, it presents the legal concepts in a very easy to read manner, with everything presented for the layperson to understand and be able to do much work without an attorney, and to know when and how to get an attorney involved.

The book is divided into thirteen chapters, each focusing on a specific point. The first is a general look at what estate planning consists of, while the second discusses beneficiaries. Chapter three focuses specifically on children and chapter four goes into planning for incapacity.

The next two chapters deal with the two most common documents to be prepared when planning an estate. Chapter five explains wills, and chapter six looks at living trusts. The next chapter, seven, shares a few other ways to avoid probate, and chapter eight looks at retirement plans as estate planning devices.

Chapter nine is a primer on estate tax, and chapter ten looks at how to reduce federal estate taxes. The next, chapter eleven, deals with property control trusts, and chapter twelve presents a little information on lawyers and when you should use one, and how to find the right one for you. The final chapter, thirteen, discusses finalizing your estate plan. There is also an appendix that provides a couple of sample estate plans.

Overall, this is a good book for learning the basics. Some people, who have simple estates, may find all they need in this guide. Others may need to look at additional resources (some of which are shared in this book), or seek out an attorney to give them more assistance. This is an easy book to recommend for those who want to know the basics of estate planning.

[Pinkeerach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend this as a primar for estate planning.

Read through the bulk of this content in one afternoon. I'm in the middle of executing a family member's estate, so I was able to skim much of the stuff I already understood and focus on filling in gaps around the specifics of wills and trusts. That said, the content is well laid out (you can skip parts that don't apply to you) and easy to read.

This is a great resource to use to get started on understanding what you might need, and what you need to consider in your estate. They do a great job of explaining health directives, wills, and trusts as well as covering the basics of children, beneficiaries, and executors.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straightforward. Comprehensive without being overwhelming. It's like having a pragmatic estate attorney friend, one who will refer you to a better qualified attorney when necessary. The real challenge is putting the information into practice and actually making an estate plan. You may not be interested in the law, but the law is interested in you, or, more precisely, the law is interested in the orderly transfer of assets and the payment of taxes thereon. One way or another, you're going to die, so you may as well not leave a mess when you go. This book will help.

[Marco Ambriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read, phenomenal resource, encouraging and empowering MOST individuals and couples to think about wills and living trusts in a way that is not intimidating or complicated. If you have children, own a home, want to establish medical instructions if you become incapacitated or if you have property you want to ensure goes to a specific person/organization when you die, this book is a must read.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very helpful in deciding whether to continue with estate planning and whether we might be able to do the forms ourselves. It isn't a "how to" but answered a lot of questions about the process of creating and funding trusts. It also provides good information about other resources.

[Jeremiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're new to this subject get a hold of this book first and you'll come away with a solid overview of all of the key issues in estate planning.

[Laren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid overview of exactly what it says. You might still need a lawyer's help for some of the scenarios, but at least you will understand what it is you need to pay them to do!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise, good examples (maybe too many), and tells it like it is. You don't always need an attorney or probate court. You can do this yourself.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction to the subject. I found it helpful.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up to read for evaluating our retirement planning. Lots of useful information and thought provoking ideas to consider.

[Kevin Zwiefelhofer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book to describe & explain your estate planning options. This certainly helps me with the structural basics to put my affairs in order.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good basic info presented in an understandable way.