Estate Planning For Dummies - Softcover

Caverly, N. Brian; Simon, Jordan S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0764555014 ISBN 13: 9780764555015

Publisher: For Dummies, 2003

Synopsis

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 order
• Minimize estate taxes
• Write a proper will
• Deal with probate
• Set up trusts
• Make sure your insurance policies are structured properly
• Plan 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 worth
• Mastering the basics of wills and probate
• Using will substitutes and dodging probate taxes
• Setting up protective trusts, charitable trusts, living trusts and more
• Making sense of state and federal inheritance taxes
• Avoiding the generation skipping transfer tax
• Minimizing all your estate-related taxes
• Estate planning for family businesses
• Creating a comprehensive estate plan

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

About this title

From the Back Cover

Pass on your money and property, not your tax burden

The straightforward, reader-friendly guide to planning for your family's future

Worried about what will happen to your assets after you're gone? Don't want to leave your heirs with a fat tax bill? Relax! Now there's Estate Planning For Dummies, the simple guide that takes the pain out of planning for the future. It'll help you minimize estate taxes, write a proper will, keep your plan up-to-date, and much more!

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About the Author

N. Brian Caverly, Esq., is an attorney-at-law emphasizing estate planning and elder law. Jordan S. Simon is Vice President of Asset Management at Venture West, a Tucson-based investment firm.

About this edition

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0764555014
• ISBN 13: 9780764555015
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384