Plan Your Estate, 9th Edition - Softcover

Clifford Attorney, Denis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1413307612 ISBN 13: 9781413307610

Publisher: NOLO, 2008

Synopsis

The most comprehensive -- yet easy to read -- guide to estate planning on the market!

Plan Your Estate covers everything from the basics of wills and living trusts to sophisticated tax-saving strategies. The authors give you straightforward, plain-English explanations of every significant estate-planning option available, so you can make the best decisions for you and those you love.

The book covers:

wills

probate and how to avoid it

living trusts

property-control trusts

naming guardians for children

leaving property to children

estate taxes and how to reduce them

living wills (health care directives)

financial powers of attorney

final arrangements

strategies for business owners

and much more

The 9th edition is completely updated with the latest federal and state laws, and now covers ethical wills -- a new way to pass on values, beliefs and important personal experiences. Good for all states except Louisiana.

About this title

About the Author

Denis Clifford, a graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was an editor of The Law Review, is a lawyer who specializes in estate planning. He is the author of many Nolo titles including Quick and Legal Will Book and Make Your Own Living Trust and co-author of Plan Your Estate and A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples. He has been interviewed by such major media as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Money Magazine.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1:

Selecting Your Estate Planning Goals
Introduction

There are a number of ways to leave property to those you want to have it after your death. The peculiarities of our system of inheritance mean that substantial amounts of money and time can often be saved if property is labeled and transferred by certain legal methods rather than others. But to choose wisely among these methods, you must first clearly define your estate planning goals.

This book is divided into 12 parts; each part covers a different estate planning goal or purpose. This chapter gives you an overview of each goal, so you can select the ones that matter to you. It also presents a sample estate plan of a couple in their 50s, so you can get a feel for what kinds of decisions you may have to make, and what types of documents you may end up with.

We urge you to read all chapters of every part that concerns you before you actually begin to formulate your own estate plan. Different aspects of estate planning are often intertwined. For example, it just doesn't make sense to decide what property should pass under your will -- and so go through probate -- until you understand whether some of it might be better left by other probate-avoidance methods. Similarly, if you have a good-sized estate, you'll need to understand how estate taxes work before you can determine the wisest ways to transfer property to your loved ones. The point is that you need a good overview of all the parts of estate planning that concern you before you begin to make your plan.

Edition details

• Publisher: NOLO
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1413307612
• ISBN 13: 9781413307610
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 550