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Plan Your Estate
by Attorney Denis Clifford & Attorney Cora Jordan
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Pages: 480
eBook: (PDF 1.7 MB)
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$44.99 |
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Summary
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 8th 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.
Press Reviews
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"Walks you through... provisions you need to consider for your situation."
CBS News
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"An exhaustive guide, explaining everything from simple wills to complex trusts. Particularly helpful are a series of 'profiles' that illustrate how estate plans can benefit various individuals and families."
The Wall Street Journal
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"Following Clifford’s advice in this laymen’s guide can save your heirs a bundle."
Money Magazine
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"Comprehensive, up to date and organized to make it easy to find the information you want.... clearly explain the nuts and bolts of estate planning." Kiplinger's Retirement Report
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"Plan Your Estate is particularly helpful to the layperson... a clear, comprehensive and even charming book."
Los Angeles Times
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"Among my favorite resources for explaining trusts and other aspects of estate planning..."
Eric Tyson, syndicated columnist
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"Probably one of the most comprehensive estate-planning books available to mature adults. It is also written so that everyone can understand new and complex theories, laws, regulations, advantages and disadvantages, with issues ranging from basic estate planning to sophisticated tax-savings strategies."
Washington Times
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"A superb book."
Chicago Tribune
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"How to protect your family and make an orderly exit even if your estate is small."
U.S. News & World Report
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"Denis Clifford's Plan Your Estate is an excellent primer on dealing with the financial side of death."
Liz Pulliam,
nationally syndicated columnist
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"If Clifford's Estate Planning Basics was the appetizer, this is the main course."
Library Journal
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"A comprehensive guide that will enable you to put together a plan that's right for you and your family."
Small Business Opportunities
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Table of Contents
Introduction: How to Use This Book
A. How This Book Works
B. Will You Need Professional Help?
C. Other Nolo Resources
Part I: Setting Your Goals
1. Selecting Your Estate Planning Goals
Part I: Setting Your Goals
Part II: Laying the Groundwork
Part III: Children
Part IV: Wills
Part V: Probate and How to Avoid It
Part VI: Understanding Estate and Gift Taxes
Part VII: Reducing or Eliminating Estate Taxes
Part VIII: Imposing Controls Over Property
Part IX: Taking Care of Personal Issues
Part X: Family Business Estate Planning
Part XI: Going Further
Part XII: Sample Estate Plans
2. Personal Concerns and Estate Planning
A. Avoiding Conflict
B. Leaving Unequal Amounts of Property to Children
C. Providing Care for Minor Children
D. Subsequent Marriages
E. Long-Term Care for a Child With Special Needs
F. Concerns of Unmarried Couples
G. Worries About the Effect of Inheriting Money
H. Disinheriting People, Including Children
I. Communicating Your Decisions to Family and Friends
Part II: Laying the Groundwork
3. Special Property Ownership Rules for Married People
A. What You Need to Know
B. Marital Property in Community Property States
C. Marital Property in Common Law States
D. Moving to a Different State
4. Inventorying Your Property
A. Instructions for the Property Inventory Worksheet
B. Your Property Worksheet
5. Your Beneficiaries
A. Types of Beneficiaries
B. Primary Beneficiaries
C. Life Estate Beneficiaries and Final Beneficiaries
D. Alternate Beneficiaries
E. Residuary Beneficiaries
F. Gifts Shared by More Than One Beneficiary
G. Establishing a Survivorship Period
H. Explanations and Commentary Accompanying Gifts
I. Disinheritance
J. Simultaneous Death
K. Property You Give Away by Will or Trust That You No Longer Own at Your Death
Part III: Children
6. Children
A. Naming Someone to Take Custody of Your Minor Children
B. Naming an Adult to Manage Your Child's Property
C. How Your Children's Property Should Be Managed
D. Tax Saving Educational Investment Plans
E. Naming Children as Beneficiaries of Life Insurance
F. Leaving Property to Children Who Are Not Your Own
G. Disinheritance
H. Children Conceived After a Parent Dies
Part IV: Wills
7. Wills
A. A Will as the Centerpiece of Your Estate Plan
B. A Backup Will With a Comprehensive Estate Plan
C. What Makes a Will Legal?
D. Types of Wills
E. What Property Cannot Be Transferred by Will?
F. Explanatory Letters Accompanying Your Will
G. Can My Will Be Successfully Challenged?
H. Keeping Your Will Up to Date
Part V: Probate and How to Avoid It
8. Probate and Why You Want to Avoid It
A. What Is Probate?
B. Probate Fees
C. Avoiding Probate
D. When You May Want Probate
E. Debts, Taxes, and Probate Avoidance
F. Probate Reform
9. Living Trusts
A. Does Everyone Need a Living Trust?
B. Living Trusts Explained
C. Major Decisions in Creating a Living Trust
D. Creating a Valid Living Trust
E. Keeping Your Living Trust Up to Date
10. Joint Tenancy and Tenancy by the Entirety
A. What Is Joint Tenancy?
B. Joint Tenancy Bank Accounts
C. Joint Tenancy Safe Deposit Boxes
D. Tenancy by the Entirety
E. Joint Tenancy in Community Property States
F. Tax Concerns Affecting Joint Tenancy
G. Drawbacks of Joint Tenancy
H. When Joint Tenancy Makes Sense
I. Creating a Joint Tenancy for Property With Documents of Title
J. Creating Joint Tenancy for Personal Property Without Documents of Title
11. Pay-On-Death Designations: Bank Accounts, Securities, Stocks and Bonds, Motor Vehicles
A. Choosing Beneficiaries
B. Pay-on-Death Bank Accounts
C. Naming a Pay-on-Death Beneficiary for Government Securities
D. Naming a Beneficiary for Stocks and Bonds
E. Vehicle Registration
F. Transfer-on-Death Deeds for Real Estate
12. Life Insurance
A. Do You Need Life Insurance?
B. Types of Life Insurance
C. Life Insurance and Probate
D. Choosing Life Insurance Beneficiaries
E. Reducing Estate Tax by Transferring Ownership of Life Insurance Policies
13. Retirement Benefits
A. Social Security
B. Individual Retirement Plans
C. Pensions
D. When You Retire
E. Choosing Beneficiaries for Your Retirement Plans
F. Using Disclaimers for Retirement Accounts
G. Probate and Taxes
14. State Law Exemptions From Normal Probate
A. Will Your Estate Qualify?
B. Using These Rules to Plan
C. Summary of State Law Exceptions to Normal Probate
D. California Exemptions From Normal Probate
E. New York Exemptions From Normal Probate
F. Texas Exemptions From Normal Probate
G. Florida Exemptions From Normal Probate
Part VI: Understanding Estate And Gift Taxes
15. Estate Taxes
A. Federal Estate Tax Exemptions
B. The Big Picture: Estate and Gift Taxes
C. Will Your Estate Have to Pay Taxes?
D. Calculating and Paying Estate Taxes
E. Reducing Federal Estate Taxes
F. The Federal Income Tax Basis of Inherited Property
G. State Inheritance and Estate Taxes
16. Gifts and Gift Taxes
A. The Federal Gift Tax: An Overview
B. What Is a Gift?
C. How Federal Gift Tax Works
D. Using Gifts to Reduce Estate Taxes
E. When Not to Give Property Away: Tax Basis Rules
F. Using Gifts to Reduce Income Taxes
Part VII: Reducing or Eliminating Estate Taxes
17. An Overview of Ongoing Trusts
A. Trusts to Reduce Estate Taxes
B. Ongoing Trusts Used to Control Property
C. Ongoing Trusts and Avoiding Probate
D. What Ongoing Trusts Can't Do
E. When Ongoing Trusts Begin and End
F. The Trustee
G. Taxation of Ongoing Trusts
18. Estate Tax-Saving Bypass Trusts
A. Overview of Bypass Trusts
B. IRS Restrictions on Bypass Trusts
C. AB Trusts: Bypass Trusts for Married Couples
D. Bypass Trusts for Unmarried People
19. Other Estate Tax-Saving Marital Trusts
A. QTIP Trusts
B. Trusts for Noncitizen Spouses: QDOTs
C. Marital Deduction Trusts
20. Charitable Trusts
A. An Overview of Charitable Trusts
B. The Income Tax Deduction
C. A Closer Look at Charitable Remainder Trusts
D. A Closer Look at Charitable Lead Trusts
E. Types of Charitable Trusts: A Comparison
21. Other Estate Tax-Saving Trusts
A. Generation-Skipping Trusts (GSTT Trusts)
B. Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
C. Grantor-Retained Interest Trusts: GRATs, GRUTs, and GRITs
22. Disclaimers: After-Death Estate Tax Planning
A. Advantages of Disclaimers
B. Couples and Disclaimers
C. IRS Rules for Disclaimers
D. Disclaimers and Living Trusts
23. Combining Estate Tax-Saving Trusts
A. Combining Two Estate Tax-Saving Trusts
B. Combining a Charitable Trust With Other Estate Tax-Saving Trusts
C. Combining Three Different Estate Tax-Saving Trusts
D. Using Ongoing Trusts and Gift-Giving to Reduce Estate Tax
Part VIII: Imposing Controls Over Property
24. Property Control Trusts for Second or Subsequent Marriages
A. Evaluating Your Situation
B. How a Marital Property Control Trust Works
C. Restricting the Surviving Spouse's Rights Over Trust Property
D. The Role of the Trustee
E. Savings on Estate Taxes
F. Working With a Lawyer
25. Trusts and Other Devices for Imposing Controls Over Property
A. Educational Trusts
B. Trusts for People With Special Needs
C. Spendthrift Trusts
D. Sprinkling Trusts
E. Trusts to Manage Your Own Property
F. Powers of Appointment
G. Combining a Property Control Trust With Estate Tax-Saving Trusts
Part IX: Taking Care of Personal Issues
26. Incapacity: Making Medical and Financial Decisions
A. Medical Decisions
B. Financial Decisions
C. Guardianships and Conservatorships
27. Body and Organ Donation, Funerals, And Burials
A. Making Your Own Choices
B. Leaving Written Instructions
C. Donating Your Body or Organs
D. Death Notices
E. Services and Ceremonies Following a Death
F. Funerals
G. Cremation
H. Burials
Part X: Family Business Estate Planning
28. Family Business Estate Planning
A. Operation of the Business
B. Reducing Estate Taxes
C. Avoiding Probate of a Family Business
Part XI: Going Further
29. Using Lawyers
A. Hiring a Lawyer
B. Doing Your Own Research
30. After You Complete Your Estate Plan
A. Storing Your Estate Planning Documents
B. Revising Your Estate Plan
31. After a Death Occurs
A. Wills
B. Probate-Avoidance Living Trusts
C. Ongoing Trusts for Estate Tax Savings or Property Management
D. Preparing and Filing Tax Returns
E. Trustee's Reports to Beneficiaries
F. Collecting the Proceeds of a Life Insurance Policy
G. Obtaining Title to Joint Tenancy Property
Part XII: Sample Estate Plans
32. Some Estate Plans
A. A Prosperous Couple in Their 60s and 70s
B. A Wealthy Couple in Their 70s
C. A Single Man in His 60s
D. A Younger Couple
E. A Single Woman in Her 30s
F. A Widow in Her 80s
G. A Couple in Their 60s, in a Second Marriage
H. An Unmarried Couple in Their 40s
Glossary
Appendix: State Inheritance Tax Rules
Index
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