Plan Your Estate

by Denis Clifford Attorney

Overview

Protect your family with solid estate planning

Estate planning sounds difficult—but most people just need a few basic documents. Let Plan Your Estate show you how to protect your loved ones from legal hassles and financial uncertainty after your death. Learn about:

• wills and living trusts
• avoiding probate
• bypass (AB) trusts
• naming guardians for children
• leaving property to children
• estate, gift, and inheritance taxes
• strategies for business owners
• leaving property to charity
• health care directives, and
• financial powers of attorney.

The 16th edition of Plan Your Estate is completely updated to reflect the latest state and federal laws.

Applies in all U.S. states except Louisiana.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781413329810
Publisher:	NOLO
Publication date:	04/26/2022
Edition description:	Sixteenth Edition
Pages:	528
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.40(d)

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, Make Your Own Living Trust and Plan Your Estate and coauthor of 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.

Table of Contents

Part I: Setting Your Goals 1. Selecting Your Estate Planning Goals 2. Personal Concerns and Estate Planning Part II: Laying the Groundwork 3. Special Property Ownership Rules for Married People 4. Inventorying Your Property 5. Your Beneficiaries Part III: Children 6. Children Part IV: Wills 7. Wills Part V: Probate and How to Avoid It 8. Probate and Why You Want to Avoid It 9. Living Trusts 10. Joint Tenancy and Tenancy by the Entirety 11. Pay-on-Death Designations, Regristrations, and Deeds 12. Life Insurance 13. Retirement Benefits 14. State Law Exemptions From Normal Probate Part VI: Understanding Estate and Gift Taxes 15. Estate Taxes 16. Gifts and Taxes Part VII: Reducing or Eliminating Estate Taxes 17. An Overview of Ongoing Trusts 18. AB Disclaimer Trusts 19. Other Estate Tax–Saving Marital Trusts 20. Charitable Trusts 21. Other Estate Tax–Saving Trusts 22. Disclaimers: After-Death Estate Tax Planning 23. Combining Estate Tax–Saving Trusts Part VIII: Imposing Controls Over Property 24. Property Control Trusts for Second or Subsequent Marriages 25. Trust and Other Devices for Imposing Controls Over Property Part IX: Taking Care of Personal Issues 26. Incapacity: Making Medical and Financial Decisions 27. Body and Organ Donation, Funerals, and Burials Part X: Family Business Estate Planning 28. Family Business Estate Planning Part XI: Going Further 29. Using Lawyers 30. After You Complete Your Estate Plan 31. After a Death Occurs Part XII: Sample Estate Plans 32. Some Estate Plans Glossary Index

Editorial Reviews

" An excellent source of information on wills and estate planning. " The New York Times

"Particularly helpful are a series of 'profiles' that illustrate how estate plans can benefit various individuals and families." The Wall Street Journal

"A clear, comprehensive and even charming book." The Los Angeles Times

"Now in a fully updated 14th edition, attorney Denis Clifford's "Plan Your Estate" is specifically intended for the non-specialist general reader who thinks that estate planning sounds difficult and should be left to professionals. But it turns out that most people just need a few basic documents and by becoming informed on the basic fundamentals of estate planning so accessibly laid out in the pages of "Plan Your Estate"protect loved ones from legal hassles and financial uncertainty after one's own (and inevitable) death. ""Plan Your Estate" covers: wills and living trusts; avoiding probate; bypass (AB) trusts; naming guardians for children; leaving property to children; estate, gift, and inheritance taxes; strategies for business owners; leaving property to charity; health care directives; and financial powers of attorney. Completely updated to reflect the latest state and federal laws, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, with the information comprising "Plan Your Estate" applicable and valid in all U.S. states except Louisiana. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, commentary, organization, and presentation, as well as comprehensive in scope, "Plan Your Estate" is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to personal and community library Money/Finance instructional reference collections. " The Midwest Review

From the Publisher