Providing for your family is Job 1. It starts with a safe home, a good education for your children and a sound financial future. You can ensure that all of these needs are met with proper estate planning-and you do not have to spend a fortune to get it right.
With The Wills and Trusts Kit, you can put together a solid plan that:
--Uses both a will and a trust
--Makes tax laws work for you
--Maximizes your estate's value
--Adds life insurance into your estate planning
--Directs your executor regarding property distributions
--Selects the guardian who will raise your children
--And does so much more . . .
With over 30 will-related documents and over 20 trust-related documents, the materials you need to take control of your estate planning are in your hands. Simply read the forms' summaries, find the documents best suited for you and follow the step-by-step directions to fill in every blank.
The Wills and Trusts Kit has the plan that is right for you.
Chapter 1: An Overview -
- What is a Will?
- What is a Trust?
- What is Probate?
- Finding the Law
- Community Property
- Marital Property
- Quasi-Community Property
- Income Taxes
- Estate Taxes
- Do You Need a Lawyer?
Chapter 2: Assets -
- Assets Subject to Disposition by a Will
- Property Subject to Disposition in a Will, but Passing without Probate to a Surviving Spouse
- Small Estate Distribution
- Assets Not Subject to Disposition by a Will and Passing without Probate
Chapter 3: Deciding Which Plan Best Meets Your Goals -
- Coordinating Your Estate Plan
- Inter Vivos Trusts
- Funding Your Inter Vivos Trust
- Using a Will to Create a Trust at Your Death
- Tax Planning
- Inter Vivos Trusts and the Pourover Will
- Health Care Powers of Attorney and Directives
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Living Wills
- Final Caution
Chapter 4: Beneficiaries -
- Who and What Can Inherit?
- Who and What Cannot Inherit?
- Special Limitations on Bequests to Minors
- Disqualified Beneficiaries
- Family Changes After Execution of the Will
- Who Can You Disinherit?
- Who Can Contest Your Will or Your Inter Vivos Trust?
Chapter 5: Bequests -
- Specific and Residual Bequests
- Conditional Outright Bequests
- Life Estates
- Testamentary Trusts
- Charitable Trusts
Chapter 6: Fiduciary Positions -
- Guardian
- Executor
- Trustee
- Custodian
- Conclusion
Chapter 7: Execution, Safekeeping, and Revocation of Wills and Inter Vivos Trusts -
- Will Execution
- Execution of Inter Vivos Trust
- Keeping Your Will Safe
- Keeping Your Inter Vivos Trust Safe
- Revocation
Chapter 8: Changing Your Will or Inter Vivos Trust -
- Changes before Execution
- Changes after Execution
Chapter 9: Anatomy of Your Will or Inter Vivos Trust -
- Will
- Inter Vivos Trust
Conclusion Glossary -
Appendix A: Forced Shares Statutes -
Appendix B: Asset Roadmap -
Appendix C: Step-by-Step Instructions with Sample, Completed Forms -
Appendix D: Blank Forms -
Index
Douglas E. Godbe received his JD from the University of San Diego. He is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in probate, estate planning and trust law. Godbe has been a speaker for several California Bar Continuing Education programs focusing on "Basic Trust Drafting." He has practiced in the areas of probate and estate planning for more than twenty-five years, most recently in Laguna Hills, California.
Anonymous
Posted September 5, 2009
The Wills and Trusts Kit: Your Complete Guide to Planning for the Future
by Douglas E. Godbe was very helpful to me as I needed to write a will, power of attorney and guardianship papers for our newly widowed daughter.
Overview
Providing for your family is Job 1. It starts with a safe home, a good education for your children and a sound financial future. You can ensure that all of these needs are met with proper estate planning-and you do not have to ...