Estate Planning for Dummies

Estate Planning for Dummies

Product Type: Book

Product Price: $21.99

Manufacturer: For Dummies

Purchase

Description

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!

The Dummies Way

Reviews

Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2007-01-09
Summary: "Not of value to me..."

I purchased the Willmaker Plus CD. The accompanying manual looked a bit thin so I ordered Estate Planning for Dummies to read before getting down to the Willmaker manual and program. Frankly, it was a waste of time and money, as the Willmaker manual and the on-screen help was more concise and better written. I've been happy with several Dummies books, but this isn't one of them.

Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2006-06-22
Summary: "You would be a dummie to buy this book."

Open this book and you will see that it is formatted and reads like every other textbook you have read since college. The writing makes no attempt to reduce the complexities of the subject. It simply reiterates all the language you never understood in the first place. As the author of "Everything A Baby Boomer Should Know -- An Insider's Guide to Estate Planning," I suggest you compare my book which honestly and easily explains the tools of the probate system, to this book which is impossible to understand if you have no background on the subject.

Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2006-01-08
Summary: "Its okay but I wanted more-specific information"

This book gives you general information about Estate Planning but It left me wanting more. I was surprise that it didnt mention anything about AB trust. I wish it would have given the upside and donwnside to each options of wills or trust.

I would have settled for a checklist what to ask your lawyer or accountant considering that he kept harping of always ask your lawyer. Although I see the lawyer point, if I was meeting with a lawyer I would have not wasted 20 dollars and change to read the book.
Many who read books like Dummies want to avoid paying thousands of dollars to a lawyer or as I mention , and if you want me to ask my lawyer at least give me very specific checklist of questions.

If you could, buy it at a discount or borrow it from the library. I probably sell mine on Ebay.

Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2005-04-28
Summary: "They weren't kidding when they said "for dummies""

I didn't find this book helpful at all. It just barely skims the surface, and usually concludes with "make sure you talk to your accountant/attorney/estate planner." If I intended to talk to all those folks, I wouldn't waste my time reading this book in the first place. Most of what this book covers could be learned by snooping around the web - and in many cases you can learn more that way. It defines the terminology, but even that is often inadequate. I suggest you check this book out from the local library, and then if you find it to be a useful resource go ahead and buy it. I wish I had done that - I don't feel this book has enough information to really qualify as a reference book.

Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2005-02-12
Summary: "Are we that dumb?"

I thought the tone of this book was really patronizing (okay yeah I know it's for 'dummies' but does it need to keep reminding you of that fact constantly?). It's repetitive and ultimately tells you to consult an estate planner anyway--so forget using it to save money to plan your own estate. For a much more directly useful guide to estate planning (with forms you can fill out on a cd-rom), I highly recommend Quicken's Willmaker Plus. You get all the same information as in this book, plus more, and in a much less annoying style. And since it includes the forms for the key documents you need to prepare (e.g., simple will, durable power of attorney, etc.), you may be able to plan your own estate yourself (dummy or not).