Estate Planning Basics
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $21.99
Manufacturer: NOLO
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Description
This quick read makes understanding the rules of estate planning easy!
Estate Planning Basics provides concise, straightforward and easy-to-read explanations of the major components of estate planning, so that you don't have to spend hours wading through endless options (most of which apply to the wealthy).
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Attorney Denis Clifford gives you the reliable, plain-English answers you need, whether you're doling out the family heirlooms or steering clear of estate taxes. The 4th edition is updated with the the latest estate planning laws and information of your state.
Reviews
Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2010-01-13
Summary: "Out of date edition"
Unfortunately, this edition is the 4th edition, published Sept 2007, and the 5th edition was published Sept 2009.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2008-08-31
Summary: "A Great Place to Start..."
This book is a very good introduction to intelligent estate planning. It served the exact purpose that prompted me to buy it...reading it gave me a good working knowledge of the estate planning process, some red flags, some suggested courses of action, and some tax considerations. Having 2 parents over 80, I feel I can now discuss estate planning with them and a professional planner......and understand what he/she is saying.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-08-27
Summary: "AWESOME"
This book is very easy to read and understand. I am an estate planner and it gave me new ideas to help my clients.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-07-10
Summary: "Easy Read"
My wife and I are starting our estate planning because we have minor children. We also have a stepfamily dynamic which made things a little more complicated. After reading this book, we have a much better understanding of how to accomplish our goals, and I'll probably check out Nolo to find out how to do it ourselves. This was by no means a comprehensive "how to" book but certainly let us know what options are out there simply by providing the basics.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2007-09-28
Summary: "A wonderful primer to estate planning that tells you what it's going to tell you and then tells you!"
I loved this book. It was simply wonderful to read. The title matches up perfectly with the content. And the content is very well presented. I would have liked the book better if it had included a Glossary, but the fact that one was not included doesn't kill my high opinion of this book.
Estate planning can be a VERY complicated endeavor. However, it need not be for most people. And this book is aimed at presenting the basics regarding estate planning for the average Tom, Dick, or Mary. It covers wills, will substititutes, and trusts. It covers retirement planning (a little) and some on planning for incapacity.
Of course, what would an estate planning book be without a little discussion on Federal Estate Taxes and techniques to reduce the bite of those taxes if you have a little larger than normal net worth. Lastly, there is some talk about lawyers that practice estate planning, and how to consider hiring one if you might have a need to do so.
Nolo is noted for its self-help mentality, and this book is geared to help Nolo's target audience. If you think your net worth is significant and you will require the services of a competent estate tax planning attorney, then this book is probably not one you will want to read. However, this book does cover the basics and might be helpful to ease you into the subject. 5 stars!