Plan Your Estate

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.

ISBN-13: 9781413329810

Media Type: Paperback(Sixteenth Edition)

Publisher: NOLO

Publication Date: 04-26-2022

Pages: 528

Product Dimensions: 9.30(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.40(d)

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 Show More