Imagine building a new home without a set of blueprintssounds absurd, doesnt it? Its no different than creating an estate plan without establishing planning goals, but far too often people engage in estate planning without thinking about what they want to accomplish. In Secure Your Legacy, attorney Richard J. Shapiro tackles the daunting aspects of estate planning and elder law. He answers questions such as: How do you determine if you need a will or a trust (or both)? Whats the difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust? How do you protect assets if you need long-term care? How do you reduce your exposure to estate taxes? He also shares tips on planning for a child with special needs, transferring a business, and ensuring a beloved pet is taken care of if you die or become incapacitated. He also explains why you should never create an estate plan online. Filled with real-world examples, this guide gives you the critical information you need to work with an attorney to create an estate plan that protects you and your loved ones.

The Essential Guide to Wills, Trusts, and you personal legacy. What you need to know before consulting you attorney.

You can’t take it with you, but you can ensure that what you leave behind has value and meaning. Whether you want the fruits of your life’s work to benefit your family, the environment, science, human rights, the arts, your church, or another cause dear to you, one thing is certain: It won’t happen unless you plan. What to Do with Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want is a step-by-step, DIY guide to turning your money and “stuff” into something meaningful that will outlast you—whether you are in the prime of life or your later years, single or partnered, have kids or not, are well-off or of modest means. With her trademark practical wisdom, downsizing expert Marni Jameson offers plenty of comfort (and even some laughs) as she guides you through the following: Identifying whom you want to benefit from your legacy Navigating wills, trusts, and other paths to your goals Heading off potential family conflicts Making the best plan for your material assets This book will encourage and inspire you through every step of your final downsizing project, helping you make a positive impact on the people and causes closest to your heart.

Suze Orman has transformed the concept of personal finance for millions by teaching us how to gain control of our money -- so that money does not control us. She goes beyond the nuts and bolts of managing money to explore the psychological, even spiritual power money has in our lives. The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom is the first personal finance book that gives you not only the knowledge of how to handle money, but also the will to break through all the barriers that hold you back. Combining real-life recommendations with the motivation to overcome financial anxieties, Suze Orman offers the keys to providing for yourself and your family, including: * seeing how your past holds the key to your financial future * facing your fears and creating new truths * trusting yourself more than you trust others * being open to receiving all that you are meant to have * understanding the lessons of the money cycle The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom is useful advice and inspiration from the leading voice in personal finance. As Orman shows, managing money is far more than a matter of balancing your checkbook or picking the right investments. It's about redefining financial freedom -- and realizing that you are worth far more than your money.

Studies show that--despite the best intentions--most wealth transfers from parents to children fail due to poor communication and a lack of trust among family members. In A Spectrum of Legacies, Mark Weber explains how to prepare children to be responsible heirs and use charitable giving as a means of passing values to children. Weber provides insights and numerous worksheets and letters that enable readers to craft their own unique legacies. Case studies and straightforward language make this book an accessible and valuable tool for individuals who want to:?Prepare heirs to use an inheritance wisely.?Develop closer ties with and among their children.?Create lifetime giving plans that demonstrate their values to their children.?Determine how best to make charitable bequests to the organizations they value.

Navigate the unfamiliar waters of Estate Planning This blog-style book is the must-read guide for every Arizonian who wants to leave their footprints in the sand. Your estate plan can help you: Avoid family conflict Keep control of your assets Make the right decisions now so the state doesn't make the wrong ones for you Protect your kids from creditors, lawsuits, and divorce Elude the expense and frustrations of probate Ensure that what you've worked for goes to those you love and the causes you believe make the world a better place

Estate planning has more procrastination, indecision, and inertia associated with it than any other area of planning. Affluent baby boomers, in particular, as the beneficiaries of the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history, have a daunting set of financial concerns with which to contend. Here at last is a step-by-step approach to estate planning that equips planners and financial advisors to help clients tackle this important process once and for all. Most clients understandably find planning concepts and strategies confusing, but most also have a fairly sound understanding of who and what is most important to them. These are the priorities from which to build the foundation of a successful estate plan. The seven principles explored in this book use personal values as a basis to form The Legacy Planning System. With this approach, advisors can: * Help clients discover and solidify their deepest values, convictions, and objectives relative to their money * Help clients express those values and objectives in a clearly written Family Financial Philosophy mission statement * Serve as the team leader in advising clients and clients other advisors on how to use the mission statement to direct the planning process Clarifying your clients priorities and personal goals will enable you, as a trusted advisor, to simplify the planning process for clients, ensure their lifetime financial independence, and help them control their ultimate family and social capital legacies. Confronting issues of family dynamics, taxes, and financial situations not to mention accepting one s own mortality is difficult for many people. In addition, since estate planning often requires a shift in ownership of assets, clients feel an unsettling loss of privacy and control over their financial resources. Help your clients to overcome these obstacles and achieve their highest financial and philanthropic aspirations. They ll thank you for generations to come. Praise for Values-Based Estate Planning "Scott Fithian s book provides planning professionals with new insights into the estate planning process. Most importantly, he stresses the individual and family benefits of philanthropy through the concept of social capital which should be a key element to the planner s inventory of client questions."--Charles W. Collier, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Harvard University "This exceptional book empowers planners with a well- organized roadmap to lead wealthy clients to implementation of an estate plan expressing the clients own values. Scott Fithian s Legacy Planning System focuses the advisor on the critical importance to the estate planning process of helping clients identify and articulate their values and objectives. This useful volume makes those ideas available to a much broader audience, while broadening the subject with illustrations of effective employment of the methodology he has developed."--David Wheeler Newman, JD, LLM, Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp LLP "Fithian s view of the complete person helps the advanced advisor avoid the typical limitations (hazards) of planning for wealthy families. The easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow methods help determine in-depth values of the client s total financial goals. His methods result in cementing valuable relationships with the most prized clients. Critical reading for CPAs, attorneys, insurance agents, or other advisors." & mdash;Jessica M. Bibliowicz, President and CEO, National Financial Partners "Scott s wealth optimization system is truly revolutionary. For the first time, affluent clients and their advisors can rely on a fully integrated system that spans all phases of wealth accumulation, management, and transfer over time. An outstanding reference!"--Robert Keys, The Private Client Group