Planning for your family's future made easy! If you’re like most people, you want to be sure that, once you’ve passed on, no more of your property and money will be lost to the government than is absolutely necessary. You want to know that you’ll be leaving your heirs your assets and not your debts. You want to be absolutely certain that your will is ship-shape, your insurance policies are structured properly, and that every conceivable hole in your estate plan has been filled. And most of all, you’d like to do all of this without driving yourself crazy trying to make sense of the complicated jargon, jumble of paperwork, and welter of state and federal laws involved in the estate planning process. Written by two estate planning pros, this simple, easy-to-use guide takes the pain out of planning for your ultimate financial future. In plain English, the authors walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to: Put your estate into order Minimize estate taxes Write a proper will Deal with probate Set up trusts Make sure your insurance policies are structured properly Plan for special situations, like becoming incompetent and pet care Craft a solid estate plan and keep it up-to-date Don’t leave the final disposition of your estate up to chance and the whims of bureaucrats. Estate Planning For Dummies gives you the complete lowdown on: Figuring out what you're really worth Mastering the basics of wills and probate Using will substitutes and dodging probate taxes Setting up protective trusts, charitable trusts, living trusts and more Making sense of state and federal inheritance taxes Avoiding the generation skipping transfer tax Minimizing all your estate-related taxes Estate planning for family businesses Creating a comprehensive estate plan Straightforward, reader-friendly, easy-to-use, Estate Planning For Dummies is the ultimate guide to planning your family’s future.

Discover the ins and outs of planning your own or your loved one’s last wishes with this easy-to-understand guide to estate planning. No one likes to talk about death, but being prepared for any unexpected tragedy can help your loved ones navigate your loss more easily in the long run. From creating your advanced medical directives to designating your beneficiaries, estate planning can ensure that your wishes are carried out when you are no longer around. With Estate Planning 101, you can get your affairs in order before any unfortunate incident occurs. This easy-to-understand guide comes with detailed information on what needs to be done to protect your estate. With information on creating a living will, minimizing estate taxes, choosing an executor, and more, you will be prepared for the future, no matter what it brings. Estate Planning 101 offers you step-by-step instructions and checklists to keep you organized for whatever life throws your way.

Too many people make the wrong choices when it comes to estate planning. If it's not done properly, you could leave your loved ones facing trouble when you pass away or become incapacitated. Fortunately, you can learn from others' mistakes and be prepared before speaking to a lawyer about your future. In this no-nonsense guide, attorney James L. Cunningham, Jr. shows how to avoid the top-ten mistakes that could damage your financial succession, family, heirs, and legacy. You'll get the unvarnished picture on probate, living trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, conservators, and guardians, as well as disability and incapacity planning and how to find the right attorney for you. There's even a checklist to guide you on what issues to discuss with them. Savvy Estate Planning provides the essentials you need to know about estate planning. The only mistake you could make now would be to ignore it.

The Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning covers all aspects of estate planning, from behavioral and ethical issues to estate and gift tax planning, to planning for nontraditional couples and the risk of health issues for aging clients. With topics that are applicable for both large and small estates, this title enables estate planners to: Help clients plan every aspect of their estate, including tax, investment, insurance, and estate administration decisions; Help clients effectively preserve their assets under current law; Handle a wide variety of estates and specific circumstances; and Save significant amounts of time with exclusive estate planning tools. This book features easy-to-understand, real-world examples from expert authors on which techniques are best suited for a wide variety of circumstances, and equally important advice on how to avoid future problems. New in the 20th Edition: There have been several updates in tax legislation since the release of the prior edition, many of which affect estate planning. When rules change, every estate planner must stay completely up-to-date with all the opportunities--and pitfalls--arising from the new legislation. This edition features: Updates resulting from the SECURE Act, affecting qualified retirement plans; New information on COVID-19 related tax changes for employee benefit plans; Employee retention credit under the CARES Act; Coverage of new IRS valuation tables in addition to the prior valuation tables; Updated ERISA compliance and reporting requirements; and Updated tax information, including the new 2021 COVID-19 stimulus and CAA bills. Topics Covered: Practice of estate planning Choosing the right professionals for estate planning Ownership and transfer of property Estate, gift, GST, and income tax considerations for estate planning The use of revocable and irrevocable trusts in estate planning The use of life insurance in estate planning Planning for incapacity and special needs Valuations issues Charitable giving Using employee benefits to meet estate planning goals Intra-family wealth transfers and business succession planning And more! See the "Table of Contents" section for a full list of topics As with all of the resources in the highly acclaimed Leimberg Library, every area covered in this book is accompanied by the tools, techniques, practice tips, and examples you can use to help your clients successfully navigate the complex course of estate planning and confidently meet their needs.

Imagine the patriarch of the family is in his second marriage. He is retired from a business he currently owns and has several children. Imagine two of his children are grown, married, and from his first marriage. One of his children is a toddler and is from his second marriage. Also, imagine he is the stepfather to a child born to his second wife. Now, imagine his daughter runs the business he created and owns. She is married to a man who is a real estate agent and they have three children together. His son is in a same-sex marriage and he and his partner have adopted a daughter. Imagine from one man you have a second marriage, retiree, raising a toddler, stepson, married daughter, same-sex marriage, adoption, and grandchildren. Sounds like the makings of a good sitcom, doesn