Estate-planning

ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT PLANING ESTATE PLANNING. IF YOU GOT THOSE LITTLE ONES AT HOME AND YOU WANT TO LEARN THE JOY OF GIVING. THIS IS THE BOOK. IT HELPS YOU LEAD YOUR FAMILY DOWN THE PATHOF WEATH AND CLOSENESS. THIS THE BOOK.

Through the years I have visited the financial section of book stores, somethimes purchasing a publication that looks interesting, only to find that I would need a degree in finance to understand it. What a pleasure to find "Funding Your Dreams". A book that is written so that one can understand its concepts without all the 5 dollar words that send me to the dictionary every other sentence! Carol writes with knowledge, compassion and understanding of the lay readers needs. Most of all she gives sound, solid advice with suggestions for practical application. I wish I had had this book twenty years ago but it's never to late to start. This book is a must read for everyone, regardless of monetary assets. I also appreciate the balance that Carol presents to the reader. Yes we need to save, yes we need to plan for our children, our aging parents, and our own retirement, but we can also need to give ourselves permission to set aside some funds for our own enjoyment. Carol obviously has a zest for life and her energy comes through in her writing. This book should be on the coffee table of every home, and should be read by every generation that lives with that coffee table! This book would make a wonderful gift for young couples ( or graduates) starting out as well as those of us in the baby boomer generation. Thanks Carol, for writing words that I have needed to read for years!

This is the first book that really made a difference for me financially! My family and I have met several times to discuss and plan our dreams and funds. We have been able to brainstorm and come up with ideas financially for each family member, with two of their dreams already accomplished. Even my nine year old is happy (he got an increase in allowance) and is telling all his friends to have their parents get the book!

I loved how the author "speaks directly to you" rather than just giving financial information. I hightly recommend this unique book that is simply put, direct, and actually affects changes in your financial status! It's a must for single parents like me!

I would encourage every taxpayer in America to read this book. It examines what the new tax law means, not just what it says. Stewart Welch III and Harold Apolinsky have addressed the questions all of us are asking, and a few we may not have thought of yet. Who would have ever thought a book on tax law would be so enjoyable to read and easy to understand? I am grateful for these two experts' wonderful resource and guide. Read it!

An excellent resource for those who want objective advice and guidance on very complicated subjects. The authors take very technical concepts and explain them in plain language. The worksheets, checklists and diagrams are very helpful.

What a great book! Everything you need to know about estate and tax planning in one easy to read book. This book is all you need! You can find what your looking for right away!

An excellent book -- the best I've ever read on the subject. As a financial advisor I can't recommend it enough. Most find estate planning confusing. This book is not confusing. It's an easy read. Each simple, short, touching story illustrates a different problem that can arise by not doing good estate planning. It will make you think about your own situation with more clarity than was possible before. This book could be called Chicken Soup For Your Legacy.

This is the first book I have actually seen on estate planning that was actually interesting. The stories and letters are captivating. I found myself drawn into the next one without even knowing it. By the time I had finished the book I felt like I not only learned a fair amount about estate planning, but that I also learned a lot about myself. I found myself thinking about what I really wanted to pass on to my heirs (and not so much thinking about the money). Kudos to these great authors.

Almost all books on estate planning explain how to minimize taxes and avoid probate. Colleen Barney and Victoria Collins take a totally different approach focusing on the emotional aspects of leaving money. Using compelling real life stories and letters, the authors focus on what fairness really means, passing values, wisdom, goals, ideals and life's lessons in a meaningful way, preventing fights after your death, who are the "right" people to choose as trustees and more importantly as guardians, sweating the small stuff like passing personal effects and dealing with the always sticky situation of second marriages. With a great deal of emotion, the authors take a very non-technical, understandable and realistic look at the personal side of estate planning with the goal of ensuring that your best intentions are realized after the estate has been settled.

After receiving an early-retirement offer from my employer, I diligently went about reviewing my options. I was not sure whether to take a company annuity or a lump sum from my pension fund. I was not certain about how to handle my 401k. In defense of my company, they offered informational seminars however the best information has been this book. I would recommend, actually I would highly recommend this book for any employee thinking about changing jobs or retiring. This is a great-easy to read resource.

Don't Get Caught With Your Pants Down is survival guide, true to form. With all of the teacher layoffs in California supposedly looming on the horizon, I definitely recommend it for all who could be affected and or already have been affected by a layoff. This book is perfect for currently employed who want to get a jump on retirement and for those who would like to learn about investing and how to do it properly; god, it is such a great book, with so many uses I could talk about them all day but unfortunately I have to sum it up in 1000 words or less. Bottom line, read it, use it and don't get caught with your pants down, I didnt!!!

I haven't let this book stray too far from my side since my employer (major airline) offered me an early retirement. Very helpful!

If you expect to have a $1,000,000+ estate and want to understand your tax saving options, this book is excellent. It's readable, usually clear, well organized & well indexed. It progresses into many advanced topics such as QTIP trusts, GSTT trusts, GRATs, GRUTs, GRITs, etc. and explains them in good detail, with examples. Includes some very useful state-by-state info.

You'll work much better with your lawyer if you read this book first.

I read a library copy, but then bought my own.

This book works well with Condon's "Beyond the Grave", which is much weaker on the nuts and bolts of estate tax planning but much better at getting you to think through the human (family conflict) side.

BOTTOM LINE: Many people looking into getting an attorney to prepare a simple will have probably had sticker shock - several hundred dollars minimum for a competent attorney to prepare it. But as this book explains, do it yourself estate lawyering, while not prudent for complex situations, is clearly within the reach of those with even moderately complex situations and the patience to spend a leisurely weekend reading this book.

WHAT IT COVERS: This book is primarily a primer, explaining the foundations of estate planning including: an overview and whether you actually need to spend time reading the book and drafting estate docs, drafting a will, how to think about what assets will go to which family members and other beneficiaries, financial instruments such as brokerage accounts/bank accounts/life insurance and how they fit into wealth transfer, as well as powers of attorney and health care directives. What I like best about the book is that you know you are getting candid advice from someone not trying to bill you by the hour or sell you variable annuity life insurance. In my own area of expertise - finance - the fact that the author's opinion regarding life insurance is dead on (tax planning should be kept separate from investing strategies and as such variable annuities are complete bunk) gives me great comfort that I'm getting straight shooting advice in the rest of the book.

WHAT IT CAN BE USED FOR: The book can serve readers on two different levels. If you are going to get a lawyer anyway but are the type of person that wants to be educated when you talk to lawyers/accountants/brokers, this book will have you speaking the same language and is an easy read over the course of a weekend. If you want to prepare an estate plan yourself, this book serves as an ample resource to help create the necessary docs. The fill-in forms in the back are certainly capable of serving as the basis for your basic estate docs, but at the same time it may be more comforting to most people to have a seamless document that they are not penciling in blanks, which leads to my next point...

THINK ABOUT GETTING THE COMPANION SOFTWARE: This book is published by Nolo Press, a well-respected publisher of legal self-help books. They also publish a software title in conjunction with Quicken (makers of the financial planning software) called Quicken Lawyer which not only has an offline/online legal manual with much of the info included in this book, but its main function is to create a battery of estate documents for you through very simple step-by-step interviews - you answer the questions, it drafts the legalese, you print and execute it. I would almost recommend just getting the software instead b/c there is a decent offline/online manual included, but for those that really want to know the why behind what they're doing, get this book and the software. See my review on Quicken Lawyer Personal Deluxe for more info.

LIMITATIONS: The book readily admits there are situations that require an attorney and points out throughout the book which situations require it. In general, get an attorney if you expect to owe federal estate tax (threshold is currently estates over $1.5 mm, but rising rapidly through 2010), have an ex-wife or two, have kids that don't speak to each other, or other complex family dynamic.

I have read about 10 books on estate planning, and this is by far the clearest, best organized, and most comprehensive of the lot. The authors cover the issues of trusts, tax planning and tax reduction, and asset preservation. This is the book to start with, and is really as good as they get.

This is a book for anyone who has to deal with the challenges of wealth, but it is especially for the rich who either have inherited large amounts of wealth or expect to pass such wealth on to their children. It is written in a clear, compelling, easy style. In it, Thayer Cheatham Willis, who is both an accomplished psychotherapist and an inheritor of substantial wealth herself, shares both her own very personal experiences dealing with the pitfalls of her inheritance and her professional observations of the many patients she has treated for problems related to inherited wealth.
Most people who are not acquainted with the realities of being wealthy imagine that it is an idyllic condition. But, as Ms Willis came to realize, when she learned of the fifth suicide among her peers from the beautiful, sheltered neighborhood of her childhood, wealth does indeed have its dark side. The patients she describes suffer from guilt, poor self-esteem and problems with interpersonal relationships, as well as lack of a sense of drive, purpose, motivation to be productive and the discipline to stick to goals and accomplish what they set out to do. Happiness, for many of them is elusive despite the fact that inheritors may have a sense of entitlement. The fact that they can afford to have whatever they want, without having to struggle to earn it, may rob them of the challenges which foster healthy personal development in others. Because of the envy and resentment they encounter when they do reveal their circumstances, it is also difficult for many wealthy people to develop and sustain relationships with others, especially those not of similar financial status.
Ms Willis' book is filled with excellent advice on a variety of subjects including the importance of becoming aware of values, finding purpose, achieving discipline, pursuing (and completing) education, and providing good parenting for children who will someday become inheritors. She also gives advice, about what one should do to achieve financial acumen, for those who do not come to their inheritance having learned the in and outs of managing, or overseeing the management of their wealth. Another chapter provides a basic introduction to estate planning and the variety of techniques that can be used to preserve and pass on wealth.
Perhaps the two most important chapters are on the need to work and on relationships. With regard to the former she points out that, "People who don't work become shallow, bored, boring wastelands." What is clearly implied, but not spelled out, is that self esteem is based largely on the feeling that one has developed his or her potential and has something of value to share with others. This chapter focuses on the very real obstacles and challenges faced by inheritors who do not need to work for money and, so, are deprived of financial need as a motivator. There are different challenges for sons and daughters of fathers who have made great fortunes. The former, she points out, feel the need to make their mark in the world but may live with the stress of trying to live up to the standards and achievements of their very successful fathers. Daughters, on the other hand, may receive the message that it is not necessary to work and may end up feeling dependent and incompetent. Work is important to both men and women, though it may not be necessary to make money doing it. It must nevertheless be worthwhile and involve a real, personal effort and commitment. Being a mother is an example of real work and female inheritors are advised not to relinquish this role to paid caretakers. (The same advice should go to fathers.)
The other most important chapter is on the importance of relationships. In this chapter, as throughout the entire book Ms Willis' view is that among all relationships, and more important than anything else an inheritor must do to overcome the dark side of wealth, is to develop his or her relationship with God. She makes clear at several points that, although her own religious orientation is strongly rooted in Christian faith, everyone must find his or her own spiritual path. She also claims that everyone believes in a god, whether they realize it or not, and that developing a positive relationship with God is essential.
There is one assertion Ms Willis makes, a fine point really, that is hardly central to her thesis, where I nevertheless feel the need to raise a question. She states "Your god is simply what you value the most in your life..." It might be, she suggests, family, work, some other pursuit or desire or even money. This troubles me, especially the last possibility. Can your god really be whatever you value? Misers value money. Masochists value pain. Dictators value power. Workaholics value work to the exclusion of other values. I think, and I believe Ms. Willis would agree, that care must be taken to be sure that what we do value most is really what is good. That having been said, this is an intelligent, well reasoned and well-written book. It is filled with good advice good information and encouragement for anyone who may fall under the shadow of the dark side of wealth and also for anyone who imagines being wealthy and can see only sunshine there.

As an author of three regional-bestsellers and a book reviewer for a metropolitan paper with a circulation of more than 100,000, I read with great interest Navigating the Dark Side of Wealth, A Life Guide for Inheritors, by Thayer Cheatham Willis because I (an average middle class American) grew up with a friend that my classmates used to call "the poor little rich girl." After reading the book, I gave it to my friend because I thought it was insightful, useful, and a valuable tool as she herself is still trying to establish "normalcy" even at age 57. Very little emotional nurturing seems to come out of wealthy families, and that sad deprivation was noticeable enough to my friends of youth for them to realize that our very wealthy classmate was indeed the poorest of us all when it came to what matters the most in life.

While some may mock this book, the truth is it is hard for most people not to resent people of means and harbor bitterness or jealousy over not having financial wealth. It is only human nature. If you can get past this attitude, you will recognize that the book is long overdue for people on either side of the wealth line to understand the dynamics of what money does and does not do. It's an honest book.

It's also very well articulated and presents discussions on several levels, from a basic primer to the more sophisticated challenges wealth presents. The author, who has a national psychotherapy practice specializing in the needs of inheritors, sprinkles her personal experience with those of her clients. She sensitively covers the gamut of topics that inheritors must deal with, including the spiritual, which in this day of political correctness would be ignored by most writers. She recognizes the universal need of the heart for a personal God - when you walk with the God of the Bible, you find true life out of the dark side of wealth.

I doubt there is one among us who doesn't feel that if only we had a little more money, all of our problems would be solved. This book brings us down to reality. And while some of us may never see huge amounts of money, others may indeed inherit enough wealth to send us humbly to this book to learn how to manage without losing our soul. Whatever, however, the book opens our eyes to see the disadvantages of wealth and hey, maybe it's pointless to covet after all! Monied or not, everyone has the same need for love, compassion, and understanding. Money does not heal the inside hurts or brokenness.

The author wrote this book because she saw the need. None of us has to look far to see dysfunction, perversion, sadness. This book can help some get a life who are still struggling.

Navigating the Dark Side of Wealth is an extremely valuable book for all the right reasons, because its focus is not on accumulating and multiplying material riches but on fostering the emotional and spiritual values so vital to coping with the destructive allurements, issues and challenges that confront many inheritors of material wealth today. It is a text on developing character and morality -- on protecting one's soul against the pervasive ravages of human greed.

When you probate an estate yourself, you're your own lawyer. Fortunately Nissley, et al, and the State of California have made this possible for typical small family estates. Working through our own actual situation, with the help of this book, provided a much-needed education about what to do and what not to do in planning my own estate matters. What the book doesn't address is the difficulty the Executor or representative faces in managing through the attitudes, complaints and opinions of the others affected by the death of a loved one.

This edition seems to have been edited piecemeal to keep up with changing laws and tax matters, and some of the references within the book are incorrect. But my main objection is the unhappy practice in the book of requiring the reader to keep referring to other sections of the book to complete a form or prepare for a filing.

As a layman with no legal experience whatsoever, I acted as executor and recently concluded probate... from another state entirely, without ever having set foot in California! All of the court-related matters were handled through the mail/fax thanks to the indispensable guidance of this book.

Even if you're not acting as executor (or can't decide if you should), any party to probate should consider this book a "must-have". It is written for an executor but there is so much information on the 'mysterious' court procedures, anyone involved in a CA probate would be well-served by purchasing this book if for nothing other than to know "what is probate?" and "what is going on?"

As executor, it's easy enough to find the forms on California court sites, and some (sites) have sketchy details to assist in filling them out (the court probate examiner informed me the most common cause of delays in an individual probate case is due to improperly filled out forms). But even this relatively simple step requires you have an understanding of how the civil court system works; something I am fairly certain too few people have (myself included). Not only does this book familiarize you with the court system and its procedures (a rewarding learning experience in its own right), as well as gameplan the (typical) entire probate process but shows in explicit detail how to fill out every line of every form you'll most likely need.

None of this is to say probate is easy - I have not found mine to be and the estate was relatively simple. DIY probate is a lot of (detail/organizational) work. But I believe a large amount of the work involved for the first-time DIYer is due to unfamiliarity with the law, court procedures and its paperwork. Reading the book gave me the confidence that even so, I could do it myself and consult with an attorney on occasion rather than just washing my hands of it (and a pile of cash) by turning probate over to an attorney at the outset.

I was fortunate in that my probate case was relatively straightforward to be handled as it was. But even if it weren't, you MUST arm yourself with information of this nature if you're considering hiring an attorney. Get that information in one topical, detailed and pleasant-reading book.

Thanks so much Julia!

You can buy this with your eyes closed. I'm ain't loaning this one out.

Probate isn't the most exciting subject matter but Nissley will tell you what you need to know to get through it.

I also recommend Mary Randoph's "8 Ways to Avoid Probate".

IRA Wealth provides a series of alternatives to the traditional IRA Stock Market investment opportunities. The book is organized to first dispel the myth that investing in real estate with your IRA is illegal and second to explain how to structure your IRA investments with a "self-directed" IRA. The following chapters identify IRA real estate investments based on the level of risk associated with that particular type of real estate investment. The final chapters discuss some of the nuances of liquidating your real estate investments upon the time of your mandatory IRA distributions. Finally, IRA Wealth provides several appendices to help you start your own due diligence with regard to IRA investing in real estate.
Overall, I enjoyed reading IRA Wealth and found that it opened my mind to new ideas on IRA investments. Most of us have probably felt the sting of lackluster stock market returns during the past few years. So the prospect of low to moderate risk real estate investments is clearly of interest. I found the organization of the book to be well thought-out and comprehensive. If you have already read several books on real estate investing, you will realize that several investment methods continue to pop-up. IRA Wealth takes those methods and ties them to your IRA.
Regardless of your level of experience with regard to real estate investing, I believe you will find IRA Wealth a worthwhile read and well worth your time.

IRA Wealth: Revolutionary Strategies For Real Estate Investment is the collaborative effort of Patrick W. Rice (investment columnist and the owner of IRA Resource Associates -- offering expertise in investment real estate for self-directed retirement accounts) and Jennifer Dirks (personal finance and real estate issues staff, and winner of the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2002 "Journalist of the Year award for the Pacific Northwest), diverges sharply from the common understanding that IRA holdings can only be invested in stocks and certificates of deposit. In response to the decline of the stock market, IRA Wealth presents real estate as a profitable and worthy investment venture, and one that is perfectly legal to hold in any personal IRA account. Examining both low-risk and high-return real estate ventures, IRA Wealth is a superbly presented, "reader friendly", informational presentation for anyone seeking to diversify their IRA account holdings into property as a hedge against the volatility of the stock and bond markets.

I have just begun to read your book and it is perfect timing as my husband and I have a sum saved in our IRA. We plan to read the book together and investigate the investment strategies suggested. Thank you. The book is an easy and inspirational read on a complex subject.

This book will be good if you want to review the components that might make up your wealth protection strategy. However, the book comes up short on the detail needed to understand those components well or to structure a comprehensive plan for yourself.

To get a feel for the lack of detail take a look at the Table of Contents, note that it seems very comprehensive but when you look a little closer you will see that most of the chapters are LESS THAN 5 PAGES! The subtopics in each chapter usually make up a single paragraph with a large font bold heading that takes up a lot of the page.

In short, if you want to get an overview of the components you might ask your advisor to explain to you, this would be a valuable purchase. If you want to understand these things yourself, you will be disappointed.

I just finished reading Wealth Protection and found it to be extremely valuable in planning for my financial future. I am a business consultant and consider myself to fairly aware of the various financial tools, strategies, and techniques...

However, the book offered me numerous new strategies for more effectively protecting my wealth. The best thing about the book is that it is structured in a way that will allow just about anybody to find specific, tailored advice.

Good work Jarvis and Mandell! I look forward to your next book!

I could not believe how easy it was to read and understand some of the complex issues in this book. The authors not only really know their stuff, but they can explain in a clear fashion. It's excellent!

Spoon-fed news by large media corps, few were aware that Winona LaDuke ran for the vice presidency under Ralph Nader in the 2000 elections. Even fewer know that she is also a Native American eco-philosopher with a critical perspective on the health and future prosperity of America. All Our Relations is particularly instructive, in that LaDuke surveys the entire American landscape (and by landscape, I am not merely referring to the political landscape), showing the deep connections that exist between local cultures, their environments, and the corporate-governmental giants that often compromise their health. Although LaDuke has specifically focused on Native American communities, the stories are engaging and instructive for Americans in general. Informative, powerful, and transformative, LaDuke here provides an antidote for our increasing alienation from the land and biota that sustain us. A must read for any conscious American.

Winona Laduke ran as vice president alongside Ralph Nader. It would be truly amazing if this woman had become our vice president (for many reasons). It is my hope that some day she will be our vice president (or president). Her views on the environment and its effect upon animals and people (particularly babies, children and pregnant/nursing mothers) are exactly how I feel. She expresses these views eloquently in these quotes by Lil'wat grandmother Loretta Pascal, "Where did you get your right to destroy these forests? How does your right supercede my rights? These are our forests, these are our ancestors."(p.5), by Ted Strong, "If this nation has a long way to go before all of our people are truly created equally without regard to race, religion, or national origin, it has even further to go before achieving anything that remotely resembles equal treatment for other creatures who called this land home before humans ever set foot upon it...."(p.5), and by Katsi Cook, "Why is it we must change our lives, our way of life, to accommodate the corporations, and they are allowed to continue without changing any of their behavior?"(p.12). Reading this book you will feel sorrow, and be inspired to action. Most of what was said in this book I already knew a little about, but through this book I understood the depth and complexity of all the factors. I can not recommend this book enough. She tells the truth of our world with a powerful clarity. She tells the stories of many Native American Tribes throughout North America (Canada and the United States, including a chapter on Hawaii). She ends the book with the optimism that it is possible for us to make change, but it is up to us.

To think this woman could be our Vice President today. Most people don't even know that Winona LaDuke ran for Vice President on Ralph Nader's ticket. An articulate and passionate writer, LaDuke presents an awareness of the plight of America unsurpassed by any other. She knows what's wrong. She knows what needs to be done. She knows who is doing the work, how and why. She presents her advocacy as human, heartfelt and real. I learned things about what is happening to this country that I would never have known otherwise. You certainly don't see it in the news, and you don't learn about it in school. We're in trouble, folks, and it's not too late to do something about it. With more power she could have made such a difference! But she continues to work on the issues, and it is so important that more people are aware of her work. Please, please, please read this book. It is the most important book you will read all year.