Estate-planning

Designed and written for the non-specialist general reader by attorney Robert C. Waters, the Wills Guide For America is a first-rate and "user friendly" reference to planning one's own will according to proper American legal guidelines and procedures. Expressly developed for the layman by a seasoned and experienced professional, the Wills Guide For America covers the basics of estate administration, the naming an executor, the nature of trust funds, as well as featuring a step-by-step walk through of the entire process of creating a legal will, and much more. Highly recommended for every American who hasn't made a will yet, and the Wills Guide For America is a superbly crafted "how to" book to read carefully and employed confidently in creating one's own personal will and testament for the proper and lawful disposition of personal possessions, estates and legacies.

If you want to learn the general law about Wills and Trusts, this is the book. There are other supplements you can buy that can introduce you to the subject, but no other book comes close to going to the depth that this book does. It is helpful to have taken a course in Property before reading this book, so that you will have experience in dealing with the Rule Against Perpetuities.

Ever since G.W. Bush passed the largest tax cut in history, many people think the rich should not be able to endow their children with a large inheritance as it destroys the democratic system we have where everyone has a equal chance at succeeding.
This book has given me another perspective about the issue of inheritance. Suppose for a moment we weren't allowed to transfer anything to our children. If that were to become law, do you really think people would work as hard as they do now, knowing that everything that they have reverts back to the State once they die? Do we want to take away that incentive to work hard?
I don't think so.

Another aspect of this book that I particular enjoy is the way that it is organized. If you ever wanted to know all the different types of trusts there are, this book covers it. It also does a good job of introducing you to tax planning during wealth transfers.

This book also does a good job of making you think. Do you know what happens when two people who are married die at the same time or when it is unclear which one died first? It seems insignificant, but suppose A and B, married, both die in a car crash. A initially willed that everything go to B and C. B willed everything to go to her children. If B died first, A's wealth should go to C. If A died first, B's children and C should get something. What if it's unclear who died first? This book deals with that issue and much more.

Another way that it makes you think is that it offers alternative solutions to the same problems. Did you ever consider other ways the law could be re-written to avoid probate? Every good lawyer knows the traditional ways of avoiding probate - joint tenancy property, life insurance, Iras, pension plans, and trusts. But why do not just re-write the law in probate? What not have universal succession like they do in France? This book covers all of that.

Did you ever want to know the difference between an administrator and executor? What happens if the executor drags his feet during the probate process? What can the beneficiaries do? This book has the answers.

In sum, this is a great book for learning about Wills & Trusts. I highly recommend it.

I bought this book before preparing my living will. Having watched my father languish as he died, and finally "pulling the plug" to preserve his dignity and comfort, I was determined to provide instructions to loved ones and doctors as to how I should be treated in such an eventuality. This book really helped. It goes through concerns about quality of life, burdensomeness to your family, intractable pain, loss of communication or hygiene abilities, and many other considerations. I had never realized how many conditions might make one opt for termination of medical care, leading to a dignified death, but there are many of them. This book lays them out, asks the reader to decide for him- or herself whether to continue living under such conditions, and instructs in how to write the final will. It also tells how to make provisions for death...do you want pain relievers which may hasten death but provide comfort? Do you want water to be supplied by nasogastric tube as you die so that you don't suffer from thirst? Once written, the book tells you how to use the document...give it to family, friends, doctors. A difficult topic, but a very good handling of the material.

I thought this book pointed out many types of situations and gave good ideas and strategies for avoiding problems both while you are living and after you die and leave your assets to your beneficiaries. I did, however, feel that a lot of the examples were geared for those with significant estates. Most of the examples discuss people with estates well over $1,000,000. With that being said, even though my estate doesn't come close to this amount, the author gave me a lot to think about and I felt he had excellent advice -- even if all of it didn't apply to my particular situation.

In my opinion, no matter how big or small your estate is, this book is worth the read if you are planning your estate. I feel that everyone has something to learn from the various situations the authors discuss in their book. Thank you Gerald and Jeffery Condon for being the eyes and ears from beyond the grave and helping us all learn from yours and your many clients mistakes.

This book presents a lot of potentially confusing information in an easy-to-read format with practical examples. It apporpriately encourages you to use the book as a starting point for talking with an estate planning professional. This isn't a "how to" book. You'll be a much more informed consumer of estate planning services if you read this book

The #1 reason I bought this book compared to other estate book is because of the wonderful reviews. This is the second estate book that I've read. Reading this book from cover to cover says it all. It is a fantastic book on estate planing. The first estate book left me a bit comfused, but after reading this book I understand it all. Don't make a will or living trust without first reading this book. It has human nature emotions and question that you are too scared to ask. It even have the consequences of making decision based on other people experience.

Excellent tool for learning about estate planning. A must read before meeting with a lawyer. Fun to read and very understandable.

Sitting down to read a book on estate planning ranks right up there with a root canal on my list of favorite pastimes. But this book is refreshingly different. It really is possible to get solid information on a serious legal topic and have fun at the same time! As an attorney specializing in the field, Hawley knows his stuff. He also knows how to write in an entertaining, humorous way. Maybe the IRS could enlist him for the next revision of the 1040 instructions. Highly recommended!

This is a delightful book on an otherwise complex and daunting subject. The author leads you step by step down the aisles of estate planning with humor and insight. The Artful Dodger's Guide to Planning Your Estate is a must have for anyone interested in learning how to run the rapids of the estate tax system.

- A feel-good land use/planning guide produced by the Conservation Fund and the Sonoran Institute. Examples show how communities can work together to protect parks and environmental refuges..

National parks and other public lands are big, fragile, economic engines for nearby gateway communities. In this book, communities and near-by public lands sometimes play nice together. The authors conclude: " . . . successful communities have transcended the 'growth versus no-growth' wars that characterize land-use policy in many cities and towns."

Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities is a must read for anyone who still believes that environmentalism and economic development are fundamentally opposed propositions. This book of case studies and analysis describes several successful ways in which communities created new jobs and economic opportunities while celebrating and protecting, rather than exploiting, their area's natural resources.

When my husband died he left me a three-ring notebook which we had labled the emergency book as it contained all the pertinent information about our financial, insurance, tax, etc. situations including the location of necessary documents such as wills to help settle the estate. This book is comparable and would help anyone become better organized to deal with daily and unexpected situations. With the three ring capability pages can be added that would personalize it to your special needs. sms

A wonderful tool. This book has helped my family more than I can say. I highly recomend it.

I bought this guide for myself, then my mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away within seven months. The workbook pages really helped me to know what questions to bring up with her. It saved a lot of time and aggravation after she passed away when I wasn't emotionally able to handle tough decisions. There are so many extra tips in this workbook; it is helpful even if you are going on vacation and someone needs to housesit. This workbook is helpful if you're 25 or 75. I highly recommend it.

What a concept! Rather than trying to get the most acreage per lot, make smaller lots with more shared open space. A must read for every developer, planning board, and zoning commition. Easy to follow examples show how to preserve historic and environmental features while adding to the value of the land that is developed.

If we developed land in the manner the author teaches, America would look so much nicer! A very common sense approach to maintain rural character in an area and stop sprawl from destroying your area. Every developer, planner, new home buyer, builder, conservationist and private citizen should read this and also buy the author's book, "Rural By Design".

Cheers for Randall G. Arendt, et al. For years my government agency has been fighting a loosing battle in Florida with unmanaged and unfettered urban growth. It seemed as though nothing could stem the tide of urban sprawl until two things happened. One was an election of a more centralist government and the other was the introduction of "designing for conservation" into our policy making levels. This concept was brought into clear focus by Arendt's book. The authors not only presented a practical and economically sound guide for growth that can benefit developers, but the reference can act as a mechanism to help preserve the environmental cohesiveness of any community. The policy makers in our community were so impressed with this book that fifteen (15) copies were purchased to be placed into the hands of influential politicians, developers and regulatory agencies.

This book was poorly written, confused and in some places just plain wrong. As a CPA I know tax code and I know investing. This book sends all the wrong messages about what money is and what money can do.

I've been a CPA for nearly 20 years and I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer from Newton. I found the book to be accurate and insightful and precisely the kind of advice I would offer to my clients. Ms. Brill has injected real-world, practical information that I believe is useful and would help anyone put in the enviable position of having "found money".

As for the one negative review, I can't help but think that he/she has an axe to grind, or perhaps a competing book. ;-)

I was a bit leery about buying a book on handling money, as I admit I don't handle money very well and I'm not very open to learning the details of money management. But I was really surprised - pleasantly - to find this book. Ms. Brill writes in a way that doesn't patronize the reader with trying to get too simple, but she does get her points across in a very approachable way.

I found Windfall to be extremely interesting and useful and have recommended it to friends and relatives. I've looked at a lot of other books on managing money (windfalls or otherwise) and this is by far the best written of the bunch. It ought to be required reading for any lottery winner or someone who receives an inheritance, and it's worthwhile for the rest of us too.

Being a new real estate agent I brought this book with the hope that it would help me build my new business. I was wrong. This book mainly talks about looking at your past few years of realestate sales and changing your program using your past data into a better program. Utterly useless for the beginning agent. Carla Cross has a very good title writer for her books, since i brought her another one of her books in vain.

Even if you appreciate the importance of planning your business -- a MUST -- this guide is a very good resource to get you started. Much better for the experienced agent than a new licensee.

Even though another reviewer said this is not good for a new agent, I disagree. Firstly, it is my Broker's favorite and he has built a successful business using it. Secondly, IT SHOWS YOU HOW TO FIGURE PROFIT AN LOSS ON ANY GIVEN REAL ESTATE "MARKET" OR "FARM", something no other book explains this way. Once you know how much revenue a given area could produce, then you can pick the best areas to concentrate in. Since we all have to focus on a few areas or farms, this book gives a great way to choose the best farms to work on.

Because of this formula, I am able, as a new agent, to not waste my time on unprofitable markets. Although it is not just for beginners, this book is a good one to start with and it will grow with you as your career grows.

Tobeykins