Estate-planning

The book may be good. I don't know but these people have obviously written their own testimonials. How do the readers happen to know how many have been sold etc.

My in-laws had been putting off estate planning, which would put the family business at jeopardy at their death. The first chapter gives examples of what happens without planning, and after reading it, they started the process of a living trust and most importantly finished it!
The book also showed my husband and I why we needed a living trust to protect our young son (so he would not inherit wealth, without strings, at a naive 18), and why my widowed sister needed a trust to protect her children receiving an inheritance if she died after remarriage -- without a trust her inheritance would go to husband #2, and not her children.
The book helps.

this book really stunk don't get it

I strongly reccomend this book. I am a newly divorced mother of 2 young children who was shown "Before It's Too Late" by a friend. I realized that I needed to write down my own information now that I'm on my own again. My children are too young to serve as resource persons were I to die. In addition my family members live out of state. I feel secure knowing that this book, when completed, will help with the transition my children will be facing.

What a Godsend. Being a widow myself with a husband with no will. I didn't want my loved ones to have to deal with what I did. This was what I needed. I couldn't find any information that wasn't covered in this book. If you worry about what your loved ones might have to go through, or if you want your parent or loved one to have their wishes met. This workbook does it. What a relief.

After using this "journal" or "inventory" for my aging parents, I completed a copy with my family's information. I found it to be very comprehensive and easy to use. It covers financial topics, as you would expect, but also covers information that could easily be overlooked such as detailed funeral decisions, care of pets, hidden valuables in the residence....even who has sets of keys to the house. If you are looking for a way to document all the important information your family would need in the event of your or a loved ones death, this is just the publication.

As an overview, it's difficult to imagine a better introduction to the labyrinthine ways of settling an estate. But as to details and particulars, it's woefully inadequate. The checklist at the end of the book is helpful. The thesis, viz., KEEP RECORDS, is important. But it's examples and suggestions on how to do certain, e.g., tangible acts, like dealing with creditors, secured versus unsecured claims, goes unmentioned. despite its enormous importance. There's only two sample letters, and they're not altogether novel or esoteric. Again, a good overview, just very short on particular issues, examples, and samples.

I will probably be asked in the next few years to be an executor, but, as is mentioned in this book's introduction, "You know generally that an executor is someone who handles the affairs of a deceased person, but you have no idea how to get the job done." After reading this book, you know that the first thing to do after the funeral is to hire an estate attorney to tell you what must be done. The book also mentions that it might be possible to totally avoid probate, which could greatly simplify things and save money. This book stresses that there is no need to try to be a do-it-yourself executor. You're definitely going to consult with a lawyer to see what the current estate laws are in your area, and you might need to also hire other professionals, but these people should all remain hired hands; the executor must stay in command. I didn't expect this book to give the estate-law quirks for all fifty states; you might find that some of what it says doesn't apply in your state. It's still a very good introduction to being an executor, and it let me know that an executor doesn't have to be totally helpless in legal land. That in itself is worth the book's cost!

I have read six different books concerning wills, probate, and trusts in the past few months. Of the books that I have read, this is clearly the best. All of the standard stuff is here - except the constant reminders by the authors to hire an attorney. Unlike nearly all the other books, the authors do not talk-down to readers. The language was never too simple-minded and only in a few cases did I have to read a paragraph again to determine its meaning. The authors give hints and insights which I did not find in the other books. And the book contains the best explanation I have read concerning why trying to determine and report the lowest possible value of estate assets is not always the best idea. I do not plan to die for several years. If I could give to my future executor only one book, this would be it. I miss only estate/probate information about each state. Therefore, I am still confused about the interrelationship between state estate reporting and taxes and federal ones. Essentially, everything depends on the value of the taxable estate. If 20% of the readers of this book do so in anticipation of a death, my bet is that only 1% of those will have a taxable estate over $1 million. And those people not having a million-dollar estate (after 2006) will not need to pay federal estate taxes - thereby eliminating the need for most of the book. First-time executors reading the book because of immediate need and suspecting a taxable estate value more than $675,000 will be able to afford to hire a lawyer to do the (subjectively) most difficult parts of the job.

Of all the offshore investment books that I have reviewed, this is the best for the price, especially for US citizens. I found this book to be full of usable information and a 'must read' for anyone considering an offshore investment or business strategy. The author offers some very worthwhile advice. While most worthwhile offshore books on the market cost in excess of $200, this book provides some good useable information in both the 'do' and 'don't' department and is an excellent and inexpensive way to get started or come up to speed with recent US legislative changes.

The Internet is big factor and one that has had a major impact in offshore planning. However, it is a double-edged sword. It has allowed clients access to new information and providers with the ability to promote themselves worldwide. It takes skill and knowledge, however, to separate fact from fiction and legitimate provider from suspect.

Offshore investing and stock trading have grown exponentially in the last 3 years but the trick again is distinguishing truth from fiction. Arnie is disturbed by the number of US investors who believe that simply setting up an IBC or other offshore entity and trading through an offshore broker removes them from the responsibility of paying taxes on capital gains in the US. While this may be possible for foreigners investing in the US stock markets, US citizens and residents do not escape income taxes at home simply by investing through offshore structures or an offshore broker. With that said however, an offshore strategy does permit deferral of taxes due on capital gains earned offshore if properly set up, similar to strategies for onshore investments but such structures are often complicated and expensive.

If it were easy and inexpensive to set up a legal structure to eliminate taxes, everyone would do it, which is something that the Internal Revenue Service and Congress will not tolerate. Once this is understood, a strategy for the US person who is an offshore trader and investor does offer other significant advantages as well. These include asset protection and greater privacy. One of the greatest benefits is access to broader markets not normally available to individual onshore investors thanks to the raft of stringent Securities and Exchange regulations.

Finally, if you are looking for a magic strategy in a book (or books) you will probably be disappointed. As attorney Jay Adkisson said recently, the author who puts a technique for reducing taxes down in print usually dooms it to attack by bureaucrats at home. I have certainly found this to be true in my years of reviewing offshore texts and one to be remembered when reading The Offshore Money Book. Even if such structures remain viable, offshore books do not offer sufficient enough detail to permit them to be applied without professional assistance. However, only by reading lots of books will one be able to know the difference between a good offshore professional and one who doesn't know his elbow from a hole offshore in which to sink your money!

Matt Blackman goldhaven.com

This book should definitely be on the bookshelf of anyone seeking to invest offshore. The author provides excellent insights into the hows and why's of offshore investing. Although the organization of the book was sometimes hard to follow, and did assume some technical knowledge of trust concepts, overall it was a good book and worth the money.

Arnold Cornez is an attorney and an authority in the field with long experience working closely with and on the inside of offshore banks, trust companies, and other entities. He's the one I call first when I have an issue to discuss.

With terrorism being the current excuse to freeze accounts of people who later turn out to be innocent, offshore asset protection becomes important to everyone - and perhaps more so if you are an immigrant with significant assets and living in the U.S.

What I really liked about this book was that it was direct and practical - and the publisher even provided a free offshore trust with an offshore brokerage account included. I didn't have to spend lots of time trying to pursue generic advice.

The developed countries continue to chip away at the individual's privacy. Using the usual guise of "money laundering," the OECD and FATF have attempted to blackmail foreign banks and tax havens into cooperating with their tax collecting agenda. At the expense of personal privacy, they will implement the one world society. Their initiative has been launched and will continue in the months ahead.

Adam Starchild's book is one of the best ways to personally escape rather than fight this trend.

Many people who elect to become structured offshore do so because they feel persecuted by government, claim-minded litigants, and even investigative journalists. Often it is less an election than a matter of simple survival. In spite of assurances of fair trials and opportunities to be heard, assets are at risk if they remain in your home country or if you remain within the range of the agencies or individuals that would attack you. The natural law of envy provides that the greater your success, the greater the likelihood that you will become a target for several character types, each with a different agenda but all proximately motivated by the natural law. That is, the means and immediate goals of attackers may take different forms but at root, each is driven by the natural law of envy.

Unfortunately, it is impossible for anyone, including us, to live in this world without confronting such ugliness in some form or another. Cloaked in a thousand forms of self-righteous crusading and victim restitution, all efforts share a common goal of taking away your assets. For example, armies of IRS bureaucrats, working 40 hours a week in positions with little hope of advancement, are paid to audit you and simply cannot help but enjoy the prospect of acquainting you with financial adversity. They may not personally realize economic benefit from their work, but their gratification derives from knowing that at least you will not enjoy your former wealth.

This book is nothing but a thick marketing brochure. It discusses the basics of financial planning, but it incorporates the authors' own subjective analysis and opinions, which, based on their reasoning, often times borderlines dangerous. It leaves unrealistic expectations on the readers with no real academic backing and no real insight or intelligent commentary. Rather a lot of ignorant comments, hypocritical recommendation, and poor order of discussion. I feel by reading this book, you may actually becomer dumber than had you read nothing at all. The authors clearly designed this book to be a celebration of self-promotion.

Normally, I give books away when I'm done with them, but I would be insulting whoever received this by doing so - so into the garbage it goes! Please don't waste your money on this one - you're far better off with books by Burton Malkiel, William Bernstein, Larry Swedroe, Jonathan Clements, Thomas Stanley.

Some crucial elements are LEFT OUT of this book. If you just want to read some "happy happy" account of this book, check out the other reviews, but I'm trying to give something constructive here.

First of all, consider the bias: these authors are both on the payroll of PaineWebber. Now that's not necessarily BAD, but it's probably going to color their assessment of how to build wealth. So first up, they insist that attaining a secure retirement is too complicated for the average person, so you need to hire professional help. Now again, that's not necessarily bad advice, but it probably isn't advice that is going to suit everybody. And of course they're going to steer you exclusively toward stocks and bonds because that's how they and others like them get paid.

I gave it three stars because indeed I found their concept of "You Inc." helpful. Also, they push modern portfolio theory to the max, and that's also a prudent way to go for the conservative long term investor. But what I found lacking was their total neglect of real estate. After all, the book is subtitled "Investment strategies for retirement and estate planning". Don't you think real estate might fit in there SOMEWHERE? At least there should be some discussion about rental property or buying your own home and paying off the mortgage. Isn't it a large piece of financial security in retirement to have your own home paid for? Since "wealthbuilding" is the subject, don't you think rental properties deserve at least SOME mention? After all, the real estate millionaires in this country far outnumber those who made their wealth in stocks/bonds. So consider the bias: you got a couple of PaineWebber guys pushing ONE ASPECT of wealthbuilding. They focus on financial planning and modern portfolio theory to generate consistent longterm gains for the conservative investor and the theory that they give in the book is highlighted by numerous "case studies" of real people putting these principles into practice. Very good. That one thing they do, they do well. But for a comprehensive approach to "Wealthbuilding", I'd look elsewhere. At the very least, supplement this information with the info that it is lacking.

I've read so many books that supposedly help you get wealthy. What distinguished this book was that it puts you in the driver's seat to get you there. From the outset, the book urges you to define what wealth is to you. That resounded loudly with me; the authors didn't foist upon me their definition of wealth. They explain that it's not necessarily a set dollar figure, it depends on what you personally are trying to achieve. The worksheets in the back of the book are invaluable and I would highly recommend that anyone serious about setting up a financial plan fill them out. They help you focus on what you have and where you want to get to financially. The real-life case studies in the book confirm for me that the advice is tried-and-true. I'm glad I found this book while I'm still pretty young and it can really impact my investment program. It seems like a very sensible approach to help propel me to where I want to be.

I bought this book hoping it would provide insight on commericial real estate, how to enter the business, the structure of the business etc. Instead, I found a superficial instruction that would for most people be regarded as common sense. For example the book expounds on guidelines used in choosing a company to work for or how to conduct one'self once employed. To me it is obvious to inquire about the perks of the various firms or agencies and compare them in order to find the most suiting job. I do not need to be told not to worry when I do not get an office when I am first starting out nor do I need to be told to stay organized or to otherwise act professional. THIS IS COMMON SENSE. It would be one thing if these didactic sugestions were accompanied by some sort of ensightful, helpful information. For this reason I find this book infurriating. Platitudes and otherwise banal commentary abound in this book.

This book accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: provide a realistic overview of the life of a real estate agent. I am considering getting my license and found this book answered many of the basic questions about the job: the risks faced by a new agent, how to succeed in your first year and beyond, and the rewards of a long career. A good book if your just starting to do your research on the topic.

Once this book arrived in the mail, I could hardly put it down! I am currently taking the course, and was looking for some of the more specific details of the business that the course fails to teach. The author does an excellent job of separating his personal opinions, but still uses an honest approach to sharing his personal experience. Also, the text goes a little more in depth about agency - really helps as an aid to studying for the licensing course. This book doesn't lead a new agent to dangerously believe that he or she will make a lot of money in the first year - and actually tells you what will cause you to fail in your new career. Although I would have liked to see more information about careers in real estate besides simply being an agent, overall I must say this book is tremendously helpful to a new agent.

I am in a class at Community College of Baltimore County and we are using this book at this time. Our whole class along with the Professor find this book to be very difficult to follow. The book constantly repeats itself making it extremely boring to read and is not fluent at all. They have examples that reference charts that are 3-5 pages apart from the problem being discussed the formulas you almost have to figure out for yourself how they are used and there are alot of typos.
I recomend burning this book!!!!!!!

I primarily work as a structural-architectural engineer and am becoming more and more involved in civil-site work. This handbook is exactly what I was looking for in terms of something that would quickly get me "up to speed" in the fundamentals of civil-site design.
Of course, no single book could (or should) be thought of as a substitute for the experience and mentoring received from seasoned professionals in a design office, but this one has enough technical explanation and details to get you going with confidence.
I choose this one over the Colley book (reviewed both before making purchase) as Land Development Handbook has more of the technical info that engineers would seek.

Ever since I purchased this publication I can't stop using it. Every civil engineer should have this as part of their reference library, regardless of your area of specialty. It provides macro to micro scale explanations of general processes, design applications, etc in a very readable format. More times than I can remember I have looked to this book for an answer or at least for some guidance and was throuroughly satisfied. No it is not a definitive reference for civil engineers but its' breadth and usability overshadows any technical shortcomings. If I had to have just one reference book for my area of practice (general civil), this would be it. Yeah, yeah, the "Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers" is a more definitive reference, but I usually find out what I need in this pub.

ps - Almost everyone of my fellow employees that has used the book has purchased their own, find someone you know who has a copy and check it out for yourself.

Creating Wealth is a thoughtful book. It presents a lot of "How-to" techniques that teaches you how to create wealth in real estate, collectible coins, all the way to using corporations to your advantage. The Real Estate section is particular well done and i really like the charts and diagrams he used to demonstrate what to look for, how to look for it, what to buy, what not to buy. The author also provides a series of negotiation scripts to demonstrate how the whole process works. Compare with some of Robert Allen's later books, i think this one is more complete, more thought out and less on self bravados. I would suggest that you should read/study this book with an open mind and a critical eye. This book is about establishing a different thinking process, but you'll still need to have the technical know-hows to fully protect yourself from any Real Estate Pitfalls.

I used the technique in "Creating Wealth" coupled with "Nothing Down" to buy my first home with NOTHING DOWN.

Further, my investing in real estate properties, I was able to earn enough money to pay off my home in under 5 years and replace my salary from my job of 20 years.

Some of the information in "Creating Wealth" is duplicated from "Nothing Down" but there is also much newer information as well.

For example, Allen shows you the traps to avoid in buying properties with Nothing Down that most other authors ignore. HE ALSO offers scripts to use when calling home owners.

While I don't expect to become a millionaire (wasn't my goals anyway) I have achieved financial independence in that I am debt free and live very well on the income generated from Mr. Allen's strategies.

I also recommend "Multiple Streams of Income" and "Multiple Streams of Internet Income."

I bought this book in the mid 1980's and it worked. During the 90's, I switched to stock market investing and put real estate investing on hold.

With the bear market that started during the Clinton years, I started to move back into real estate and discounted mortgages and other securities as espoused by Allen such as Gold and Gold Stocks and mutual funds.

Creating Wealth was an excellent book back in the 80's and it is an even better book today. The advice is timeless and is based on what really works in the real world, not just some writers opinion as is the case with too many other books out there today.

If you are serious about real estate investing and creating wealth, I highly recommend this book along with "Nothing Down for the 90's."

This book is a very long advertisement for the trust-writing services of the man's company, complete with urgings to call their 800 number to find their local agent. Also, everything in the book could have been said in 1/10 the space. It's filled with full page charts that contain no usefull information, and it rambles without reason. And, as long as it is, I still don't know much about living trusts.

It is not for writing your own trust, but it was by far the best for the legal information, explanations and especially case scenarios. After reading 3-4 other books, I found this to have the clearest presentation of a complex subject; but of even greater value--it gave common (but unknown to me and not mentioned in other books) alternatives for dealing with problem personal situations like irresponsible children or family. Ex: dividing estate into three dispursements given out at five year intervals to give heirs a chance to "blow it" and then grow up. Because of this book alone, I was able to make decisions I was finally comfortable with.

I was interested in getting an living trust about ten years ago. After visiting three living trust seminars,I came to the conclusion that the lawyers making the presentation probably knew less about living trusts than I did, which was not much although I had taken a course in Wills, Trusts and Estates in my undergraduate years. So I came to the conclusion that I'd better get self-educated fast. I didn't want some highly educated lawyer "going to school" on my money. I searched libraries and book stores for months for "how to do it " books and finally discovered Abts book. While a bit on the "wordy" side with side stories, I found it to be what I believed to be a sound common sense approach to the subject. I signed on with Abts Estate Plan and have all my property titled in the trust. I was also delighted to learn that Abts organization sends out a "newsletter" from time to time regarding changes in trust law. I heartly recommend this book.