Estate-planning

There is a critical review of this book found in the Legal Information Alert, October 1999 issue. Legal Information Alert regularly reviews new legal information products such as this one. Contact the editors of LIA at 773 525 7594 for information on how to obtain this review.

While this book is a little pricey, it is usefull to a degree. Unfortunately, the authors neglected to state in the title which UPC this book deals with, i.e. UPC (1969) or UPC (1990); the reader has to really dig for that information in the "history" section laid out in the introduction. Nor does this book do a particularly good job contrasting the differences between the 1969 version, which has been adopted by roughly 1/3 of the states, and the 1990 version which has been adopted in Colorado. In the malpractice minefield that surrounds this area of the law, this oversight seems rather remarkable.

I was also somewhat disapointed to discover that this book DOES NOT reprint the UPC or the official commentary to the code. Nor does this book contain even a dated table of which U.S. states have adopted the code (that would have been really nice - especialy for practicing attorneys). Instead, this little pocket edition gives you unofficial commentary about each chapter, section and article.

A word of warning to students and practitioners: don't use a highlighter to mark in this book, it will bleed right through the paper. Colored pencils will have to suffice.

That having been said, I don't mean to discourage anyone from buying this book. It is a handy reference that sheds light on some of the more text-heavy portions of the code. It has an excellent table guiding the reader to the various sections. And it is generally helpful as a secondary text.

Would I buy it again? Probably. Would I use it with caution? Absolutely. Do I think it was way over priced? Definitely. In my case, this book was a few dollars cheaper through Amazon, even with shipping and handling, than it was in my law school bookstore. My reccomendation: don't buy this book sight unseen. If you are thinking about purchasing this book, go to your local law school, hit the bookstore and look it over.

Dan Lobnitz - Second Year Law Student - University of Denver College of Law.

After a very shallow description of the types of resorts, and a plea for developers to be more sensitive to the natural environment, the book glosses over the huge planning phase and goes into how to turn a profit once the doors are open. All of the steps in between are dismissed with the understanding that you'll hire various teams of professionals to handle them. But THAT's what I wanted to know!

Please display at least the contents of this book so that it is easier for me to comment or make a decision to purchase!

These authors published two informative articles about TIAA-CREF in a professional journal in 1997 and 1998. Although the articles were intended for estate planners, they can be understood by a lay person who reads them carefully. I expected this book to present the substance of the articles in a more accessible way. It does not. Apart from the section on estate planning, it contains little information not obtainable directly from TIAA-CREF. It shows signs of having been written with haste. It is poorly edited (surprising for Oxford University Press) and is in places inconsistent and unclear. The book is a disappointment.

I am responding to the previous reviewer's disappointment with the book, given that it was published by Oxford U. The days when we could count of the big name university presses to publish only the finest are, sadly, past. It is frustrating not to have the reliable benchmarks. Word processing, the automated printing and publishing process, and the general decline of academic standards - whatever the reasons, we are being swamped with second and third rate monographs from all quarters.

Ancient book. Not very helpful. Would recommend finding a book on pure trusts (not living trusts) instead.

I was looking for advice on setting up a trust, trying to keep attorney and other fees as low as possible. This book certainly does not do this. The recommendations of hiring an estate attorney, a financial advisor, and other advisors to form a team would probably eat up my entire estate. For me there are much better books available

The book, wills of the rich and famous, contains many interesting looks at the oddities of rich and famous people as can be seen through their wills. However, this book is definetely not a book I would recommend to people who are looking for casual reading and are not trying to write a will based on a famous persons.

I was disappointed in this book. It had many typos in the text that made me suspicious of the quality of the content. The only thing I got from this book is: Fill in a data sheet from your estate attorney before you go to the office and the book does not substitute for an attorney so do not use the sample formats. The other three books I've read have been far superior. I've read Beyond the Grave by Condon, The Complete Book of Wills, Estates & Trusts by Boyle and the 60 Minute Estate Planner by Kraemer and gotten much more from them.

I'd have to say that I was extremely disappointed in this book. Because of the limited number of titles available dealing with estate planning, I had high hopes when I purchased this book. Unfortunately, it addressed the subject in a less than adequate manner, focusing on rather unimportant aspects of estate planning. In short, my money could have better been spent elsewhere.

This is a very disappointing book. Essentially, it is a regurgitation of the IRS regulations on a number of estate planning issues. There is no interpretation, no attempt to simplify or clarify for the reader, and worst of all no advice on tax planning strategy given particular issues or circumstances. What do these regs mean? How should they be interpreted? What do they allow the estate planner to do and not to do? What is the most advantageous interpretation of the jprovisions? This book gives not a clue. For me, it was a waste of $145.