Estate-tax Books

Author William Zabel uses both his expert knowledge and some very appropriate New Yorker cartoons to explain how various estate planning programs work. Even though it was written in 1996 and some tax amounts/pecentages have changed since then, the basic fundamentals are the same as before.

This is not a how-to, though. Various case studies to show the finer points / boundaries / gray regions.

This book gives an overview of how property tax is assessed and how to file an appeal. It covers the basics very well. In this regard, this book helps to fill in information that's hard to come by otherwise. However, it drops the reader there. To be complete, the book needs to list state offices that deal with local property tax issues. It needs to give a much better list of internet resources available to property owners. It needs to get down to the nitty-gritty of how property tax assessments are figured. It assumes that the local tax offical is going to spend as much time as necessary to educate you in these areas. More than likely, the offical won't. I hope the authors write a second edition and fill in these gaps.

I like this book as there are no chapters, just a few easy to follow steps. I found the answers to my questions: Can I expect to win my challenge of my Homeowners Property Tax?

I have never understood how Property Taxes on my home were derived, and I thought there was nothing I could do to protect the assessed value assigned to it by the Assessor. After reading this book and reviewing the questions and answers at the end of each step, I now have a clear idea of how to approach the Assessor to get them lowered. Recently, I talked with a friend of mine from Missouri who had read "Save A Fortune on Your Homeowners Property Tax." He told me it only took him two steps to get his home taxes reduced by $60.00 a year. That is not a fortune, but he says he is really pleased with his lower tax bill.

Another fact that makes this book valuable is the annual savings I might get by checking for the proper market values each year and then comparing them to amounts assigned to our Homeowners Insurance. This is a strong exhibit to provide the insurance company to make sure our premiums are based on realistic numbers.

As someone who doesn't have the time to delve deeply into the world of real estate or tax issues, but who does want to understand the subject, and save money, I'd recommend this book highly.

I didn't think reading about money/investing could ever be this fun or interesting. Straight talk and clear definitions for all the finance jargon.

Great book, lays it all out in terms I can understand. I started investing based on this book, and I refer to it often.

I bought this for my daughter, who is taking this a college course.
She seems to be happy with it. She asked for this book it as the instructor told her she needed it for the class. Sorry I can't give you more info but I am sure it's a good book.

Kathy in Las Vegas

I've read several "for Dummies" books, and in general the entire series is well written, concise, and gives you what you really need. However, I was very disappointed in this one. The book is really dedicated to the three methods of building wealth: equity (stocks, mutual funds, etc.), real estate, and small business. But there isn't enough info on any of the three subjects to do much with. You're better off getting a separate book on real estate if you plan on pursuing that. And nothing he says regarding small business is of much use to accomplish anything. That leaves stocks, bonds and mutual funds, which is what most users would purchase this book for. Regarding that, if you are completely new to mutual funds then this is the book for you as it will explain the basics. However, if you are beyond the very basics (i.e.; "What is a mutual fund?"), and are looking to seriously invest, then I think you'll be disappointed. And if you are looking to get into buying stocks directly, then this book seriously falls short. The entire section on stocks really just explains a canned stock report from a given company. Utterly useless unless you plan on subscribing to that service. No talk of forward PE's, valuation, etc.. Also, the author's continual insistence that you should stay in mutual funds because you "can't beat the market" since there are so many pros out there is utterly ridiculous. There are many gurus out there that have proven track records of generating higher than average returns. Just emulating Warren Buffet's portfolio will do that.

I was looking for a book to dig more into stock valuation, company analysis, etc. and this book barely even touched on any of that beyond definitions. I wouldn't even call it Finance 101, since there is very little about monetary policy, bonds, interest rates, etc.. If you've picked out at least one mutual fund in your life (or purchased a stock directly), then this book is way too simple. If you tremble at the thought of picking a mutual fund and have no financial sense whatsoever, then this is your book.

I wanted to start investing and read somewhere you should first do some studies. That's when I came across this book. Very well written, and in simple to understand language. I used to dread 401K, IRA, Mutual Funds, Bonds. Now I am confident I know about them and what I am investing into.
Showed new ways to look at debts, as to if I clear my debt sooner, I am investing in something which gives be interest equal to the interest I pay the bank.

I would recommend this book to all who want to get into investing but are hesitant or don't know where to get information from.

I read this book a few years ago when I started buying tax lien certificates in Colorado. To my knowledge, this is the only book out there on this topic.

Joel Moskowitz is an attorney and he has put together an excellent book. The first half of the book (about 100 pages) discusses the basics. Included are 1) What are tax lien certificates?, 2) What to look for in properties, 3) Bidding at local auctions, 4) How to redeem your certificates, and many other topics.

The second half of the book (about 95 pages) is made up of four appendices: 1) Chart of state laws, 2) The 16% winner's circle, 3) Environmental forms for commercial and industrial properties, and 4) Further information.

As for myself, I live in Colorado and have been to about 18 auctions since 2001. I did acquire one property in Elbert County in 2005 and made a pretty nice profit. I came within 12 days of getting a two acre lakefront lot in another county worth over $100,000 last year (2007), but the taxes were paid by the owner. I made several hundred dollars in interest income on that one, however.

I continue to buy tax lien certificates every year. Hopefully I will acquire some good properties.

As for the book, it is well worth the money. I highly recommend it.

Mitch Paioff, Author, Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant

Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant

This will get you started but it has only scratched the surface of what you really need to do regarding the tax lien certificate process. I think this book is best for gauging your interest level to see if you want to explore further.

This book rates well with me in terms of presentation and qualified information. I will admit at the front that I have never purchased a tax lien and I would weigh that heavily in terms of the merits of any review of this book. If there are among these reviews some who have purchased tax liens and have not lost their shirt in the process, I would weigh their review ahead of all others.

With that said, I should note that I have a considerable amount of experience in the real estate arena which will validate at least some of my review. Despite this book being presented in a very qualified manner, experience will show that typically the returns presented in investment specific books (particularly those with the anticipated return on its cover) are almost always on the rosy end of reality.

Obtaining liens at this high a rate will inevitably not be as easily achievable as this book presents. That is not to suggest is not possible, as I am quite aware it is. I say this more as a caution because this book spends only a minimal amount of time on risk and otherwise encompasses nearly all its time on the potential reward. For this reason I am in the middle of the road on how I view this book and thus give it 3 stars.

To reiterate, I admit I have not purchased any tax liens, so understand that this opinion is based on what I know of the entire market place of real estate and anticipated returns. If tax liens are of interest to you, this book will in fact provide you with a solid foundation about the intricacies of such dealings.

This book is great if you want to get acclimated with Tax Liens. I would say the book is superior when it comes to actually giving you numbers for each state and explaining the dynamics in each.

I will say that other books on the subject will educate you probably just as well, but this is considered the standard on the subject and I found it's appendix in the back for each state better than the rest. BOTTOM LINE: I took out every book at the library on the subject, read them all, and then bought this book to keep around.

This book discribes how investors can make money in the tax lien market. Tax liens are those liens attached to your deed when you do not pay your property taxes. Since your municpality needs these taxes to pay for service (fire, police, etc.) and they do not need the real estate, they either sell the liens or the actual real estate (not really covered in this book) at an auction. The investor needs to wait a period of time (Each State is Differnt) and then the investor forcloses on the defaltee either requiring the tax payer to pay cash or take possesion of the real estate to do what he wishes with it.

The four sectons of the book explain the basics of these liens, what they are, how to get them, who to contact, what to look for, where they are held and the basics of how to redeam them. There is also a reference on the individual state laws on how each state handles the leins and what the investor must do.

Mr. Moskowitz gives plenty of exapmples of which states has tax liens (Certificates) and which ones have tax deeds (Real Estate). He explains the pros and cons of each and he explains how to take advantage of each situation.

For the small investor though, this can cause some problems as your cash is tied up for a period time and you may have to foreclose on the tax payer when then do not pay. If you need the money and there are no current markets to to sell off your certificate if the need arrises. If you have enough money to part with, investing in these vehicles are safe and secure and you can get some hefty profits from them if you are willing to deal with som small problems.

He reminds you that these profits are guarrenteed by the government and are perfectly legal.

This book helps you understand the concept of these investments, but you need to do more research before you start. Are you willing to evict someone when there term is up. Many states allow tax payers to pay thier taxes after the have sold it you with out owing you interest (generally with in a certain time frame). These and other questions needs to be ask as you read the book.

Mr. Moskowitz does a great job at explaining everything except how to get tax Deed (real estate). This is recommened as a starting point for anyone who want to get involved in this type of investment. Further reading and inquiry of others who actually use these investments are still needed.

An advanced look at how to invest in the markets. This is a must-read for all investors looking to get a deeper understanding of making money in stocks.

This book gives a further mesage than "buy an index fund". It gives the reader a pragmatic view of investing. The message should be this "Investor know yourself and the scenario where your playing, then act consecuently". Investing is a serious activity and should be taken seriously. Too many traps are set for those who take it as game and too many avoidable dissapointments take place. This book is a great book and a must read for anybody, particularly for those who want to invest their money. For those who may want further reading I would encourage them to read Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It (Paperback) (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits), they're both easy to read and will give you further knowledge of how seriously investing is.

Charles was not the first to blow the whistle on active investing but was the first to write a book for the average investor. His advise and counsel are outstanding. In fact he has been called by the current administration to establish criteria for self funded social security investing. The book is a basic tutorial every investor should have on his bookshelf.

Piscaqua Research in a study covering the period 1987-96 found that only 10 out of 145 major pension funds, or just seven percent, out performed a portfolio consisting of a simple 60%/40% mix of the S&P 500 index and the Lehman Bond index respectively.

Or is it logical I ask for you to believe that you can predict which actively managed funds will out perform, or are you overconfident of your skills? If you are trying to find the great fund managers who will out perform in the future ask yourself: what am I going to do differently in terms of identifying the future winning fund managers, than did the pension plans and their advisors? And if you are not going to something different what logic is there in playing a game at which others with superior resources have consistently failed?

If you a really serious in finding an investment technique that will provide you with reasonable return with less risk I suggest the following little book. This is a little book that I have written and contains the essential of how to invest. Just click on the title to find the book.


The book is titled How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 different stocks for $1000 - Pay no Commission. Easy to read packed with precise directions for success. A cookbook for the investor just follow directions. I enjoyed this book a great deal. It shows how indexing and diversification strategies work and why they are so important to investing success. Unlike many other books, this one is not only informative, but also useful. There should be no question as how to implement the author's strategy and measure your progress. He skillfully addresses asset allocation, and shows how to minimize tax consequences by assigning securities to tax deferred accounts. The author does not dwell on lengthy longwinded discussions but cuts to the quick with useful recommendation and directions for the novice and experienced investor as well. I recommend this book for all investors.Just click on the underlined title to go to the reviews of the book.The author answers all yiur questions by Email within 24 hours.How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 Different Stocks-Pay no Commission

Ellis exposes the money managers who claim they can buy a security for you cheap, let it rise up, and then sell just before it drops. The real truth that Ellis lets us in on is that these people don't know anymore than anyone else, and what REALLY effects the markets are random events that nobody can predict. He also shows that the money managers really only make money buy churning transactions, no matter how high or low a security is. He returns us to finance 101 that tells us MARKETS are efficient, trying to time the market is not.

Ellis manages an active fund, which completely goes against the premise of his book. If he truley believes what he wrote, he would act accordingly. However, that isn't why I gave the book 2 stars. I gave the book 2 stars because it is basically a 2-3 page paper expanded to be a full book by using fillers. There is one simple concept, and it doesn't take an entire book to get across.

This book covers most of your questions and describes the basics for banking and corporations established outside the US. It tries to give you the pros and cons of each type of company and a list of places to look into. While it may not be the only book you'll ever need, it does a nice job of detailing what you'll need and how to go about the process of offshore management of finances and protecting your assets. It would have gotten 5 stars if it had been more recent. Still, its' quite worthwhile compared to what else is out there.

This book lets you understand the fundamentals of offshore investing to protect yourself from lawsuits and avoid unnecessary tax liability. It focuses on the legal way to avoid exposure. This book is worth the money, but nothing outstanding.

This is a good book for teaching newbies the basics of how to go offshore, open bank accounts, and (perhaps most importantly) avoid offshore scams.

The book needs to be read in light of recent revisions to the Patriot Act and new currency transfer reporting requirements. Don't even think of going offshore if your goal is to try to hide money from Uncle Sam, since if your particular plan fails it will probably end up being felony tax evasion.

Famous authors of several other books like this one, for example Jerome Schneider, have already been * convicted * of tax fraud and have handed over their entire client lists to the US Government.

There is no legal way of avoiding US Taxes through offshore banks, offshore trusts, or numbered accounts. These things are only good for:

1.) Asset protection
2.) Diversifying investments/access to greater variety of investments

and that's it. Be wary of advice in books like this one if you are using them to avoid taxes.

If you don't like paying high taxes, give up your residency, hand in your passport and get citizenship in a country with lower taxes.

If you are looking for a "feel good" book that only gives you the sugar frosting about offshore without warning you about the many pitfalls, then this book isn't for you.

On the one hand, if your interest is learning about the realities of offshore banking and tax reporting for U.S. citizens, etc., the you will find this a good starter guide. It's also chock full of interesting stories based on Mr. Cornez's personal experiences in the offshore havens.

In this day and age it's so important to protect your assets. What you have today may not be there tomorrow and you should do what you can to protect your wealth for your family and children's children. I've read and researched a lot on this topic and one thing I loved about this book was it's easy to understand language and lots of areas for notes. Good luck - it's not an easy road to walk on but so important.

I have read both of Mr. Croke's books and I have found them to be both informative and helpful. In fact, I have given them to most of the senior executives in my company. In virtually every case, they have found data in these books which have led them to meet with their trust advisors and to revise their trusts. My own trust advisor, rated as the best in our area, has reviewed Mr. Croke's books and believes them to be a very helpful addition to the current bibliography. I have also read the review by your customer from Tucson and I have a difficult time understanding his crankiness.

I picked up this book knowing very little about trusts. Its a US book, and I needed to find out about UK tax. So there needs to be a UK edition. Nevertheless it proved very useful in raising potential red flags. It also has white space at the back where I made copious notes and reminders for my family and financial advisor. The book raises lots of questions to ask family members.

If you want to buy a book on living trusts, stick with the Apts book.

It appears that the Winston-Salem attorney (below) may have jumped the gun. Although he has not read the book, I'm not sure why he feels it's his duty to attack the author's credentials. I think the book is professionally written and is a helpful guide for readers who want to think and plan out the needs of their family and communicate those needs to their attorney. Proper planning is a key part of any family trust.

The allegation that the authors lack the proper credentials on the subject matter seems to be without merit. While a "Lexis-Nexis" search is the best way to obtain legal citations, it is not an exhaustive search of business articles, financial filings and can miss information from supplemental "special report" sections of paid journals. Perhaps the reviewer was too busy to refer to his own subscriptions of The Wall Street Journal or Kiplinger's Retirement Report.

Mr. Croke (the author) was cited in both of those journals earlier this year. The April, 2000 issue of Kiplinger's Retirement Report talks positively about his work and his book in a page and a half article and he is quoted several times in the March 7th, 2000 edition of The Wall Street Journal under an article called "Tangled Trusts".

Borrowed this from a friend and bought my own copy now. I liked the easy going intro and it is a beginner's guide / summary of all the investing options for real estate.

Great book. I got it fast and read it through in four days. It really proved useful in my research and as a guide.

Thank you.

Harry

This is a book I find myself returning to time and time again. The insights are multi-dimensional; and every reading is a fresh experience. Contains a lot of insiteful information for the beginner investor mostly; but also for the experienced investor. I recommend this book.

Robert Irwin has written a good book on how to get started in real estate. His beginning story with Leslie, David, and Leo really simplify the thought process of investing. It was a great idea to use one's first residence as an investment property. This gives a fresh outlook on real estate investing. Now real estate could be purchased on 2 fronts. He gives good points to the beginner which seasoned investors may already know. Unfortunately he only scratches the surface of real estate without giving real world examples and numbers. All in all the tips and traps illustrations should serve as a good outline to all real estate investors.
He definitely followed the KISS (Keep it simple ...) acronym and it is a refreshing read.

Irwin describes in excruciating detail how the steps to take to get started and maintain a real estate portfolio. Evidently, he's written 40 books and it makes sense because he's extremely knowledgeable. He goes into the ins and outs of looking for the right property and buying it with the help of "the right agent." He even describes what the "right agent" looks like: middle aged, honest, pleasant... Irwin writes about the tax benefits and the prospects for good tenants. There are some great tips throughout (he describes Fannie Mae and other real estate institutions and terms) but there's nothing too clever- all of the information is basic and straightforward (nothing clever like another book I just read ("How to Take Advantage..."by Morse). It's a great read, but if you're looking for inspiration to buy a house, look elsewhere like Bach's "Start Late Finish Rich" for women- this book doesn't say WHY you should buy a house.

Back in 1999, I decided to do some estate planning. I decided to buy about 5 books to first learn the basics of estate planning......then see an estate planning attorney to set up my estate plan.

Of the five books that I read on estate planning, Kraemer's book was by far the best book. The main reason I liked Kraemer's book was his use of example flow charts, which show what happens to the money as each spouse dies. These flow charts also allow you to easily calculate the estate tax due at each step of the process.

The other books were very dry and boring.......and without the flow chart approach...it was not clear to me how bypass trusts work.

I highly recommend Kraemer's book as the best book on estate planning.......primarily due to the flow charts.

Kraemer also explains that the use of disclaimers can be a good thing.......and a good way to deal with the changing estate tax laws.

Kraemer's book allowed me to understand the basics of estate planning and bypass trusts. I was able to save time and money then working with an estate planning attorney to set up our bypass trusts.

Other good books on investing which may help you build a large enough estate so you get to worry about the problem of estate planning are shown below:

Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

Kraemer's Estate Planner can motivate you to begin what you have been putting off for a long time by helping you understand your way through the maze of complex legal and tax issues, leading you step-by-step through your decision-making process to solve your estate planning challenges.

Begin with the 9-page Inheritance Information Form on page 186--completing it will be a real eye-opener for you and a God-send for those destined to sort through your estate after you are gone.

The book is also logically divided with Part One taking you through preparatory personal and tax considerations, clearly outlining actions with guidelines to successful estate planning with solid information to demystify tax planning; Part Two discussing possible estate plan options for you to consider to create trusts and avoid probate; and Part three exploring personal values decisions that move beyond money and property into elder care, living wills, and funeral instructions.

This book is a lot like a recipe book: you determine the value of your assets and that will tell you exactly the documents you need to protect your estate. This is what makes this book stand out--you know exactly what you need and can save a lot of time and money by not having to pay a lawyer to determine this. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what they need before they start getting billed by the lawyers.

This book does not belong in the "real Estate" classification

This was the least helpful of the estate planning books I've recently read. It did have a lot of helpful information but the book is full of fluff, lot's of it. If you cut out the fluff there might be 50 pages worth of useful and helpful data. There are much better books on the topic of estate planning available. My opinion is that if you don't already have this book in your estate planning library, then you don't need it. Your money will be better spent elsewhere.

This is the top of its class. One of our best sellers.

Great companion to: The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

This book was disappointing. Most of the advice is obsolete, like "switch over to free checking." Huh? Free checking accounts came out almost a decade ago. Or "deduct business expenses from your taxable income." Well no kidding. If you already keep diligent finances, this book won't help you. It's for people who've been asleep their whole lives and need common-sense instructions (the same people who need instructions on how to use things like paper clips).

As a customer service worker myself, some of the advice made me cringe. For example, the author says to call your cell phone provider and constantly threaten to cancel so they'll give you a better plan. First of all, employees have business rules to follow and threats do absolutely nothing but make us roll our eyes. In fact, later we go to the break room and laugh about the stupid jerks who called and threatened us that day, especially if the customer has a long history of constantly returning things, cancelling service, re-signing up, like this author recommends doing. We can see EVERYTHING on an account (and we can also see any/all accounts associated with that name, regardless of different contact info), and every time a customer harasses us we literally take notes. We can also flag an account "bad customer." "Cust called demanding free shipping from expired catalog, threatened to shop elsewhere. Told him catalog exp 3 mos ago, cust very rude, hung up." The author views customer service employees as people "whose only care is getting off work later to go hang out with her friends at the mall." Ha! I WISH that was my only care. The only way we'll bend over backwards to help a customer is if something truly unfair happened, like the post office lost the package or if the credit card was charged twice. And I applaud Sprint for dropping all those bad customers, which made headlines recently.

Anyway, this book boasts "savings of over $100,000" but I couldn't find a single penny's worth of advice in it.

Morse uses a humorous, no-nonsense approach to help readers navigate the sea of credit card offers, tax refunds, cell phone rebates, and more everyday financial issues in the most advantageous way possible. He provides many valuable, never-before-revealed tips on how to make the most of your finances, and he sheds light on the often confusing policies of our major corporations, as well as on many of their shadier marketing ploys and full-blown scams. Whether it's with a lower interest rate or a free iPod, a newly discovered tax write-off or a free vacation, everyone will benefit from reading this book.

The title would have you think that you're being given access to a wealth of inside information that most people don't know about. Well, that's only true if you are just stepping out into the big world on your own, or if you've been living paycheck to paycheck and not paying attention. For anyone who understands the basics of finance and business, this book won't tell you anything you haven't heard many times before. It's reasonably well written, although a good edit would have caught many of the typos and grammatical gaffes. And there is information provided here that everyone should know. So if your eighteen year old is heading out to their first apartment, this would be a good going away gift. If you itemize your tax deductions, or operate your own business, you'll find this elementary level reading at best.

I read this book after the Evolution Diet- and I really like the style of writing. It's lighthearted, but very good informative. I'm going to do two of the technique right away including start an online business to get ad revenue and change my deductions to give me more money throughout the year, save that money, and make money on interest instead of giving it to the government before it's due. This was really smart I thought- why is it that we give the government our money through income tax all year without earning interest, but once we're late on our tax return, we're instantly charged interest. Very suspect! Morse shows how to capitalize on that.

All the reviews are right on except for Bertie's review below - this one time reviewer seems like he/she has a bad job and is taking it out on this guy.

I got this book with Scam Proof and that looks good too.