Living-trust

...In Loving Trust, the authors discuss various methods of estate planning (by estate planning, I'm talking about how you plan for the orderly disposition of your valuables after you die). They do a very good job, in my opinion, of laying out the basics concerning why you ought to make some sort of plan, and some of the preferred methods for doing so...

The book goes over the advantages and disadvantages of wills vs. trusts, with a definite slant in favor of trusts. While I think trusts are a very good estate planning tool, I don't think they are absolutely right for everyone. You should read the book with the understanding that wills can still play an important role in planning how one's assets are distributed after death.

The book is not a do-it-yourself tome, either. Don't make MORE money for lawyers by trying to write a will and fouling it up - even after reading the book and making your choices, you'll need to consult with a an attorney and a professional tax planner before drawing up your estate planning documents.

If you want to understand how wills and trusts work, and you want it in plain English, this is the one to read.

Elisabeth Elliot again has come up with a book to inspire and encourage people of every age. "The Music of His Promises" can be used as a daily devotional book, or with the index in back you can easily go to a topic you are searching for. As always her main goal is achieved by making you remember that the promises of God are forever and still relevent for todays problems and trials.

If you are a regular reader of Elisabeth Elliot's books then this is a must have. If you have never read her books and are looking for encouragement this is a good place to start.

This book gives a easy to understand look into estate planning and Living Trusts. The authors point out great information about both

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

There is some useful information in this book, but the main purpose of the work appears to be an attempt to justify all the sins of omission and commission perpetrated by lawyers in the area of family trusts. The most popular and useful of the trusts is the revocable living trust, to which Croke devotes 5 pages out of 300. Lots of "see your lawyer on this" though. Better to read the book by the Schumachers.

This is the best book on trusts I've seen. Found out that my Trust failed to properly provide for my wife and children. Only thing my current Trust provided was a savings on estate taxes but it left my wife an inadequate income from the Trust, less than 3%. Providing my wife with the income she would need from my Trust is more important than just the tax savings. I was able to quickly correct this and several other major errors in my Trust. I learned about Trust options I didn't know I had. And, my attorney never told me about them and neither did the other books on trusts that I've read.

I am in the process of settling a rather simple trust. However, I found this book of no use. Note the author first wrote a book titled "A Living Trust" which discussed setting up a living trust. "Settle a Living Trust" is a rehash of the "A Living Trust" with a little information about settling a trust. I wouldn't recommend buying this book if your seeking help in settling a trust.

As an attorney specializing in estate planning for 17 years, I found some good ideas in this book. However, there are a number of statements that are misleading at best and flat-out wrong (from a technical legal and tax standpoint), at worst. Still, your lawyer should be able to spot those and it's still a very worthwhile book, on the whole.

Some repeated sad stories from his first book "The Living Trust". Once past these, there is some very useful info. Read it very carefully, and then take questions to his outfit, or your lawyer, or both. Then advise your next trustees so they know what is coming.

The two individuals who have previously reviewed this book just happen to be Probate/Estate Planning attorneys. Heads up here folks...if you have half of a brain you will realize WHO exactly would be losing on Living Trust. This one isn't a stretch...THE ATTORNEYS. In case you have never been through probate, which I did with my last grandmother's estate which was of a considerable value. Her attorney prior to her passing instructed her that a will would be sufficient. Of course it would...to line his pockets. Figure it up folks in the State of Ohio a Probate attorney will receive on average 3% of your estate. My grandmother's estate was valued in the millions of dollars. I cried (literally) as I wrote the check to that "very kind and oh so helpful" attorney.

Read Suze Ormand's book 9 Steps to Financial Freedom. Right there in black in white "Attorneys do not like Living Trusts. They lose money." When someone tells you it is "not about the money," you had better believe it is to the attorney and of course to your checking account when you write them the check.

Avoid Probate, relatives you never knew you had (believe me they appear like sharks in blood-infested waters) have the legal right through probate to contest the will and its heirs. Why do attorney's care? They have a set-fee based upon the value of the estate. IE: they get their money first.

If you are not comfortable writing you own Living Trust DO go to an attorney. He/she will attempt to talk to out of it. DO NOT LET THEM.

Today I came across that check I wrote some many years ago. $306,000. I would have rather kepy the money, invested, sent my kids to college. Instead I sent my attorney's kids to Harvard and Yale respectfully.

Living Trust Living Hell by Raleigh, North Carolina attorney John Huggard should be on your reading list (and your lending and giving list - my law firm has lent or given away several copies). If you are as irritated by living trust hucksters as I am or if you find yourself actually wanting to believe some of the over-hyped claims of living trust salespeople, you'll find the book a great resource.

The book's style (right down to the cheesy flaming cover) is a little over-the-top, but my guess is that's by design. Fight fire with fire, fight cheese with better cheese. Compared to the Cheez Whiz squirted at the public by many living trust hucksters, Huggard is serving up Camembert.

The book debunks numerous myths and exposes traps related to poor or ignorant planning with living trusts. The short, easy- to-read chapters contain plenty of examples showing how living trusts can actually increase rather than decrease taxes, expenses and administration time, as well as unnecessarily expose assets to claims of creditors.

This is a must for all lawyers and those who have been seduced into buying a LIVING trust at the cost of $1,000 to $2000.00 the seller cannot answer all questions, cannot tailor the trust to fit the individual and does not want to. Most lay people do not know how to take care of a trust that needs constant attention (remember it is living) and usually wind up in probate court anyway. but the worst part is that a trust can be attacked for the next several years. probate closes after a reasonable time, and cuts off all claims. the author writes in easy to understand language and at least gives the layman pause for thought regarding a living trust. The buyer or trustee usually winds up spending more money than he would for the probate action after death.

It did not meet my expectations. I feel that there are many books on this subject that give much more information

If your looking for a book to give you the basics of living trusts...this book is for you. I purchased it so I could ask an attorney intelligent quesions regarding my estate. At 150-200 per hour I didn't feel like going in totally in the dark. This book gave me some good ideas and allowed me to better understand what to expect and ask when meeting with my attorney

What I need is help using the disk that was sent when I purchased "the living trust". Do you know how I can get in contact with someone?

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

This book is woefully inadequate even for someone who already has a good idea what a living trust is about. The author presents forms with filled-in lines as examples that leave no options and there is almost no text to explain the essense of the forms so that one can tailor the entries. Even with another book at hand explaining the purpose of a trust and what it has to say, the forms in this book leave one without guidance for personalizing the trust. There may be some who feel these forms meet their needs but then one is left to wonder if they really know what they're doing. The author gives his phone no. and encourages users of his book to call him with questions but when I did, one response was something like, "Well, that's a lawyerly question". When I asked how to phrase something other than the 3 options given for the declaration of trust he offers, he said that all he offers is what is in the book.

In all, I find this book limited, narrow and lacking sufficient backup for writing one's own living trust.