Estate Planning Basics

Estate planning, in plain English

This book provides concise, straightforward, and easy to read information about the major components of estate planning—without going into endless detail about arcane options that apply only to the wealthy. Topics include:

• Wills. Why you need one, how to make one, and when having just a will is enough.
• Living Trusts. When they’re useful, how they work, and whether you need a lawyer to make one.
• Young Beneficiaries. How to protect gifts you leave to young people, by naming a responsible adult to manage the property until they come of age.
• Avoiding Probate. What is probate, why you might want to avoid it, and how to do it.
• Planning for Incapacity. Why you should make powers of attorney and health care directives to plan for a time when you cannot make decisions about your finances or your medical care.

The book makes these estate planning issues easy to understand and lets you know which tasks you can handle yourself and when you’ll need a lawyer’s help.