Estate Planning - A Plain English Guide to Wills and Trusts

Are you among the 50 percent of American adults who do not yet have a will? For many of us, busy day-to-day lives often result in putting the crucial process of estate planning precariously on the back burner. In fact, if you don’t have a clear, considered plan, government treasurers and probate attorneys may just have the ultimate say on your estate. Estate Planning: A Plain English Guide to Wills and Trusts is attorney Clint W. Smith’s easy-to-read, invaluable book that will demystify confusing legal issues and dispel common misunderstandings that can have serious repercussions for anyone with a net worth of over $50,000. And, if you have dependent children, it is vital to express your preferences and solidify a plan to make sure those preferences are honored.

Establishing a well-considered estate plan now can save you or your loved ones considerable costs, months of time, and even relationships. While many individuals believe that wills are the most beneficial way in which to handle estates, the author introduces the option of revocable living trusts as an alternative to wills. While wills by nature result in time-consuming probate, public disclosure, estate tax, and attorney fees, Smith explains that revocable living trusts can provide you with a way to minimize taxes, provide flexibility, help you navigate the realities of a living will, and solves the problems inherent to joint tenancy, right of survivorship, and community property.

Throughout, the book also offers examples and anecdotes that reveal the merits of solid estate thinking as well as the unfortunate fallout of ill-conceived planning. Throughout thirteen chapters, the author guides readers through the basics of wills, the meaning of probate, trusts, protecting your assets, and more. He also offers summary prescriptions that distill the content of each chapter.

Estate Planning: A Plain English Guide to Wills and Trusts also clears up common misconceptions about wills, offers answers to specific questions about trusts, and offers a step-by-step guide to enable anyone to set up his or her own revocable living trust. Whether you enlist the help of a lawyer, or decide to create a trust on your own, this informative, book will teach you the questions you need to ask, and motivate you to do so immediately. No matter what, Estate Planning will ensure that you are empowered to do a better job of it than the state, and that you leave behind a fitting legacy for your loved ones.