Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Estate Planning    4. Estates & Trusts    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Personal Finance - Financial Planning    7. Practical Guides    8. Taxation    9. Taxation - General    10. Law / Estates & Trusts    11. Personal finance   

Reviews (4)

How to Settle Your Living Trust:; How you can Settle a LIving Trust Swiftly
I am amazed the author of this book had the nerve to write such a book. I used his company to settle my father's estate-it wasn't swiftOR easy-it was a NIGHTMARE- requiring 4 attorneys, three accountants and 3 years of constant legal work to clean up the mess that his company recreated.My father wasmiddle class and trusted the advise he got from Mr. Abts- his advise ended costing us thousands in legal fees-, and 3 years of constant stress to get the mess he created cleaned up. When confronted - we found that not only washis advise bad but that he does not stand behind his advise or work! we had no legal recourse for his major mistakes as he is NOT an attorney!
Doesn't cover settling a trust.
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.

Lawyer Finds Book Useful
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 taxstandpoint), at worst. Still, your lawyer should be able to spot those andit's still a very worthwhile book, on the whole. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Estates & Trusts    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. Living trusts    5. Personal Finance    6. Personal Finance - General    7. Popular works    8. Practical Guides    9. United States    10. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / General    11. English law: private, property, family   

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Decedents' estates    3. Estates & Trusts    4. Inheritance and succession    5. Law    6. United States    7. Wills   

Reviews (5)

With focus on checklists and tools
What do you need to know or do when someone close to you dies? The Survivor's Guide covers the many issues and concerns which suddenly arise in such cases, from questions about funerals, burials and handling fees to watching out for swindlers and setting the estate. Its focus on checklists and tools at a time when loss has just occurred makes for an important, essential guide packed with information. Highly recommended.

Monetary realities arising from a death in the family
The Survivor's Guide: What You Need To Know & What You Need To Do When Someone Close To You Dies by journalist and consumer advocate V. K. Thornton is a practical manual to coping with the difficult decisions that face people dealing with the end of a loved one's life. Emphasizing the point of "don't rush - you have more time to act than you think," The Survivor's Guide teaches the reader how not to be taken advantage of at a time when strong emotion can blind one to funeral business overcharging. From the hours after learning of a death in the family, to disposing of the body, planning a memorial service, dealing with the estate left behind and more, The Survivor's Guide is a very highly recommended guide especially focusing upon monetary realities arising from a death in the family.

The Survivor's Guide: Is really helpful
My Dad passed away suddenly and I was not sure what to do first.My friend recommended this book and it was great.It really told me what to do and what to think about each step along the way.It told me things to watch out for for from funeral directors and the writer was right! His advice about settling the estate was also useful.Everyone needs to read this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Death & Dying    2. Death / Grief / Consolation    3. Death And Dying (Sociological Aspects)    4. Death, Grief, Bereavement    5. Estate Planning    6. Estates & Trusts    7. Personal & Practical Guides    8. Reference    9. Social Science   

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Consumer Finance    3. Estate planning    4. Estates & Trusts    5. Personal & Practical Guides    6. Personal Finance    7. Personal Finance - Financial Planning    8. Popular works    9. Reference    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / General    12. Housing & property for the individual   

Reviews (1)

Honoring Your Values via Gifts and Bequests
Many estate planners fail to adequately understand a client's personal values and priorities and merely plug into a standardized will and trust setup.This book provides a systematic method for analyzing andimplementing needs for personal financial security, gifts to family, andcharitable giving.The audience for the book is clearly professionalfinancial planners, but wealthy individuals will find the author's approachhelpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accountants    2. Accounting - General    3. Business & Economics    4. Business/Economics    5. Consumer Finance    6. Estate planning    7. Estates & Trusts    8. Financial planners    9. Personal Finance - Financial Planning    10. Real Estate - General    11. Real Estate Investment    12. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / Money Management    13. Financial services industry    14. Personal finance   

Reviews (1)

Most helpful book on the subject I have found available
Concise, easy to understand information, for people during the most vulnerable time of their lives.This book has been a tremendous resourse for me as I produce my documentary on the same subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Estates & Trusts    3. Finance, Personal    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Legal status, laws, etc    6. Life skills guides    7. Personal Finance    8. Personal Finance - General    9. Practical Guides    10. United States    11. Widows   

Subjects:  1. Estates & Trusts    2. Law    3. Equity & trusts   

Subjects:  1. Estates & Trusts    2. Estates (Law)    3. Future interests    4. Law    5. United States   

Subjects:  1. Estates & Trusts    2. Law    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. English law: equity & trusts    5. Law / Estates & Trusts    6. Law | Trusts, Estates and Wealth Management   

Reviews (2)

Agood, simple introduction to Florida probate options
This is a good simple overview of Florida probate law, with useful checklists to make sure you do not overlook the obvious.You can find much of the information in the Florida statutes, but this is much more readableand it also coordinates and organizes its information better.It is moreof an outline than a treatise, but if you need a treatise you need alawyer, not this book.It serves the purpose for which it was designedwell.

The Best and Simplest to Use on How to Probate an Estate
How to Probate an Estate in Florida is bar far the best, most comprehensive and simplest manual for the layman and lawyer alike. Ms. Nickel has very carefully studied the provisions of The Florida ProbateCode and The Florida Rules of Probate Procedure and presented critical,vital information to her readers. In addition, Ms. Nickel has developedeasy-to-use and time-tested forms, keyed to the relevant provisions ofFlorida Probate Law, that are extremely useful to lawyers, heirs, executorsof estates and trustees.Read more

Subjects:  1. Estates & Trusts    2. Florida    3. Forms    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Popular works    7. Practical Guides    8. Probate law and practice   

Subjects:  1. Estate planning    2. Estates & Trusts    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. United States    6. Personal property law   

Reviews (12)

Don't waste the time or money
If you want to buy a book on living trusts, stick with the Apts book.

Best That I have found.
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.

A quick read with useful information
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Estate planning    2. Estates & Trusts    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Living trusts    6. Popular works    7. United States   

Subjects:  1. Audio - Business / Professional    2. Audio Adult: Other    3. Estates & Trusts    4. Personal Finance - Financial Planning    5. Wills   

Reviews (1)

A decent guide to the UPC, be careful with it though
While this book is a little pricey, it is usefull to a degree.Unfortunately, the authors neglected to state in the title which UPC thisbook deals with, i.e. UPC (1969) or UPC (1990); the reader has to reallydig for that information in the "history" section laid out in theintroduction. Nor does this book do a particularly good job contrasting thedifferences between the 1969 version, which has been adopted by roughly 1/3of the states, and the 1990 version which has been adopted in Colorado. Inthe malpractice minefield that surrounds this area of the law, thisoversight seems rather remarkable.Read more

Subjects:  1. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    2. Estates & Trusts    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Probate law and practice    6. States    7. United States    8. Private, property, family law   

Subjects:  1. Estates & Trusts    2. Law   

Subjects:  1. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    2. Cases    3. Estate planning    4. Estates & Trusts    5. Inheritance and succession    6. Law    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Trusts and trustees    9. United States   

Reviews (3)

Great book if you need to write a basic will!
Absolutely the best resource for anyone wanting to write a basic will who doesn't need anything complicated.Now, in this 4th edition, the fill-in-the-blank will forms (the best part of the book) come on CD-ROM, so you don't have to type everything out.You could literally have a completed will half an hour after getting this item (you'll need two witnesses to sign your will, but no notary required).Plenty of descriptions of each section of the will, so you'll know all about wills in just a few hours if you read the whole book.If you need a more complicated will, NOLO (they have a great website too) has a more thorough book, "Nolo's Simple Will Book".But this book will work for most people, whether single, divorced, married (with or without kids), etc.

Quick & Legal Will Book
No more laywers needed! This book walks you through creating a will that suits your needs. With no outrageous legal fees, this is great for starter families!

An extremely helpful how-to guide
I bought this book and three hours after opening it, I had a will written and ready to be witnessed.Denis Clifford has written an excellent resource for those of us with simple needs in ensuring our assets will goto the right individuals when we die. Extremely common-sense advice, areassuring style, and a quick read! Great advice for the unmarried (likeme), the married with or without children, and the single parent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Estate Planning    2. Estates & Trusts    3. Forms    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Personal Finance - General    7. Popular works    8. Practical Guides    9. United States    10. Wills   

Reviews (3)

Very Good Over All,for a Textbook.
Required Textbook for Certificate in Financial Planning from Florida State University. Very readable.Good homework exercises.Good Appendixes.Very Good Glossary.

Wait for the next edition
The paperback book is being used for a graduate level course in an MBA program. It is straighforward and relatively easy for the non-law student to comprehend. There are a few inconsistences that become apparent when working on the homework/quizzes. For example, the term "heir" is defined two different ways. In order to do the homework/quiz for Chapter 9, we had to refer to Chapter 5. I asked the instructor if the homework he gave us came from a different book, but he said "no". The instructor, who is a practicing estate attorney, even wrote to the author and publisher to let them know some of their statements aren't entirely accurate in the real world.He never heard back. Maybe the next one will be better.

Good but not the best for beginners
When I first bought this book, I spent less than 2 hours trying to read it before I was on the net ordering a different Estate Planning textbook.I was preparing for the CFP on my own and found the rather dense layout of the book to be a brick wall to my understanding the subject. Since I had virually no prior knowledge of estate planning, I found Fontaine's Fundamentals of Estate Planning more readable. I almost turned around and sold this book but kept it around for additional background information. I am glad that I did because I now find Bost's discussions of various estate topics to be more indepth and more encompassing than those presented in Fontaine.Bost is a good presenter and includes a large number of examples. The book and the examples are up to date reflecting the estate tax code phaseout although Bost gives me the impression that he thinks there will be no estate tax after 2009 (If that is so then perhaps I can grow 8 inches and play in the NBA). There are questions at the end of each chapter as well as answers to the odd numbered questions. The book includes a CD that claims to have an excel spreadsheet program as well pdfs of IRS forms and documentation of related IRS code but I can't comment on that because my dvd-rom claims that the disc is blank.If one wants to be an expert on a subject, one has to read more than one book on that subject and I found this book to be a good follow-up book as someone who is studying estate planning independently. In summary, let me say that the dense layout is more accomodating when one has a basic grasp of the subject and that I found the author's presentation very useful in giving me a better understanding of the subject and methods of estate planning. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. General    4. ESTATE PLANNING    5. INHERITANCE AND TRANSFER TAX    6. Law / Estates & Trusts   

Reviews (1)

GENERATIONS: Planning Your Legacy
An excellent book on ESTATE PLANNING, very easy to read and understand by anyone ! ! ! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Estates & Trusts    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Personal Finance - General    4. Practical Guides