Living Wills & Trusts: How to Distinguish Between Them; Probate & Taxation; Intestate Succession, Tips on Writing Your Own Will (Series 300: Retirees & Estates)

by Holmes F. Crouch

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Product Description

In an effort to give readers the benefit of foresight when preparing for their own death, this guide explains the features and differences between living wills and living trusts and details the variations in distributing assets so that readers can make informed decisions about which prepared testamentary instrument is the best fit for their own estates and situations. Probate and after-death taxation are clarified, and pointers for writing one's own will are given. Also covered are the roles of trustees and executors, other living options, and identifying distributors.

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Average Customer Review: 4 out of 5 stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars

A book overviewing estate planning options and the settlement process., 2006-12-26

At the outset let me say that the author should not have titled his book with the word "living" included. Living wills are not testamentary wills at all, and to refer to testamentary wills as living wills is inaccurate and misleading to say the least.

The other problem I had with the title was that it really did not help me understand what the book was really about and who the intended audience is. After reading the book I think it is fair to say that the book is about options a living person has when planning his estate (no will, wills, trusts, and other will substitutes), and the processes (probate and transfer taxes) that must be dealt with after his death. I suppose the intended audience is someone who is about to undertake some estate planning. Maybe an executor might get something out of this book since part of the book discusses the probate and transfer taxes processes.

The book has 12 chapters:

1. Intestate Succession
2. Testators and Trustees
3. Features of a Will
4. Features of a Trust
5. Wills and Trusts Compared
6. Executor, Trustee Roles
7. Other Living Options
8. Knowing Your Property
9. Identifying Distributees
10. The Probate Process
11. The Taxation Process
12. Writing Your Own Will

I would have liked the book a lot better if it had been organized differently. I think chapters 3, 12, 8, 9, 10 had a lot in common and I was looking for a chapter just on executors (but did not find one). I think chapters 4 and 7 had a lot in common and I was looking for a chapter just on trustees (but did not find one). Then I would follow those chapters with chapters 5, 2, and 11. Where should Chapters 1 and 6 go? Probably out the door! And a new Chapter 1 should be added that would summarize the book and act as a good introduction to the material to follow.

Without the new Chapter 1 that I just described I have trouble giving this book a "4 star" rating. However, there is quite a bit of good content in this book. It would be a shame to trample all over it by giving it only 3 stars.

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