Plan Your Own Estate

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 1-9

3. What Are Your Goals?

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 11-23

4. What Are Your Assets?

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 25-37

5. What Goes into a Will?

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 39-56

6. Will Alternatives and Avoiding Probate

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 57-75

7. Trust in Trusts

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 77-94

8. Rounding Out the Plan

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 95-102

9. Taxes

   • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

   Pages 103-117

10. Gifting

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 119-129

11. Insurance Trusts

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 131-141

12. Advanced Tax Strategies

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 143-155

13. Fiduciaries

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 157-171

14. Planning Guide for Kids

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 173-187

15. Planning Guide for Marrieds

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 189-208

16. Planning Guide for Singles

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 209-219

17. Planning Guide for Unmarried and Same-Sex Couples

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 221-227

18. Planning Guide for Second Marriages

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 229-240

19. Planning Guide for the Family Business

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 241-251

20. Planning Guide for Noncitizens

    • Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss

    Pages 253-258

Plan Your Own Estate: Passing on Your Assets and Your Values Legally and Efficiently takes a straightforward and engaging “you”-oriented approach to dealing with one of life’s certainties--death. While you "can’t take it with you," this book empowers you to decide how your assets can best help your family when you are gone. Experienced attorney Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss concentrates into this book the experience she's had helping hundreds of families work through their estate plans. Whether you have modest or extensive assets, Plan Your Own Estate provides the knowledge you need to design your plan and the tools you need to move forward.

The starting place is your goals. Part 1 of the book asks, "What do you want to accomplish for yourself and your family?" The next step depends on you. Are you looking to educate yourself about how a will or trust is structured, or how tax law works? Part 2, Resource Guides, breaks down tough topics like these and delivers actionable information. Have questions about what your estate plan should say? Part 3, Planning Guides, goes through an attorney’s analysis in considering the most frequently asked estate planning questions. Thinking about creating your own estate plan, or hiring an attorney? Part 4, Action Guides, helps you start your estate plan and make sure it’s complete, or review any plan you may already have in place. 

Nobody likes talking about death, taxes, or disability--but not thinking about them will not make them go away. Plan Your Own Estate will help you make a plan, put it in place, and take control of how your money and your values are being passed to your family. This book includes:

• Comprehensive “plain English” coverage of every aspect of planning your estate
• Methods to protect your loved ones' inheritance from taxes, immaturity, lack of financial knowledge, incapacity, creditors, and predators
• Planning guides for families with children, singles, second marriages, business owners, unmarried or same-sex couples, and more
• Up-to-date information regarding changing laws and best practices

Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a practicing trusts and estates attorney with over fifteen years' experience. Her passion is educating the public about the law so they can be empowered to use it to their benefit. She graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University, earned her law degree at Boston College Law School, and holds an advanced Masters of Law degree in taxation from New York University School of Law. Deirdre authors the award-winning New Jersey Estate Planning and Elder Law Blog, and she is a sought-after speaker and contributor to national publications such as the New York Times, Consumer Digest, and Money magazine. Deirdre often hears that she makes estate planning and tax law "fun," and that she is adept at breaking down complex topics into understandable, and actionable, elements. The author of Plan Your Own Estate (Apress, 2013), she resides in Northern New Jersey with her husband and son.

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