How To Avoid Probate For Everyone

Learn how to prepare your estate and avoid costly mistakes Want to avoid probate? Gleaned from his forty-four years as an estate attorney, Sharp describes the probate process and the many reasons why it should be your last resort in estate settlement methods in How to Avoid Probate for Everyone. Living trusts are important, but there are many alternatives to using a living trust for probate avoidance. These alternatives are explained step-by-step as Sharp delves into the details. Examples of such approaches include: While state laws vary, most allow for expedited procedures for low-value estates without having to create a trust. There are a dozen different ways of leaving assets to heirs automatically at death. Special types of deeds allow you to keep control of your real estate during lifetime yet transfer it to heirs automatically at death. There are several ways of titling vehicles that allow heirs to get them without court procedures. Beneficiary designations on bank and investment accounts keep them out of your probate estate. Joint ownership of accounts and real estate can solve inheritance problems. Common myths and misconceptions about estates and probate are debunked. Trusts are covered in detail, including a section on must-use trust provisions to cover common complications and showing how a trust can easily resolve these. Joint and single trusts are examined and issues, such as how to handle personal property items, are suggested. (For instance, who gets the piano?) By avoiding probate court-supervised adult guardianship and conservatorship, families can avoid embarrassing and time-consuming incompetency hearings in court. Samples of the described documents are also included to give the reader an idea of what the paperwork actually looks like. Sharp’s matter-of-fact explanations will prepare any reader to take the necessary steps to prepare their estate with confidence and avoid probate.

Explains how living trusts work, discusses the different types of trusts, compares living trusts with wills, and offers advice on selecting an attorney.

Readers say it best: "Very informative." "Saved me a lot of money and headaches!" "Recommend it for everyone who has to plan estates for their elderly parents" Living Trusts for Everyone is the best resource for setting up a living trust. Explaining in specific terms what benefits a trust will have, Ronald Farrington Sharp gives the tools necessary to set up a loved one’s trust with no lawyers and no expense. Wills benefit lawyers. Trusts benefit the clients. Too often lawyers sell wills to clients only to sit back and wait to sell their probate services to their clients’ heirs. Ronald Farrington Sharp describes the best way to handle modern estate planning and details the many advantages trusts have over wills in not only eliminating probate but in also protecting your assets for your heirs. Sharp explains why legal services are not needed to do the clerical work in settling a trust after death. This updated edition includes new information on an array of subjects, including: Elimination of the federal estate tax for most estates due to increased exemption amounts Online assets The use of passwords, usernames, and websites Keeping trustees honest and the process of removing trustees for malfeasance Forms for simplifying the planning process Strategies to lower attorneys’ fees With no legal jargon, just step-by-step instructions and sample form letters, Living Trusts for Everyone takes the mystery out of the process of setting up a trust.

Want to save your family money and hassle? Read this book! Probate court proceedings after a death can drag out and cost tens of thousands of dollars in attorney and court fees—money that would otherwise have gone directly to your loved ones. This topselling guide shows you the most effective ways to skip the probate process: • name payable-on-death beneficiaries for financial accounts • own property jointly • leave real estate with transfer-on-death deeds • use a living trust • name the right beneficiaries for IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement plans, and • use probate shortcuts for small estates. Completely updated, this edition includes the latest state laws on probate avoidance methods, and covers all the estate-related impacts of the recent changes to federal rules on retirement distributions.

Written in clear, conversational English, this book can help anyone understand how a living trust avoids the complications, expenses, and delays of probate at times of incapacity and death.

Planning for your family's future made easy! If you’re like most people, you want to be sure that, once you’ve passed on, no more of your property and money will be lost to the government than is absolutely necessary. You want to know that you’ll be leaving your heirs your assets and not your debts. You want to be absolutely certain that your will is ship-shape, your insurance policies are structured properly, and that every conceivable hole in your estate plan has been filled. And most of all, you’d like to do all of this without driving yourself crazy trying to make sense of the complicated jargon, jumble of paperwork, and welter of state and federal laws involved in the estate planning process. Written by two estate planning pros, this simple, easy-to-use guide takes the pain out of planning for your ultimate financial future. In plain English, the authors walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to: Put your estate into order Minimize estate taxes Write a proper will Deal with probate Set up trusts Make sure your insurance policies are structured properly Plan for special situations, like becoming incompetent and pet care Craft a solid estate plan and keep it up-to-date Don’t leave the final disposition of your estate up to chance and the whims of bureaucrats. Estate Planning For Dummies gives you the complete lowdown on: Figuring out what you're really worth Mastering the basics of wills and probate Using will substitutes and dodging probate taxes Setting up protective trusts, charitable trusts, living trusts and more Making sense of state and federal inheritance taxes Avoiding the generation skipping transfer tax Minimizing all your estate-related taxes Estate planning for family businesses Creating a comprehensive estate plan Straightforward, reader-friendly, easy-to-use, Estate Planning For Dummies is the ultimate guide to planning your family’s future.

The best legal guide to wills and estates—with more than 80,000 copies sold—now updated to cover the current asset protection options and estate laws Whether grappling with modest or extensive assets, The Complete Book of Wills, Estates, and Trusts has long been the indispensable guide for protecting an estate for loved ones. In this completely revised third edition, updated to cover the latest changes in estate law, attorney Alexander A. Bove, Jr., clearly explains • how to use a will to avoid probate and legal complications • how trusts work and how to use trusts to save taxes • how to contest a will and how to avoid a contest • how to settle an estate or make a claim against one • how to establish a durable power of attorney • how to protect assets from creditors In his straightforward and humorous style, Bove shares easy-to-understand legal definitions, savvy advice on taxes, and pragmatic and simple sample forms, all illustrated with entertaining examples and actual cases. The Complete Book of Wills, Estates, and Trusts is the best guide available for defending your financial legacy

Discover the ins and outs of planning your own or your loved one’s last wishes with this easy-to-understand guide to estate planning. No one likes to talk about death, but being prepared for any unexpected tragedy can help your loved ones navigate your loss more easily in the long run. From creating your advanced medical directives to designating your beneficiaries, estate planning can ensure that your wishes are carried out when you are no longer around. With Estate Planning 101, you can get your affairs in order before any unfortunate incident occurs. This easy-to-understand guide comes with detailed information on what needs to be done to protect your estate. With information on creating a living will, minimizing estate taxes, choosing an executor, and more, you will be prepared for the future, no matter what it brings. Estate Planning 101 offers you step-by-step instructions and checklists to keep you organized for whatever life throws your way.