Estate Planning For Dummies

Part I: Estate Planning Fundamentals.

Chapter 1: Congratulations: You Have an Estate!

Chapter 2: Bean Counting — Figuring Out What You’re Worth.

Part II: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way.

Chapter 3: Understanding the Basics of Wills.

Chapter 4: Tied Hands and Helping Hands: What You Can and Can’t Do with Your Will.

Chapter 5: Probate: Top of the Ninth for Your Estate.

Chapter 6: Dodging Probate: Saving Time and Money with a Will Substitute.

Part III: Matters of Trust.

Chapter 7: Understanding Trusts.

Chapter 8: Trusts You May Want to Trust — or Not.

Chapter 9: Working a Trust Into Your Estate Plan.

Part IV: Life, Death, and Taxes.

Chapter 10: Preparing for the Tug of War with the Taxman.

Chapter 11: The Gift Tax: Isn’t Giving a Gift Enough?

Chapter 12: Skipping Around the Generation Skipping Transfer Tax.

Chapter 13: Paying or Not Paying the Death Tax: That’s the Question.

Chapter 14: Planning to Minimize All Your Estate-Related Taxes.

Part V: Estate Planning for Family Businesses.

Chapter 15: Grasping the Basics of Estate Planning for Family Businesses.

Chapter 16: Transferring Ownership and Paying Estate Taxes in a Family Business.

Part VI: Crafting a Comprehensive Estate Plan.

Chapter 17: Factoring Insurance into Your Estate Plan.

Chapter 18: Connecting Your Retirement Funds to Your Estate Plans.

Chapter 19: Estate Planning in Exceptional Situations.

Part VII: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 20: Ten Questions to Get You Rolling on Your Estate Plan.

Chapter 21: Avoiding Ten Common Mistakes and Problems in Your Will.

Chapter 22: Ten Estate-Planning Resources on the Internet.

Index.