Estate planning basics to help you protect your young family.

You know that now is the time to do something in the way of estate planning to provide for your young children -- but what, exactly? Is a will all you need? What about life insurance or a living trust? And how much will it all cost?

The Mom's Guide to Wills & Estate Planning gives you practical, straightforward recommendations on estate planning options and provides a solid plan that every family can find the time to follow -- without the expense of hiring an attorney.

This book outlines which proactive steps are most crucial and should be taken immediately, and which can be delayed. Focusing on your family's real-world concerns, you'll find out: 

• how to select a guardian for children
• when to consider a living trust
• how to set up payable-on-death accounts
• how to keep your estate plan current

You'll also see handy and relevant USA TODAY snapshots, infographics and insights throughout The Mom's Guide to Wills & Estate Planning. So what are you waiting for? Create an estate plan to protect your young children today.

• Will Worksheet
• The Ideal Guardian
• Potential Guardians
• Guardians for My Children
• Family Inventor
• Inheritance Planner
• My Children’s Money Manager
• How Much Could Your Kids Inherit?
• Property Guardians for My Children
• My Executors
• Family Retirement Assets: Current Beneficiaries
• My Health Care Agent
• My Agent for Financial Management

1. Picking Guardians: You CAN Do It!

• Get It Done
• How Guardianships Work
• What Guardians Are (and Are Not) Responsible For
• Picking the Right Guardian
• After You’ve Chosen a Guardian: Talking It Over
• Giving Guardians Some Written Guidance

2. Getting Organized, or Trying To

• Cash
• College Savings Plans and Custodial Accounts for Children
• Safe Deposit Box
• Real Estate
• Investments, Retirement and Otherwise
• Life Insurance
• Pensions
• Annuities
• Government Benefits
• Automobiles and Personal Property
• Moving On

3. Leave Money to Your Kids? Are You Nuts?

• Custodial Accounts
• Trusts
• Your Backup Plan: Appoint a Property Guardian

4. Yes, You Need a Will

• Why a Simple Will Is Just Fine
• Making a Will: A DIY Project or Not?
• What Wills Don’t Do
• What Happens If You Don’t Make a Will?
• Taking Care of Business: Picking an Executor
• The Will Worksheet
• Simple Will Worksheet

5. Creating a Living Trust (Maybe)

• Probate: A Judge Makes Sure the Right Things Happen
• What Is a Living Trust?
• Do You Need a Living Trust?
• Creating a Living Trust
• Casting the Play: Selecting Trustees and Beneficiaries
• Transferring Assets Into the Trust
• Do You Still Need a Will?

6. Those Retirement Accounts: Naming the Right Beneficiaries

• Alphabet Soup: Plans Explained
• What Beneficiaries Have You Already Named?
• Retirement 101: The Basic Rules of Choosing Beneficiaries
• Naming Your Beneficiaries
• A Little Housekeeping: Clean Up Your Retirement Plans
• Filling Out the Forms

7. Life Insurance: Not Just for Other People

• Do You Need Life Insurance?
• What Is Life Insurance?
• Life Insurance Primer
• How Much Is Enough?
• How Much Life Insurance Costs
• Naming Beneficiaries

8. Payable-on-Death Accounts (Weird Name, Handy Tool)

• When POD and TOD Accounts Are a Good Idea—And When They’re Not
• How POD and TOD Accounts Work
• How to Set Up a POD or TOD Account

9. Powers of Attorney: You Really Need These

• Health Care Directives
• Durable Powers of Attorney for Finances

10. Life Changes—So Will Your Plan

• What You’ve Accomplished
• Storing Your Estate Plan
• Whom to Give Copies To
• Keeping Your Plan Current
• When to Update Your Plan
• How to Make Changes to Your Estate Plan

Appendix

• Estate Planning Worksheets
• Will Worksheet
• The Ideal Guardian
• Potential Guardians
• Guardians for My Children
• Family Inventory
• Inheritance Planner
• My Children’s Money Manager
• How Much Could Your Kids Inherit?
• Property Guardians for My Children
• My Executors
• Family Retirement Assets: Current Beneficiaries
• My Health Care Agent
• My Agent for Financial Management

Index

Here are summaries of important legal or procedural changes that affect the latest edition of this product.