Estate plans protect your family, and while some steps can wait, others can't. Learn the essentials and get started with The Mom's Guide to Wills & Estate Planning. Focusing on your family's real-world concerns, you'll find out:
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.
Liza Hanks is a Palo Alto, California attorney who specializes in estate planning for families of all ages. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she has also served as an instructor at the Santa Clara University Law School and practiced with the state of California and a prestigious Silicon Valley firm. Hanks is the author or coauthor of The Mom's Guide to Wills and Estate Planning and The Trustee's Legal Companion. She also blogs on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, estate taxes, and probate court on the law blog Everyday Estate Planning.
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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