AARP Digital Editions offer you practical tips, proven solutions, and expert guidance. Many of us spend a lifetime building wealth and accumulating assets, but fail to properly plan how all of this will be passed on once we are gone. And while dealing with complex financial issues such as inheritance and estate taxes forces us to face our own mortality, making these difficult decisions is something we all need to do. Living trust attorney and bestselling author Jeffrey Condon is extremely familiar with these types of situations and understands the importance of a living trust in an increasingly uncertain world. Now, with The Living Trust Advisor, he skillfully discusses the various aspects of this document and details how it can provide a seamless transfer of assets to your spouse, children, and other beneficiaries after you are gone. Written in a straightforward and accessible style—and peppered with Condon's trademark humor—The Living Trust Advisor puts the living trust in perspective and walks you through the four life phases associated with it. Page by page, this practical guide will help you: Address the numerous issues that should be considered before first meeting with a living trust lawyer and other key players in this arena Establish and manage your living trust over the course of your life as well as prepare it to carry out your financial wishes once you and your spouse have passed on Identify potential inheritance problems now, so you can build solutions into your living trust before it's too late Distribute living trust assets to future generations and protect those assets once the transfer is complete And much more Throughout the book, Condon provides you with real-world examples that illustrate key points or clarify particular concepts. While many of these examples are drawn from Condon's professional relationship with clients, some anecdotes are associated with his personal experiences in this field. If you've picked up this book, then you're probably thinking about putting together a living trust. Or, perhaps you already have a living trust and you're looking to revisit it. Whatever your reasons, this reliable resource contains the straightforward advice and practical insights you need to create and maintain a living trust that will ensure your final financial wishes are carried out in full.

Praise for The Living Trust Advisor "The Living Trust Advisor is a necessary survival guide in the inheritance arena for every American in these turbulent economic times." --Congressman Thaddeus McCotter "Living trusts can be the most important part of an estate plan-saving time and money by reducing or eliminating estate taxes and by avoiding probate. For all those who have or are considering a living trust, The Living Trust Advisor is an invaluable source and an essential tool for any estate plan. Your beneficiaries will thank you." --Angelique M. Neal, former attorney with the IRS, Office of Chief Counsel, Los Angeles "In The Living Trust Advisor Jeffrey Condon not only shows how to make the baffling world of trusts work for the average person, but gives invaluable advice on navigating the complex web of family emotions that inevitably come to the surface in estate planning. His expert advice and guidance should be on the bookshelf of anyone who needs more than just a basic will." --Brian J. O'Connor, Personal Finance Editor, The Detroit News "Jeffrey Condon bonds with the reader on a level that encourages our complete trust in his trust instructions. In this book, he wisely walks readers through all of the pitfalls, tax implications, changes that may occur, and subsequent legal implications. The Living Trust Advisor is a fine and entertaining read as well as an indispensable resource for everyone in need of advice and compassion in making a will or a trust." --Grady Harp, Reviewer for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells, Reuters, USA Today, and Blogging Authors, Author of War Songs, and contributor of essays to museum catalogues

The Essential Guide to Wills, Trusts, and you personal legacy. What you need to know before consulting you attorney.

A comprehensive guide to living trusts, with expert financial and legal guidance The Living Trust Advisor is an expert guide for both advisors and their clients on the complex process of establishing, living with, and maintaining a living trust. Written by renowned family inheritance attorney Jeffrey L. Condon, this book discusses the various aspects of this important document, and shows you how to manage a seamless transfer of assets to various beneficiaries. This new second edition has been fully updated and revised to reflect the extensive changes to the Estate Tax Law that have taken place since the initial publication, giving you the most up-to-date information and guidance on preserving your wealth and helping your heirs avoid estate tax liability. You'll develop a vision for your trust before you ever meet with an attorney or other key players, and learn how to establish and maintain a trust that remains rock-solid for your lifetime and beyond. As the living trust has replaced the will as the primary means of settling after-death estates, clear guidance and current legal information is of utmost importance for advisors and clients alike. This book is a valuable resource for every stage of planning and execution, helping you ensure that you provide for your beneficiaries the way you intend. Know what to think about before your first meeting with a lawyer Establish and manage your living trust to carry out your wishes Identify potential inheritance problems and build solutions into the trust Distribute assets to future generations, and protect them after the transfer Dealing with complex financial and legal issues while facing our own mortality is a difficult task, but making these decisions is critical to the future outcome of your estate. The Living Trust Advisor expertly guides you through the process so you can be confident that your wishes will be carried out.

AARP Digital Editions offer you practical tips, proven solutions, and expert guidance. A complete guide to planning an estate under today's tax rules When it comes to an estate (no matter how big or small it may be) nothing should be left to chance. Proper planning is necessary to protect both your assets and your heirs. Estate Planning Law Specialists Harold Apolinsky and Craig Stephens and expert financial planner Stewart Welch III know this better than anyone else, and in the revised and updated edition of J.K. Lasser's New Rules for Estate and Tax Planning, they offer valuable advice and solid strategies to help you plan your estate under today's tax rules as well as preserve your wealth. Packed with up-to-the-minute facts, this practical resource covers a wealth of important issues. Reveals how new legislation will impact inheritances and trusts and offers guidance for estate and generation-skipping tax planning Explains the role of wills, executors, and trusts and shows how to treat charitable contributions Outlines the do's and don'ts of gifting and explains life insurance and retirement planning Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, this book will show how to efficiently arrange your estate today so that you can leave more to those you care about tomorrow.

". . . is unquestionably the layman's most nearly complete source on living trusts. . . . Recommended reading for anyone who wants to maximize his net estate left to heirs, speed asset distribution after death, avoid will challenges, minimize estate costs, and maintain privacy." -- Robert Bruss, Esq., and Nationally Syndicated Real Estate Columnist Chicago Tribune ". . . presents in clear, concise, and readable language what every person needs to know. I heartily recommend it as required reading for every caring husband, wife, parent--all those with an estate to pass along to heirs." -- Byron Countryman, Esq. Countryman and McDaniel Attorneys at Law, Los Angeles Why The Living Trust Is So Important You may think your heirs have been well provided for, but did you know that: Your loved ones may have to wait more than two years before receiving a penny from your estate--even though you have left a legally valid will? Costs of probating your will may eat up more than 10 percent of your estate-money your heirs will never receive? The specific instructions of your bequest may be contested or changed completely--even though clearly spelled out in your will? Once a will is probated, it becomes a matter of public record--anyone can access the information just by going to the courthouse and asking for your tile? A will cannot help you in life? If you become incapacitated or your judgment comes into question, it becomes a matter for the courts to decide and is, again, a very public process. A Living Trust is a simple, inexpensive legal alternative that eliminates the costs and delays of probate and ensures that your loved ones will receive their inheritance promptly and exactly as you intended. It is also the only estate planning tool that allows you to plan for your own incapacity or for avoiding competency hearings. When The Living Trust was published in 1989, it quickly became the bible on how to avoid probate. This updated edition includes information on the new IRA Q-TIP Trust, the Spousal and Family Support Trust, and the Family Limited Partnership. In addition, there is new material on the Charitable Remainder Trust (to preserve a large estate), the Gift Trust (to reduce the impact of inflation), protection for the handicapped, and a checklist of more than 150 "must" provisions that separate a good Living Trust from a bad one. Also included is up-to-date information about trusts for unmarried couples, placing assets in your trust, what should never be placed in your trust, and much, much more. A nationally recognized authority on Living Trusts, Henry W. Abts III is chairman and founder of The Estate Plan, the nation's oldest and largest Living Trust production corporation, responsible for creating more than 25,000 Living Trusts. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Abts holds a master's degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.