How to plan your 'total' estate with a will & living will, without the lawyer's fees The American will kit, usable in all 50 states
Book - 2005
Saved in:
- Subjects
- Published
-
East Orange, NJ :
Do-It-Yourself Legal Publishers
[2005]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- Third revised edition
- Physical Description
- ii, 128 pages ; 28 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 9780932704757
- Foreword: The Publisher's Message
- The Epidemics Of Dying Without Leaving A Will In America
- Look, The Costs Of The Alternative Could Be Incalculable!
- What's Behind The Widespread Failure By Americans To Have A Will?
- How This Book Is Meant To Lick The No-Will Epidemic
- How To Use This Manual
- Chapter 1. Introduction: The Will & The Living Will As Two Essential Tools in A "Total" Estate Plan Scheme
- The Purpose Or Purposes Of Estate Planning
- In The Field Of Estate Planning Different Devices Are Used To Achieve Different Objectives
- The Particular Estate Planning Tools & Devices Considered In This Manual
- The Will
- The Living Will
- Durable Financial Power Of Attorney & Medical Power Of Attorney
- Summary: Combining These Tools In A "Total" or "Complete" Estate Plan Scheme
- Chapter 2. Let's Get The Background Information Straight, First: The Will Basics
- What is a Will?
- What Does a Will Do for You?
- What Are the Advantages of Leaving a Will?
- Should you always have a Will?
- Suppose You Have All your Property in Joint Names and Trusts. Is A Will Necessary For You?
- Who inherits your property if you die without a Will?
- The spouse
- Linear descendants
- Linear ancestors
- The collateral kindred
- Finally, the state
- Figure 2-A. Florida's formula for property distribution in No-Will situations
- Figure 2-B. New York's formula for property distribution in No-Will situations
- Figure 2-C. General Succession of Heirs in Intestate Situation: Distribution Based on Family Relationships
- Some common myths about Wills
- Should you revise or Amend your Will often?
- Three basic types of Will
- Type 1. The regular or statutory Will
- Type 2. The holographic or olographic Will
- Type 3. The nuncupative Will
- Which of the three types of Will is best for One to Use?
- Some Don'ts: Certain things a Will can't do for you
- Can a lay person properly make his or her Own Will without a lawyer?
- Could you possibly have a problem making your own Will?
- Chapter 3. Gathering The Estate Facts & Information In Preparation For Drafting The Will: The Worksheet
- Chapter 4. Let's Draw Up The Will: Step-By-Step Procedures
- Some helpful practical procedures for working out a good Will
- The actual drafting of the Will
- Attention: Certain Persons may want to Order the Standard Will Forms
- Numbered Instructions For Filling Out the Will Practice Worksheets
- You have now completed making up the draft copy of your Will. Now, type up the Will
- Sample Will (The Practice Worksheets)
- Affidavit of subscribing witnesses to the Will-a form
- Chapter 5. Now, Let's Sign The Will: The Procedures For The All-Important "Execution" Of The Will
- Some recommended practical "ceremonies" for a valid signing
- Some final issues, including future updating and amendment of the Will
- 1. Where to Put Away the Will Document
- 2. Amendment or revocation of the Will
- 3. Maintain a memo and itemized list of data and instructions to inform and aid your executor
- 4. Periodically review and update your Will
- Codicil To Amend The Will-a sample form
- One-Stop Procedure For Executing a "Self-Proving" Will Before a Notary Public
- Last Will and Testament-a sample form
- Chapter 6. The Living Will: How To Draft One, And The Other Essential Related Instruments That Go With It
- What is a living Will?
- The "Complete" living Will package: other related instruments you must have to with the Living Will
- The Living Will
- The Durable Financial & Medical Power of Attorney
- Medical Directive
- Let's draft a living Will and other related documents that go with it: The Step-By-Step Procedures
- Step 1. Prepare your state's statutory form for the Living Will, or use the General Purpose Form
- Step 2. Complete these two forms: The Durable Financial & Medical Power of Attorney, and the Medical Directive
- Step 3. Now, Strictly Follow These Procedures To "Execute" or Sign These Three Documents
- How to revoke your Living Will and/or Durable Power of Attorney
- The Living Will Declaration: The Publisher's General Purpose Form-a sample form
- The Medical Directive-an illustrative sample form
- Durable Financial & Medical Power of Attorney-a sample form
- Affidavit of Agent as to the Power of Attorney being in full force-a sample form
- Revocation of Living Will and Durable Financial & Medical Power of Attorney and the Notice thereof
- Chapter 7. How to Make Your Will Challenge-Proof in Probate: The "Pitfalls" to Avoid in Drafting Your Will
- Making Your Will Challenge-Proof
- Here are the Typical "Pitfalls" to avoid
- Chapter 8. Your Will and Estate Taxes: Is So-Called 'Tax Planning' Really Relevant for You in Making Your Will?
- The new realities about estate tax savings through some planning gimmickry: You may not have a big enough estate
- Look, is your estate big enough to be taxable, in the first place?
- First, estimate the size of your "gross estate"
- The gross estate
- Next, determine if your Estate is a "taxable estate" by subtracting from it the "allowable deductions"
- The allowable deductions (from the gross estate)
- Computing the "net" federal tax liability of an estate
- Schematic illustration of federal estate tax computation methods for 4 Different Estates
- Example 1
- Example 2
- Example 3
- Example 4
- Unified Federal Estate and Gift Tax Rates (Schedule)
- Appendices
- A. Minimum Legal Requirements for A Valid Will in Each of the 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia
- Minimum age requirements
- Required Minimum mental condition for a Will-maker
- Minimum number of persons required to witness a Will
- Type of persons who can be a witness to your Will
- States which require a Notary public to sign the Will
- States which permit holographic or olographic Wills
- States which permit nuncupative Wills
- States which permit Wills to be revoked by making a Codicil or a new Will
- B. A Separate Letter (Memo) of Instructions & Information You Should Leave Alongside Your Will (An illustrative sample)
- C. Statutory and Other Living Will Forms for All 50 States
- States which allow another person to sign the Living Will on behalf of the Living Will-maker
- States where the state's specific statutory form is mandatory
- Alphabetical listing of the state-prescribed Living Will form for each state where only statutory form must be used
- D. Will Substitutes: Certain Other Estate Planning Methods of Passing on Property
- What is a Will substitute?
- Some principal categories of Will substitutes
- The revocable trust
- Jointly held property
- United states bonds
- Life insurance
- Employment benefits
- Should you do without a Will if you have a Will substitute?
- A word of caution on using Will substitutes
- E. Probate Procedures: Carrying Out the Provisions of the Will when A Testator Dies
- What is the probate system?
- Does the court physically administer the decedent's estate?
- The duties of the executor in carrying out the provisions of the Will
- How long does probate and estate administration take?
- If my Will is contested during probate, under what conditions could the terms be set aside?
- Order For Preliminary Letters Testimentary-a sample form
- F. Some Alternative Clauses for Use In Your Will
- G. Glossary of Probate and Legal Terms
- H. Some Suggested Further Readings
- I. Ordering Your Blank forms for Drafting A Will and Other Related Documents
- J. List of Other Publications from Do-It-Yourself Legal Publishers
- Readers Opinion Sheet
- Index
Review by Booklist Review From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.