Introduction
Congratulations. Simply by opening this book you have put yourself a step ahead of most people. Yes, it’s tough to think about what will happen to your family after you die, but confronting these issues is part of taking care of your family.
My goal in writing this book is to give you the information and resources you need to create an estate plan. This book includes do-it-yourself tools to help you draft your own estate planning documents.
But don’t go thinking that this book will help you only if you want to create your own will and trust. It’s much broader in focus. I want you to be comfortable with estate planning documents, but also to recognize when you’ll benefit from professional estate planning services.
I am of the strong opinion that everybody needs an estate plan, and especially a will. With this book, anybody can create a simple will, even if it serves just as a stopgap before hiring a professional.
About This Book
Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies is written in language that is easy to understand. It covers the basic issues in planning your estate, but also delves into the details and complications you can encounter in choosing your estate plan and creating a will or trust.
You probably won’t read this book and conclude, “This is easy,” but you’ll probably conclude, “I can do this.” If not, or if you realize that you simply don’t want to plan your own estate, that’s fine, too. You’ll be an educated consumer when you hire a professional to draft your estate plan.
Everybody needs an estate plan, so I’ll immodestly claim that anybody who doesn’t have an estate plan will benefit from reading this book. You’ll also benefit if your estate plan is out-of-date, and you’re not sure whether or how to update your plan.
A Special Note for Residents of Louisiana
If you’ve been shopping around for books on drafting your own will, you’ve probably found that most of them say, “This book is valid for all states except Louisiana.” You see this warning for two reasons:
Louisiana’s laws governing the execution of a will are more complicated than those of other states, and a mistake can invalidate your will.
More importantly, Louisiana’s unique forced heirship laws will trump inconsistent bequests in your will, and you’re severely limited in your ability to deviate from the state’s mandatory bequests.
Even if you create an otherwise valid will, without a good understanding of forced heirship laws, a court may end up largely disregarding your will or allocating your estate in a way that bears little resemblance to what you directed.
It’s beyond the scope of this book to give you the state-specific understanding you need to be sure that a Louisiana court will uphold your will. I thus reluctantly urge residents of Louisiana to have their wills drafted by a legal professional.
Conventions Used in This Book
Whenever you see a word in italics, I’m either introducing a new term or using it for emphasis. Likewise, all Web addresses appear in monofont type.
What You’re Not to Read
Throughout the book, I include sidebars that contain information and anecdotes that expand on the topics discussed in the chapters. You’ll easily spot the sidebars by their gray background color. The sidebars can be amusing and informative, but there’s nothing in them that you have to read to understand the material in this book. If you’re pressed for time, skip over the sidebars. If you find the time to read them later, they’ll still be there.
Foolish Assumptions
When writing this book, I had to make a few assumptions about you, the reader. If you meet any of these qualifications, you can find what you need in this book:
You don’t know much about estate planning and want to get a comprehensive understanding of what is involved.
You have a small to average estate and want to create your own estate plan composed of a will and possibly a living trust.
You have a large estate and want to do the basics of your estate plan yourself while getting professional assistance with specialized trusts and tax planning.
You have absolutely no desire to plan your own estate, but want to know how the estate planning and probate processes work and want to know what you’re doing when you hire an estate planning professional to create your estate plan.
I also assumed that you have a computer and can use it to print the worksheets from the accompanying CD to create your own estate planning documents. (You don’t have a computer? Then I’m assuming you have a friend who can print the forms for you.)
How This Book Is Organized
This book is organized into six parts that guide you through the estate planning process and specific estate planning documents. I include some stories and anecdotes to help you understand the concepts I discuss.
Part I: Getting Started with Your Will or Trust
This part explains why you need to plan your estate, the dangers of failing to do so, and the many benefits you get from completing your estate plan. I also cover some of the most important aspects of estate planning, and some of the biggest mistakes people make. You find out when you should get help from an estate planning professional, what professionals can do for you, and how to work with them.
Part II: Everything You Need to Know about Wills
This part helps you understand the central role of your will in your estate plan and the importance of keeping your will up-to-date. You also find out what you need to know about probate court.
In addition, you discover common landmines that can disrupt your estate plan and what you can do to avoid will contests.
Part III: Trust Me! How Trusts Work
If you’re considering using a trust for your estate plan, it’s important to know exactly what trusts are and what they can do for you. You’ve heard of a revocable living trust, but what about other types of trust. How can trusts help you avoid estate taxes? This part has all the answers.
Part IV: Carrying Out the Intent of Your Will and Trust
After you figure out the basics of your estate plan, you still have a bit more work to do. You need to take a look at how your retirement and life insurance plans figure into your estate and the special issues that can arise from your real estate holdings. You also need a plan for your personal and financial care in case of illness or disability. This part addresses those topics and more.
Part V: The Part of Tens
This part contains lists to help you with common estate planning issues and traps. I describe mistakes people often make when planning their wills and highlight situations where you may benefit from having a trust. I also tell you how to avoid traps that may increase your estate taxes.
Part VI: The Appendixes
This part contains supplemental information to help you complete your estate plan. Appendix A describes state law signing requirements for wills. Appendix B summarizes state estate and inheritance taxes. Appendix C is a form that you can use to help gather information for your estate plan. Appendix D lists the forms provided on the accompanying CD.
About the CD
The CD accompanying this book includes forms and worksheets for creating your estate planning documents. You can print them and mark them up by hand or fill them in on your computer and use them to produce your final documents. See Appendix D for a lot more information about the CD and the forms it contains.
Icons Used In This Book
In the margins of the pages of this book, you’ll find little pictures, called icons. These icons call your attention to important points about estate planning and help you avoid mistakes:
When you see the Tip icon, you find hints and suggestions to help you with your estate plan.
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The Warning icon flags a potential trap or pitfall that you may encounter and helps you avoid costly mistakes.
The Remember icon highlights important actions to take and elements of your estate plan that you truly should not forget.
The Louisiana icon flags unusual aspects of that state’s laws, which make it very difficult to draft your own will.
This icon lets you know that you can find a form on the accompanying CD corresponding to the estate planning document or process described in the passage you’re reading.
Where to Go from Here
You don’t have to start at the beginning of this book and read straight through if you don’t want to. This book is designed so that you can look at a topic you’re interested in and flip straight to that discussion. However, if you’re new to estate planning, consider reading through this book to get an overview of what’s involved.
If you’re about to do something dangerous and need an estate plan “yesterday,” you need a will so start with Chapter 7.
If you’re concerned about how much of your estate will get eaten up by taxes, the news (good and bad) is in Chapter 6.
If you have young children and want to be sure that they’re taken care of, proceed to Chapter 5 for some quick guidance.
If you have a will or trust already, Chapters 9 and 13 cover how to update your estate plan and amend or replace wills and trusts.
