Table of Contents
   Acknowledgmentsp. ix
   Introductionp. xiii
   Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010p. 1
      Marginal Ordinary Income Tax Ratesp. 2
      Capital Gains Tax Ratesp. 3
      Educational Provisionsp. 3
      Business and Corporate Tax Reliefp. 8
      Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfersp. 8
   Estate Planning: You Need It-Here's Whyp. 13
      What Is Estate Planning?p. 13
      The Benefits of Estate Planningp. 15
      The Nightmares of Poor Planningp. 16
      The Myths of Estate Planningp. 17
      Guidelines for Successful Estate Planningp. 18
   The Estate Tax System: How Much Are You Really Worth?p. 21
      Determining Your Estate Net Worthp. 21
      Understanding the Estate Tax Systemp. 21
      Your Estate Tax Picturep. 27
      Your Future Estatep. 30
      Overview of Estate Planning Strategiesp. 30
   Investment Strategies for Maximizing Estate Growthp. 32
      Growth Strategy with a Safety Netp. 33
      Prioritizing Your Investment Dollarsp. 37
      Retirement Planning: Choosing the Best Investment Environmentsp. 38
      Some Final Thoughts on Investingp. 46
   Retire with Dignity: How Much Is Enough?p. 47
      Your Retirement Requirementsp. 47
   You Don't Have a Will? Big Trouble!p. 60
      Property Transfers at Deathp. 61
      Transfers via Probatep. 61
      Direct Transfers by Titlep. 64
      Other Methods of Property Ownershipp. 68
      Choosing the Best Methods of Ownershipp. 69
      Setting Estate Planning Goalsp. 70
   Where There's a Will, There's Your Way!p. 72
      What Is a Will?p. 72
      Types of Willsp. 72
      Advantages and Disadvantages of Willsp. 74
      Intelligent Decisions Concerning Your Will's Basic Provisionsp. 76
      Executing Your Willp. 86
      Where to Store Your Willp. 86
      Other Important Documentsp. 87
      Working with Your Attorneyp. 90
      When to Review Your Estate Planp. 95
   Using Trusts in Your Estate Planp. 98
      The Credit Shelter Trust Willp. 99
      Disclaimersp. 103
      Marital Trustsp. 104
      Spendthrift Trustp. 108
      Standby Trustp. 109
      Other Trustsp. 109
   Understanding the Living Trustp. 110
      Advantages of Living Trustsp. 110
      Disadvantages of Living Trustsp. 112
      How a Living Trust Operatesp. 113
      Transferring Property into Your Living Trustp. 115
      Types of Property Likely to Be Transferredp. 118
      Living Trust Mythsp. 120
      Transacting Business with Your Trustp. 122
   Using Insurance in Your Estate Planp. 123
      Life Insurancep. 123
      Using Life Insurance to Replace Incomep. 125
      How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?p. 126
      What Type of Life Insurance Is Best for You?p. 129
      Insurance on a Homemakerp. 129
      Insurance on Adult Childrenp. 129
      How to Get the Best Deal on Term Life Insurancep. 130
      Insurance Warnings!p. 130
      Using Life Insurance for Estate Liquidityp. 131
      How Much Is Enough?p. 132
      What Type of Life Insurance Is Best for Estate Liquidity?p. 132
      The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trustp. 134
      Getting Your Life Insurance into Your Trustp. 135
      Using Life Insurance to Leverage Your Estatep. 137
      About Your Cash Valuesp. 139
      Long-Term Care Insurancep. 141
   Smart Strategies for Gifting Assets to Family Membersp. 144
      The Annual Gift Tax Exclusionp. 144
      Unintended Giftsp. 145
      Filing a Gift Tax Returnp. 146
      The Lifetime Applicable Exclusion Amountp. 147
      Outright Giftsp. 147
      When the Donee Is a Minorp. 149
      Other Tax-Free Giftsp. 152
      Family Gifts Utilizing Trustsp. 152
      Grantor Retained Annuity Trustp. 153
      Grantor Retained Unitrustp. 154
      Qualified Personal Residence Trustp. 154
      Taking Advantage of Generation Skipping Transfersp. 159
      Sales to Family Membersp. 161
      Loans to Family Membersp. 164
      The Legacy Trustp. 164
   Strategic Planning with Charitiesp. 173
      Outright Gifts to Charitiesp. 174
      Testamentary Gifts to Charitiesp. 176
      Gifts Using Charitable Trustsp. 176
      Using Your Charitable Trust for Retirement Planningp. 179
      The Private Foundationp. 182
   Family Limited Partnershipsp. 186
      General Structure of the Family Limited Partnershipp. 186
      Family Limited Partnership Rulesp. 191
   Succession Planning for the Family Business or Farmp. 197
      Special Estate Tax Benefits for Farmers and Closely Held Business Ownersp. 199
      Valuing Your Business or Farmp. 200
      Succession or Sale?p. 201
      Succession Planning: Keeping the Family Business in the Familyp. 201
      Maximizing Your Business's Value through a Salep. 202
      Structuring Your Buy-Sell Agreementp. 203
      Types of Buy-Sell Agreementsp. 204
      Funding the Buy-Sell Agreementp. 205
      One Final Strategy-The Employee Stock Ownership Planp. 206
   Asset Protection Strategiesp. 208
      The Concept of Fraudulent Transfersp. 209
      A Word about Jointly Held Propertyp. 212
      Retirement Plansp. 212
      Life Insurancep. 214
      Using Trusts to Protect Assetsp. 214
      Using Limited Liability Entities to Protect Assetsp. 216
      Use of Multiple Limited Liability Entitiesp. 218
      Foreign Asset Protection Trustsp. 219
      Domestic Asset Protection Trustsp. 221
   Personal Business Planning Issuesp. 223
      Choosing the Right Entity for Your Businessp. 223
      Closing Thoughtsp. 233
      Importance of a Business Planp. 235
   Epilogue-Dealing with Parents and Their Moneyp. 237
   Professional Advisorsp. 239
   Estate Planning Termsp. 243
   IRS Life Expectancy Tablep. 248
   Indexp. 251