Protect Your Estate: Definitive Strategies for Estate and Wealth Planning from the Leading Experts

by Robert A. Esperti and Renno L. Peterson

How can the average investor save his or her family from costly estate planning mistakes? What are the financial planning basics that are beneficial to estate planning? Focusing on long-term planning... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071351981
• ISBN13: 9780071351980
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Length: 329 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A nice book on estate planning that made me feel like I was reading an online blog.

This book was better than most I've read on estate planning. Its objective was to familiarize the reader with the estate planning process. I'm not sure it really covered "the process." But I think it educates the reader well enough to be an educated consumer when consulting an estate planning attorney for help in estate tax planning matters. As I read I got the feeling the authors were anti-probate and pro- living trusts. And there were certain things included in the book that made it sound like a promotional piece for the authors' own law practices and organizations. I would have liked it better if the book had not come across as a promotional piece. The authors say to treat this book as a survey of what estate planning can be. When reading this book (7 years after it was written) I got the feeling the content could have been a bunch of blog entries the authors have posted online that they conveniently strung together to make a book. There are 42 chapters and 4 "entries" in the appendix. And the book is only 330 pages long. I was looking for a Glossary of Terms, but failed to find one. The book would have been better with one. And I would have liked the book better if Appendix D about the history of estate planning had been moved to the front. Chapter 1: What is estate planning? I felt this chapter was lousy. It was wordy and vague and not really accurate. Estate planning is really "estate tax planning." It is not financial planning or "wealth strategies planning" as the authors suggest. Nor is estate planning to be confused with "disability planning." As a result, I'm not sure why Chapter 4 was included. Chapter 8: Probate. I enjoyed reading about estate administration in this chapter. But I think the authors did the reader a disservice by equating the probate process to estate administration. Other problems I had with this chapter include the statement made that executors work for the probate court or probate judge. This simply is not true! Executors work for the estate (a separate legal entity). And the statement that probate is complicated is not accurate as stated. In some cases it can be. But in most it is NOT. Chapter 9: The federal estate tax. Here the authors repeatedly referred to the estate tax as a death tax. The estate tax has nothing to do with death. It only has to do with wealth transfers. If a poor person dies, then no estate tax is due. If the estate tax were really a death tax, then a tax would be due when a poor person dies. Chapter 10: The unified system. I had a problem with the material the authors chose to talk about here. Why was it necessary to discuss the way things used to be? As far as I am concerned the book would have been much better if the authors had stuck to the present and explained how things are now. The presentation of the material would have been much more straighforward and easy to understand. 4 stars!

Protect Your Estate - by Esperti, et al

I bought the previous edition of this book several years ago and learned so much from its straight forward, well-organized and clear presentation (I am neither an accountant nor a tax person) that co-workers and family members began quizzing me on matters of estate planning. This book allowed me to answer many questions and also enabled me to have a very intelligent conversation with a professional estate planner. I consider the book such a valuable resource that I just purchased the updated edition.

Good Stuff!

I am an estate planning attorney, not affiliated with any of the author's companies, and I think this book is a "must read" for anyone who is serious about planning his/her estate.By the way, estate planning is for everone, not merely the "wealthy." The cost (in time and fees) to have a customed designed and implemented estate plan will probably be the best investment you will ever make to protect and preserve your wealth for your loved ones.

Detailed overview in layman's terms

Outstanding book to educate yourself on estate planning. This book will prepare you for the planning process so you can understand what your estate planning attorney is talking about and what he or she is trying to accomplish for you. It also very clearly outlines the fallacies inherent in trying to conduct estate planning without competent legal counsel. The authors tell you know how to find competent advice and how to arrange conduct free consultation interviews with any prospective estate planning specialists. If you are even thinking about estate planning, GET THIS BOOK!