Deborah S Layton - The Everything Wills & Estate Planning Book: Professional advice to safeguard your assests and provide security for your family

THE
EVERYTHING
WILLS & ESTATE
PLANNING
BOOK

Dear Reader,

Several years ago my husband and I decided to prepare our estate plans as a gift to our children. What a sense of accomplishment we felt when those plans were complete! My goal for you in writing this book is to help you make a similar gift to your family.

After working in private law practice, I moved into planned giving for twenty years, the last fifteen at the University of Pennsylvania, my alma mater. I worked closely with donors who wanted to make a gift to the University, but who also wanted to support their heirs. They shared with me their dreams of a legacyfor their families, for Penn, and for their community. Our goal was, through thoughtful planning, to make their dreams come true.

While in legal practice with a firm that dealt solely with domestic is sues, I learned firsthand about the financial ramifications of a failure to plan, about broken families and unmet dreams. My background for writing this book includes a law degree and freelance writing. In law school I was an editor of the law review and also wrote for the legal newspaper.

My hope in writing this book is that you will be inspired to create your own legacy and will feel that same sense of accomplishment we felt upon completing our own plans.

Sincerely,

These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.

You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials.

We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.

We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When youre done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!

PUBLISHER Karen Cooper

DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier

MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing

COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing

SENIOR DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson

Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com

THE

WILLS & ESTATE

PLANNING

BOOK

2ND EDITION

Professional advice to safeguard your assets
and provide security for your family

Deborah S. Layton

To my husband, Richard Layton, and to Marcia Layton Turner
and Charles Turner, Jonathan and Abigail Layton,
and our grandchildren.

Copyright 2009, 2003 Simon and Schuster All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-59869-831-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-831-2

Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

I would like to thank Marcia Layton Turner and Jonathan Layton, Esq., for their assistance in bringing this book to completion. Thanks also to Gary Bryde, Esq., and Diane Clarke Streett, Esq., Register of Wills for New Castle County, Delaware, for their research assistance and for updated information about current estate planning practices and probate rules.

I would like to acknowledge the many donors to the University of Pennsylvania for sharing their hopes of a long-term legacy and for their philanthropic spirit. Their generosity and commitment to Penn, to education, and to future students are an inspiration. And special thanks to my editor, Lisa Laing, and agent, Robert G. Diforio, for helping make this book a reality.

. A sound estate plan can save your family thousands of dollars in taxes and legal fees.

. If you dont have a plan, the government will decide who will receive your property.

. If you dont have a plan, your spouse or partner may not receive the property you intended to provide.

. Most people can avoid or reduce estate taxes with the right plan.

. Naming a legal guardian in your will is the way to choose who will raise your minor children if you are gone.

. Creating a durable power of attorney ensures that someone can pay your bills and sign legal documents if you become disabled.

. Having a medical directive will provide guidance about your health care wishes in the event you become incapacitated.

. You can avoid the unexpected results of owning property in joint name when you understand the rules.

. You can make gifts to your favorite charity to reduce estate taxes but still provide for your family.

. A good estate plan can preserve your assets for your childrens use and prevent them from wasting those assets.

SOMEONE ONCE SAID that people spend more time watching TV or shopping for a car than they spend planning their estate. Dont let that be true of you. Your heirs deserve more consideration than a TV program or a car, and a good estate plan is one of the best gifts you can provide for your family.