Denis Clifford - Plan Your Estate

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16th Edition

Plan Your Estate

Attorney Denis Clifford

SIXTEENTH EDITION APRIL 2022

Editor BETSY SIMMONS HANNIBAL

Cover Design SUSAN PUTNEY

Book Design SUSAN PUTNEY

Proofreading SUSAN CARLSON GREENE

Index RICHARD GENOVA

ISSN: 1931-7751 (print)

ISSN: 2332-6972 (online)

ISBN: 978-1-4133-2981-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4133-2982-7 (ebook)

This book covers only United States law, unless it specifically states otherwise.

Copyright 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 by Denis Clifford.

All rights reserved. The NOLO trademark is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Printed in the U.S.A.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission. Reproduction prohibitions do not apply to the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use. For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact .

Please note

Accurate, plain-English legal information can help you solve many of your own legal problems. But this text is not a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want the help of a trained professionaland well always point out situations in which we think thats a good ideaconsult an attorney licensed to practice in your state.

Even more than most Nolo books, this one would never have seen the light of day without the generous efforts and contributions of many fine people. So my thanks to all those friends who helped me with this book, both putting it together initially and with previous editions over the years:

Betsy Simmons Hannibal, my current editor, brilliant, thorough, and a pleasure to work with. My previous Nolo editors, Jake Warner, Mary Randolph, Barbara Kate Repa, and Shae Irving.

Mark Peery of Los Angeles, California, a superb estate planning lawyer (and a great friend).

All my other friends and colleagues at Nolo.

Dorcas Moulton, Amanda Cherrin, and Naomi Puro, for their contributions to the cover painting on the original book.

Ken Fischer of Concord, California, a fine insurance agent, now retired; Bill Hudspeth of Austin Trust Co., Austin, Texas; Magdelen Gaynor, another fine estate planning attorney, White Plains, New York.

And my continued appreciation to other friends who also helped with other editions of this book: David Marcus; Paul Remack, R.G. Financial Service, San Francisco; Dave Brown; Peter Jan Honigsberg; Robert Wood of Athearn, Chandler & Hoffman, San Francisco; members of the Bay Area Funeral Society; Walter Warner; people who helped prepare the manuscriptSandy Wieker, Christy Rigg, Cathy Cummings, and Bethany Korwin-Pawloski; and Keija Kimura, Carol Pladsen, and Linda Allison.

And last but not least, my heartfelt thanks to the many readers who have written me with suggestions, comments, corrections, and other thoughts for improving this book.

Denis Clifford is a lawyer in Berkeley, California, who specializes in estate planning. He is the author of several Nolo books, including Make Your Own Living Trust and The Quick & Legal Will Book . A graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was an editor of The Law Review, he practiced law in various ways and became convinced that people can do much of their own legal work.

If youre like most people, you understand that estate planning is a good idea. You know that estate planning ensures that your property will pass to the people you want to inherit it with minimal delay, red tape, and cost. And if you have young children, you likely know that you need an estate plan to have a say in who will care for your children if youre not around to do it. Perhaps you even know that you can use your estate plan to leave specific instructions about your finances and medical care in case you become incapacitated and unable to make those decisions for yourself.

Although you probably know all of that, its easy to put off actually sitting down and making your plan. We understand. Estate planning can be dauntingfirst, because it forces you to think about your mortality, and second, because of the legal complications and legal fees that often come with it.