Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide »

A lawyer and award-winning journalist offers a plain-English guide to a stressful topic, with examples from the estate plans of Paul Newman, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Michael Jackson and others. Set in the context of the current economy and tax law, the book is divided into 19 easily comprehensible chapters. It is full of essential information about: protecting a spouse or partner, providing for young or disabled children, preserving retirement benefits, paying for education and health care, transferring a family business and designing a charitable legacy. To-Do Lists after each chapter leave no excuses for procrastinators.

Library Journal

The bad news is that death and taxes are inevitable; the good news is that the new tax code of 2010 is covered here, including some good ideas for minimizing your estate tax bite and protecting your assets. Jacobs (Small Business Legal Smarts), an attorney and journalist, has written extensively about estate planning, and her knowledge is evident throughout. She covers a wide range of trust options in detail, including bypass, dynasty, irrevocable life insurance, and special needs. Jacobs does a good job of exploring the use of the annual gift tax exclusion as well as charitable-giving options. An introduction to the issues of foreign citizenship and assets is also presented. However, more discussion about the impact of divorce on estate planning would probably have been helpful. VERDICT Jacobs's dense writing is not targeted to the DIY crowd, who might be better served by Suze Ormon's Will & Trust Kit. Unless the reader has a net worth of over $3.5 million, owns his or her own business, or has dependents with specials needs, this book may not be the best choice.—Tracy Mohaidheen, M.L.I.S., West Bloomfield, MI