Beyond the Grave: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money to Your Children (And Others) [Paperback]

Gerald M. Condon (Author), Jeffrey L. Condon (Author)

Book Description

Series: And Other | Publication Date: January 1996

A loved one's death is painful enough. Why should your survivors suffer more by squabbling over their inheritance? Beyond the Grave is the first book to show you how to:Prevent common family bickering that arises when parents dieProtect your child's inheritance from an ex-spouse, creditor, cult, or addictionCompel your children to share their inheritance when they couldn't share their toysDivide the family home without dividing your familyProtect your surviving spouse from pushy kids, greedy caretakers, and charming cheatsLeave more to your family and less to Uncle SamPrevent a charity from using your donation to buy Cadillacs for its executives

Beyond the Grave factors human nature into estate planning, with common sense and "tough love" advice for making tough but loving decisions concerning the welfare of our survivors through life -- and beyond death. It's a must-have, before it's too late.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Almost all books on estate planning explain how to maximize inheritance, minimize taxes, avoid probate, set up trusts, etc. The Condons, father and son lawyers, do this, too, but what they also do is consider the psychological and emotional aspects of leaving and inheriting money. Presenting more scenarios than a season full of made-for-television movies, the Condons cover such possibilities as "protecting" the inheritance from one's child's spouse, preventing squabbles over inherited property, selecting trustees or guardians, avoiding disputes between second spouses and children of one's first marriage, leaving money for pets, etc. With good sense, humor, and authority, the authors provide a thorough look at inheritance planning with an eye toward maintaining good, stable family relations well after the estate has been settled. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[Beyond the Grave] aims to show how proper estate planning leaves your family secure -- not at war." -- --Los Angeles Times --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harperbusiness; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887307973
• ISBN-13: 978-0887307973
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,373,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It changed my mind, and I changed my will, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond the Grave: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money to Your Children (And Others) (Paperback)

The first rule of estate planning might be: Don't ever die. The second rule: If you can't follow the first rule, plan ahead. If you have wealth that will be around longer than you are, spend some serious time thinking about who's going to get it when you go.

I am a professional money manager and the subject of inheritance planning is something I deal with every day. But "Beyond the Grave" opened my eyes to some potential problems and solutions that I hadn't thought of. And after some soul-searching, the book prompted me to change the way I will leave my own estate to my family.

I love the way the authors filled their book not with legal jargon but with stories of their clients. Some did things the right way, others made mistakes. But the lawyers learned from every case, and thanks to this book, I learned too.

Any parent who's disappointed at a son or daughter could take delight in the story called "Our Rotten Children" in which a couple accomplished their own goals - and some of their children's goals - in a most unexpected way. The two married sons and a daughter seemed to be waiting around for their parents to die so they could collect sizeable inheritances from the parents' $30 million real estate empire.

The parents devised a clever inheritance plan to force their chronically unemployed offspring to "get a life." Without spoiling the story I can relate that one result showed up almost immediately: the two daughters-in-law filed for divorce, figuring that - if there was no seven- or eight-figure inheritance in their future - they had little reason to stick with their ne'er-do-well husbands.

The authors repeatedly demonstrate the merits of what I think could be called "smart generosity" to children and grandchildren. In anecdote after anecdote, they show the benefits of treating siblings equally and of thinking ahead of time about how to preserve not only assets but family relationships and harmony as well.

If you have wealth to leave, I can almost guarantee you'll find an interesting idea or two in this book that you haven't thought about. If your parents haven't talked to you about their own plan, you might consider giving them a copy of "Beyond the Grave."

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading if you're doing an estate plan, September 16, 2003

By 

C. MacPhail (Solana Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Grave revised edition: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money To Your Children (and Others) (Paperback)

This book gets you thinking about all the pitfalls in deciding who you should leave your money to, and with what stipulations. How do you avoid the mistakes other people have made?

I have read about 9 estate planning books and talked to one attorney. This book gave me crucial advice that I did not find anywhere else. The stories and advice changed my mind about what I will do, because I have learned from the dozens of situations Mr. Condon experienced over the years.

The book is not a masterpiece. And you may need one or two other books to round out your knowledge. However, it is clearly written, well organized, and rather entertaining.

I give it 4-1/2 stars, and suggest it as required reading for anyone creating a will.

~~> Check your library or the used copies page on amazon.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop *thinking* you're doing it right, KNOW you are: buy it, August 7, 2002

By 

Shawn Kresal (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Grave revised edition: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money To Your Children (and Others) (Paperback)

The advice dispensed in this book is some of the most valuable I have ever read. I thought I knew what I was doing and told myself I would use this book to "double check" myself. What I learned two chapters in showed that I was making classic mistakes that would pit others against each other and dissolve relationships. Although the book is meticulous in its detail only some of the situations would apply to any one person, but still 5 stars because the info is of such a high caliber. Highest recommendation.