Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies [Paperback]

Margaret Atkins Munro (Author), Kathryn A. Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2008

Executing an estate or a trust fund is a big responsibility. Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies contains advice for handling estates and trusts of any size. It offers solid pointers on reading and interpreting a will and other documents, and helping heirs avoid paying too much (or too little). It also shows you how to take care of a loved one's estate in the event that a will or trust was never created.

This authoritative, plain-English guide helps you understand and follow the rules that govern estates and trusts, ensure a smooth transfer of property, and manage fiduciary affairs in an orderly manner. You’ll get help choosing and assembling a team of professional advisors, settling debts and paying bequests, operating a revocable or irrevocable trust, and making sound trust investment decisions. Discover how to:

• Understand executors’ and trustees’ duties
• Read and interpret important documents
• Properly execute an estate or trust
• Handle estates both large and small
• Get familiar with the probate process and estate taxes
• Identify different types of trusts
• Follow the deceased’s wishes — and the law
• Notify insurers and employers of a death
• Follow the steps for closing an estate
• Establish, fund, and change ownership of a trust
• Keep proper trust records

Yes, you can do the job and do it well. All you need is a little help from Estate and Trust Administration For Dummies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Easy-to-follow guidance on administering an estate or trust

Administering an estate or a trust is a big responsibility. This practical, authoritative guide contains advice for handling estates and trusts large or small, offering solid advice on reading and interpreting documents, and helping anyone involved in an estate or trust avoid paying too much, or too little, tax and other administrative expenses. It also shows you how to take care of a loved one's estate in the event he or she never created a will or other estate planning documents.

• Understand and follow the rules — administer estates and trusts to ensure a smooth transfer of property and orderly management of fiduciary affairs

• Assemble a team — choose the legal and financial experts, and know when to use them

• Navigate the probate process — move efficiently through each step, whether your decedent had many assets or just a few

• Identify and liquidate estate assets — whether owned outright, jointly, or in a trust

• Settle debts and pay bequests — from paying funeral expenses and administration costs to segregating and distributing named property

• Operate a revocable or irrevocable trust — understand a trustee's duties, responsibilities, and limitations

• Make sound trust investment decisions — diversify holdings and meet beneficiary needs

• Comply with income and estate tax regulations — from the decedent's final Form 1040, through the estate's Form 706, and the estate and trust's Form 1041

Open the book and find:

• An overview of executors' and trustees' duties

• Reviews of the probate process and estate taxes

• Tips on finding and managing professional help

• Advice on notifying insurers of a death

• Steps for closing an estate

• Rules for establishing and funding a trust

• Essentials on estate and trust record keeping

• Fundamentals of preparing federal estate tax and estate and trust income tax returns

About the Author

Margaret Atkins Munro, EA, is a tax advisor, writer, and lecturer with more than 30 years' experience in trusts, estates, family tax, and small business. Kathryn A. Murphy, Esq., is an attorney with over 20 years' experience administering estates and trusts and preparing estate and gift tax returns.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (November 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470286172
• ISBN-13: 978-0470286173
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Law > Taxation > Estates & Trusts
  • #16 in Books > Law > Practical Guides

More About the Author

Margaret Atkins Munro, E.A. is a tax consultant, writer and lecturer with over thirty years of experience in various areas of finance and taxation. She is an Enrolled Agent, licensed by the federal government to represent clients in the areas of tax and tax-related issues, and currently operates a widely diverse private practice which specializes, among other areas, in trust and estate accounting and income taxation.
A classic example of living a life that's not following the plan set out in college, Peggy received a B.A. in history from The Johns Hopkins University, and has also attended University College, Cork, and the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. She resides with her family in Vermont.
Peggy is the author of 529 & Other College Savings Plans for Dummies, and the co-author of Taxes (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009) for Dummies. She writes a bi-weekly column on anything and everything to do with money for The Montpelier (Vermont) Bridge, and has lectured extensively about taxes, and tax-related issues. She's been interviewed on numerous financial and tax-related topics by a variety of national media outlets, including CNN Radio, Family Circle Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, USA Today, Parents Magazine and the Associated Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tax Attorney, December 23, 2008

By 

T & E Attorney - See all my reviews

This review is from: Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies (Paperback)

I give this book 5 stars. It was succinct, humorous and very informative. I believe a rookie or an expert in the trust and estate arena could benefit from this book. The glossary is of great value because the terms are defined in plain english and in one place for easy reference. The summary of state by state analysis is also a wonderful resource for all readers throughout the United States, as it provides an explanation of how an estate is distributed if there is no will to direct the distribution of property. I found the information on trust administration particularly helpful. I think the book is well written and uses humor throughout, making what is usually a dry subject matter, quite enjoyable and interesting.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful and an easy to understand, April 29, 2009

By 

L. Whitmore (Lafayette, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies (Paperback)

This book demystifies a difficult subject that confounds us mere mortals. Written conversationally in an easy to read style, I found it helpful, practical and thorough. Rather than claiming to replace professionals (some of which you'll still need), it gives you the information to know what questions to ask and guides you through a complicated maze of procedure and decision making. It includes checklists, suggestions and much, much more. Totally worth reading!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to estate and trust administration, September 27, 2009

By 

DocM - See all my reviews

This review is from: Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies (Paperback)

Estate and Trust Administration for Dummies is a comprehensive and comprehensible book written by two experts who have considerable expertise in the legal, financial, and personal aspects of estate and trust administration. The book is organized in a logical manner. The first part of the book provides an introduction to and overview of estates and trusts. The subsequent parts deal in turn with estates, trusts, and taxes. For some readers, the first part may be all they need to read in detail, and the rest will serve as an important reference book for specific questions and issues that will arise as the estate/trust process proceeds. There are numerous cross-citations throughout the book that identify other relevant sections to read. Even if one is using professional help with the administration of an estate and/or trust (which is likely), professionals do not always have the time or ability to explain things with the detail yet clarity of this book (or will charge a princely sum to do so). Interesting and humorous anecdotes from the authors' experience are interspersed with the technical information, which adds to the readability of the book. Mistakes in administration can be very costly, and this modestly-priced book provides a wealth of information that anyone dealing with an estate and/or trust should have.