Customer Reviews

Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

A great resource that walks you through various aspects of estate
and trust administration. It's not a D-I-Y manual (although it
does give you enough information so you could do-it-yourself if
your situation were simple enough), but rather explains what's
happening as you go through the process, and, more importantly,
the pitfalls to avoid.

This book was a disappointment for me. I did not feel it did a good job providing an overview of the process required to settle a decedent's estate. I found the organization to be very lacking. I found some of the topics to be poorly explained in such a way as to arguably provide misinformation. And there were typos, too. The book is split into 5 parts and 21 chapters as follows:

I. Discovering the world of estates and trusts (1-4)
II. Administering an estate (5-9)
III. Operating a trust (10-15)
IV. Paying the taxes (16-19)
V. The part of tens (20-21)

0. Introduction
1. Functioning in a fiduciary world
2. Estates 101: Exploring the ins and outs of estates
3. The lowdown on trusts: Indentifying the different types
4. Assembling your team members and know when to use them
5. Take the first steps after death
6. Navigating the probate process
7. Marshalling and liquidating assets
8. Paying the debts, expenses, bequests, and devises from the estate
9. Closing the estate
10. Understanding the trustee's duties
11. Funding the trust
12. Investing the trust assets and paying its expenses
13. Paying trust beneficiaries
14. Creating and keeping trust records
15. Terminating the trust
16. Preparing the Estate Tax Return, Part 1
17. Preparing the Estate Tax Return, Part 2
18. Filing income tax returns for decedent, estate, or trust
19. Reporting tax info on Schedule K-1
20. Ten pitfalls for the unwary
21. Ten types of taxes you may have to pay
A. Glossary
B. State-by-state summary of Rules of Intestacy, and estate/inheritance taxes

Part II was my favorite part of the book. It provided a nuts and bolts overview of navigating through the probate process. Part IV was the other part of the book I liked. I thought there was some good content included there. But I felt it could have been done better since preparing various tax forms can get kind of complicated. If the coverage of tax material had been covered better there would have been no need for Chapter 21. And I found Chapter 21 to be poorly organized. There are three types of taxes a personal representative must be aware of: (1) wealth transfer taxes, (2) property taxes, and (3) income taxes. The wealth transfer taxes come in the form of federal estate taxes, federal gift taxes, federal generation-skipping taxes, and state inheritance and/or estate taxes. The property taxes come in the form of real estate taxes, state excise taxes (personal property), and state intangibles taxes. And the income taxes are levied by the federal, state, and local governments against the decedent, the estate, and any trusts that exist.

I found parts I and III to be either unnecessary or misplaced. Much of these parts seemed to discuss topics properly included in an estate planning tome rather than an estate administration tome. For example, why was Chapter 11 included? Administrators administer or close trusts. They rarely fund them.

One should keep in mind that a decedent's estate has two kinds of assets: probate assets and nonprobate assets. Estate administration is not synonymous with probate administration. Estate administration includes processing probate assets through the probate system, but that very well may be a very small part of administering a decedent's estate. I don't think this point was made clear to the reader.

I felt as though there was way too much coverage of trusts in this book, especially in Part III. Personal representatives need to read the trusts they must deal with when administering an estate. Probably the only reason they need to know the different types of trusts is so they can properly fill out the various tax forms. The presentation of trusts in this book felt way too much like an estate planning book rather than an estate administration book.

Appendix B was supposed to include a state-by-state summary of probate codes according to the Table of Contents. However, no such summary was provided. I could go on and on with my complaints regarding this book. Another issue is that this is a Dummies book, one that is supposed to be aimed at Do-it-Yourselfers. But Chapter 4 was devoted to outsourcing most of the work you are supposed to do yourself. I'm afraid that if someone were to buy this book hoping to be given the basics they need to know about settling an estate they will get frustrated, give up, and just go hire an attorney to do it for them. 3 stars!

We're working on my dad's estate, and so far, the book has covered any questions we have. The book offers a lot of different possibilities, but suggests that we still should have a lawyer and possibly a CPA. The book contains a lot of definitions, so that when we are ready to talk with the attorney, hopefully it will all make sense and save some attorney time.

Book is filled to the brim with useful information. Everyone at some point will have to deal with estate issues with a spouse, parent, partner, sibling, etc....
The world of fiduciary and financial responsibility is presented in great detail. If your question is not answered here, you will be directed to the proper source.
This book will open your eyes to the minutiae of estate management.

This book provides help for anyone trying to navigate through all the issues
one must face at the end of someone's life, when you realize the government is not through with you just because you are gone,
and all the t's must be crossed and i's dotted! It can be daunting, but this book
lays it out in an orderly fashion! Definitely worthwhile for your library!

I found this an unpretentious and readable overview of trust and estate issues. It isn't as cute as others in the "Idiots" series, which is probably appropriate given the topic. It does make a good effort to explain terms uncommon to everyday usage to the reader and covers a lot of ground in the process. I found it odd that it didn't address the specific kind of trust that has been created for my parents, but I suspect that whenever you have an attorney craft these things, they are unique to the circumstances.

It is well written and provides good instruction for the successor trustee. It helps with the basic processes of dealing with the IRS and other beneficiaries for an uncomplicated trust.