Make Your Own Living Trust [Paperback]

Denis Clifford Attorney (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 141330933X | ISBN-13: 978-1413309331 | Publication Date: March 6, 2009 | Edition: 9

Living trusts made simple! Protect your family with this bestselling book.

Death may be inevitable, but probate doesn't have to be. By creating a living trust, your property will bypass lengthy and expensive probate proceedings and go directly to the people you've designated, quickly and easily.

Make Your Own Living Trust explains how to create a living trust, transfer property to the trust and amend or revoke the trust at any time. Specifically, it covers how to:

create various living trusts, including an AB trust (also known as a marital trust or bypass trust)

transfer assets to your trust, including real estate, stocks and bonds, jewelry, art or a small business

name beneficiaries for all trust property

sign your document and make it legal

appoint someone to manage property left to minors or young adults

provide for trust property management if you become incapacitated

retain absolute control over trust property while you live

Make Your Own Living Trust includes all the forms you need -- as tear-outs and on CD-ROM -- to create your own trust, plus step-by-step instructions for filling them out. Completely updated and revised, the 9th edition covers the latest laws and information about federal and state estate taxes.

Good in all states except Louisiana. (20090101)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most of us know that upon our demise, a succession of fees and taxes will eat into our estates--no matter their size--if we don't plan now to protect them. Unfortunately, many of us still postpone this process because we hesitate to summon the outside legal assistance that's traditionally been required. The folks at Nolo Press have made it their mission to provide us with the means to complete a relatively uncomplicated official arrangement like this without lawyers, however, and their third edition of Make Your Own Living Trust offers hope even to the most hesitant among us. With easy-to-follow instructions, helpful worksheets, and all of the forms necessary, attorney Denis Clifford shows both individuals and couples how to avoid otherwise inevitable delays and costs by preparing on their own to transfer their property directly to their designated heirs. Clifford's method involves the creation of a "living trust," which is a basic legal entity that allows property to be simply passed along in this way immediately upon the death of the person who created it. He outlines advantages and drawbacks, and then clearly lays out the entire process. The excuses stop here. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

You can set up your living trust yourself, but don't forget to transfer your home's title into your living trust... A good book to read first is Make Your Own Living Trust. (Robert Bruss The Washington Post 20090101)

The best book on [the] topic is Make Your Own Living Trust... (Charlotte Observer 20090101)

If you think you can prepare your own living trust, an excellent book is Make Your Own Living Trust. (Chicago Tribune 20090101)

Make Your Own Living Trust is an excellent reference. (Kiplinger's Retirement Report 20090101)

A do-it-yourself manual with checklists, step-by-step procedures, worksheets and forms. It even offers ideas for getting professional legal help for special questions or circumstances. (Los Angeles Times 20090101)

As if life weren't complicated enough, now dying is, too. But it can be simpler for your family and friends with a living trust. [Clifford] shows how living trusts work, naming beneficiaries and creating a backup will. (Orange County Register 20090101)

You can create your own [living trust] with Make Your Own Living Trust. (Smart Money 20090101)

An excellent book with sample living trust forms... (St. Petersburg Times 20090101)

In Nolo you can trust. ...Denis Clifford's clearly written Make Your Own Living Trust should prove an enormous help to families who want to spare their heirs the expense and trouble of probate. (Jan Rosen The New York Times )

There are important differences between the trust-mill approach and that of such well-respected products as Nolo's Make Your Own Living Trust. (The Wall Street Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 9 edition (March 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141330933X
• ISBN-13: 978-1413309331
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Law > Taxation > Estates & Trusts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

119 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great buy!, May 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Make Your Own Living Trust with CDROM (Paperback)

This book was a god-send! I was skeptical at first because I have no legal backround and I thought that making my own living trust would be complicated at best, impossible at worst. But following a recommendation of a friend I decided to give do-it-yourself law a shot. Boy am I happy I did! I saved a fortune in legal fees and was able to get the job done just as well as if I'd had a lawyer coaching me every step of the way.
Make Your Own Living Trust was easy to use and very accessible. It even has all of the forms you'll need on an enclosed CD-ROM. Thanks to this book I was able to transfer assets such as stocks, real estate and jewelry to my trust, appoint someone to manage the property that I'm leaving my children, and keep control over it while I live. So don't be afraid to do it yourself, you'll save money and get your trust done the way you want it!

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attorney Approved, March 10, 2006

By 

Jason A. Shyres (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Make Your Own Living Trust 7th Edition (Paperback)

I am an attorney (shyreslaw.com) and I highly recommend this book for those who could use a simple trust and want to avoid probate. Even if you decide to hire an attorney, this book is invaluable because it offers great insight into trusts and avoiding the probate system.

Attorney Denis Clifford wrote this great do-it-yourself book which provides everyone a way to create their own simple living trust. A CD-ROM is also provided so you can easily input your information and print it out.

For a more complete estate plan, the book introduces the importance of pourover wills in case the trust fails to encompass all the property. You may want to peruse Mr. Clifford's Simple Will Book as well (another recommended buy).

115 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but "Plan Your Estate" is a much better choice, December 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Make Your Own Living Trust with CDROM (Paperback)

The book explained a lot of things well, but almost nobody is going to make their own living trust with this book. Maybe single people with modest estates and no children.

The book has many warnings: "If you want to do blah, blah, blah, see a lawyer. Nolo's living trust program does not handle this situation."

I would give it 3 or 4 stars, except Nolo Press's "Plan Your Estate" is much more thorough. Better to get that.