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Plan Now or Pay Later
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Plan Now or Pay Later

Judge Jane's No-Nonsense Guide to Estate Planning

Jane B. Lucal
Bloomberg Press, 2001
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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

Jane B. Lucal, a probate judge in Erie County, Ohio, describes how to implement early estate planning in order to make the best financial choices for yourself and your family. She begins by discussing the need for estate planning based on identifying your goals and your net worth. She suggests ways to preserve your estate while taking state laws into consideration. Lucal discusses the probate process and helps you prepare for it. One by one, she explains various estate planning tools, such as annuities, charitable donations, gifts, insurance, retirement plans, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, wills, property deeds, trusts and disability planning. getAbstract.com appreciated her wrap-up of seven key steps for setting up your own estate plan. The bigger your assets, the more you need this book. (Note: the legal nature of this information means the book is probably useful only for those living in the United States.)

Summary

Make Sure Wishes Come True

Estate planning protects your family by securing your assets. Estate planning includes:

  • Managing your resources so you can provide for your family after your death.
  • Determining how to distribute your possessions to your heirs after you die.
  • Setting up your assets to reduce estate taxes and avoid probate.
  • Engaging in financial planning to increase the wealth you leave to your heirs.

When you plan your estate, consider all of your assets, including cash, stocks, bonds, cars and house, and all your debts, including your mortgage and loans. Plan for your possible disability, since one in five people working today will become disabled sometime during their life. This possibility of disability increases as people live longer.

You must follow the correct legal procedures, or your wishes may not be realized after your death. For example, a will must be in writing, signed and witnessed, or the courts will not recognize it and state laws affecting the distribution of assets to your heirs will apply instead. When one woman tried to will her assets to numerous friends, the court ignored her wishes, since...

About the Author

Jane B. Lucal has been a probate judge of the Common Pleas Court, Probate Division, for Erie County, Ohio for the past 10 years. She has presided over hundreds of cases. Before working as a judge, she was in private practice and served as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. Her writing has appeared in many professional publications, including The National Law Journal. She currently teaches, writes and lectures about various aspects of estate planning.

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