AARP(R) Crash Course in Estate Planning: The Essential Guide to Wills, Trusts, and Your Personal Legacy

"Crash Course" is a great start for estate planning. I ordered 3 books, read this one first, and found it to be the most useful. It emphasizes the need to develop estate plans as an aid to your heirs.

This book was an easy to read book that provided some helpful information. Brought up some topics that I had never thought of and I appreciated that. I liked that it was an updated version and mentioned new rules, etc. Would recommend!

As an estate planner and attorney, I know that presenting this kind of information in an easy-to-grasp way isn't, well . . . easy. But Michael Palermo has done it. In Crash Course in Estate Planning, he explains everything from wills to planning for children to protecting your investment interests. The fact that the AARP endorses The Essential Guide is a great indication of the value of the information. The "Hints" and "Warnings" that Michael gives throughout the book could only have come from a real life practicing estate attorney who has faced these problems with clients many times. In addition to having an estate planning practice, Michael is also a Certified Financial Planner and the combination of wisdom garnered from his financial background and legal background serves his readers well. Michael knows which issues take a little more effort to understand, and he provides more detail accordingly. This is a great book for anyone who is preparing to tackle the estate planning process. Palermo provides clear and direct answers to very difficult questions. I highly recommend his book. Be advised though, if you read the book you may, at least in some areas, find you know more than your attorney! James Lange, CPA/Attorney and author of Retire Secure! Pay Taxes Later: The Key to Making Your Money Last as Long as You Do

This is not a "how to" book. It is an exhaustive discussion of all of the options people have in planning their estates. This includes what can go wrong and how to avoid these problems. It covers all of the possible ways to minimize taxes for your estate and your heirs. The writing style is concise.

I've been waiting 3 years for Michael Palermo to write a book. I first stated reading his sage wisdoms on the internet. It is a rarity indeed for a national expert on estate planning and asset protection that can write a book that can explain to a regular person like me the complex matters of estate planning. I'm a physician. I know that abdominal surgery is not a do-it-yourself project. Neither is estate planning. I made the mistake of doing it myself. Thankfully, before it was too late I consulted a professional and found that I had made some serious errors which were corrected. I would have eventually lost more than half my estate had I not sought professional assistance. So, the lesson is we need a certified professional for estate planning. However, for the estate planning professional to help us in the most efficient manner, we need to have some basic understanding of estate planning. That way the estate planner does not have to spend their time explaining every elemental detail. If you read this book you won't find yourself nodding your head up and down in the midst of your estate planner's explanation and advice, when you honestly haven't the foggiest idea what they are really talking about. If you are considering whether or not to buy this book I would STRONGLY advise you to do so and to follow his advice before it is too late. While you are at it, purchase Jean Chatzky's book "You Don't Have to be Rich" which will help you to build your estate.