The Inheritors Handbook A Definitive Guide

THE ONLY GUIDE YOU'LL NEED TO WISELY MANAGE YOUR INHERITANCE AND MAKE IT GROW FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS...You're not alone. Sixty million Americans stand to be on the receiving end of an inheritance in the coming years. Planning is crucial if you hope to preserve your windfall, save on taxes, and avoid family squabbles. InThe Inheritor's Handbook,expert Dan Rottenberg offers a comprehensive guide through the inheritance process that gets to the heart of the complex issues, both financial and emotional, that beneficiaries face. He demonstrates how future heirs can discuss money and wills, choose advisers, manage investments, and much more. Using real-life examples, Rottenberg provides tested solutions to sensitive inheritance issues -- before the time of death, at the time of death, and years later.The Inheritor's Handbookis the only book you'll need to help you manage the difficulties, decisions, and opportunities that come with inheriting.

Dan Rottenberg is the author of seven books, including Finding our Fathers and Revolution on Wall Street. He has written articles for multiple magazines, including Forbes and The New York Times Magazine and was an editorial page columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years. He lives in Philadelphia.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION
How to use this book

PART 1 Preparing to Inherit

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENTS
Estate planning questions: The quick list
OPENING THE CONVERSATION
Before You Talk to Your Parents, First Talk to Yourself

SIDEBAR: A checklist of emotional inheritance issues

Parents' primary concerns
After Talking to Yourself, Confer with Your Siblings
Before Approaching Your Parents, You May Want to Consult a Professional
Approaching Your Parents
ASSEMBLING YOUR PARENTS' VITAL DOCUMENTS
ESTATE PLANNING ISSUES
Managing Your Parents' Affairs before They Die
Minimizing Estate Taxes

SIDEBAR: Estate, inheritance, and gift taxes

Protecting against Incompetence or Disability

Durable general power of attorney
A living (or "revocable") trust

Preparing for Death

Have your parents written their wills?
Plan the funeral
Get to know your parents' advisers
What if your parent has remarried?

UNDERSTANDING IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS
Is a Trust Necessary?
Using Trusts to Reduce Taxes

SIDEBAR: How long can a trust last?

The Alternative to a Trust
If a Trust Is Necessary

How many trusts?
Choosing an estate attorney
Locating a trust's "home base"

Choosing a Trustee
Anticipating Disputes and Attaching Strings
What Does a Trust Cost?
Once the Trust Document Is Written, Then What?

PART 2 When Wealth Changes Hands

STEPS TO TAKE WHEN YOUR PARENT OR SPOUSE DIES
At the Time of Death
After the Funeral
In the Months after Death

SIDEBAR: The estate of Donald B.: A sample timetable

THE EXECUTOR
Duties of Executors
If You Are the Executor
LOCAL ESTATE AND INHERITANCE TAXES
YOUR INHERITANCE
If There Is No Will

What to expect
Your right to access the will
Contesting a will

After the Will Is Settled

Can money change you?
Dealing with grief issues

Quick Tips
Choosing Professional Advisers

Family advisers, or choose your own?

A Quick Guide to Professional Advisers

Lawyers
Accountants
Investment advisers

Stockbrokers
Financial planners
Insurance agents

Therapists

To Commingle Assets or Not?
Rewriting Your Own Will

PART 3 Handling New Wealth

MANAGING YOUR DIRECT INHERITANCE
Utilizing Your Professional Advisers
Investing
If You're a Surviving Spouse
Planning Your Own Estate
LIVING WITH AN IRREVOCABLE TRUST
Your Goals as a Trust Beneficiary
Your Rights to Information about the Management of Your Trust
Dealing with Trustees
Improving your trustee's performance

Checking investment performance
Challenging management fees
Is your trustee ripping you off?

Settling Disputes: Confrontational Tactics

Going semi-public
Going public
Going to the government
Suing a trustee
Removing your trustee

Choosing a Successor Trustee
Dealing with Your Fellow Beneficiaries
INHERITORS' LIFESTYLE ISSUES
The Importance of Work
The Rewards of Philanthropy
A Closing Thought

RESOURCES

SUPPORT GROUPS
Inheritors' Support Groups
Related Support Groups
INHERITANCE AND WEALTH ADVISERS
Personal and Technical Money Issues
Family Business Consultants
Philanthropic Consultants
Psychological Issues
ORGANIZATIONS
FAMILY THERAPY
PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
General Resource Guides
Trusts and Estates
Psychology of Inheritance
Money Management and Personal Finance
Meaningful Work
Contributing Your Time
Socially Responsible Investing
Philanthropy
SELECTED ARTICLES
Magazines
Papers
Newspapers
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

GLOSSARY

INDEX

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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The Inheritors Handbook A Definitive Guide For Beneficiaries

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials