Make Your Own Living Trust (ISBN 0873379853)

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

Another Great Book From NOLO:
Nolo Press continues the tradition of providing step by step guidance through complex legal processes. Step by step demystification of the process. Even if you are going to use an attorney this is a good read and you will save many times the cost of the book in having answered your own questions and by receiving a good introduction to the subject. Highly recommended

Best resource on the subject:
In order to help my parents with their trust, I had checked out about a dozen books on the subject from the library. I found Denis Clifford's to be the easiest to follow and easiest to read on a fairly complex subject. I found the book (and his "Plan Your Estate" book) so informative I bought a set for myself. This book offers lots of "real life" examples of different types of financial scenarios and the best options for setting up a trust that will protect the assets from excessive legal fees and/or estate taxes. It covers almost everything you need to know to either write your own trust or carefully check the details of your trust if prepared by a lawyer. The CD included provides you with the language you need to write your own by filling in the blanks, as well as the step-by-step procedure to cover all the bases to be certain the trust meets all the legal & tax requirements for trusts. This book is also apparently updated each year, as the tax and estate laws are frequently being revised. I highly recommend this book, and also highly recommend as a companion book that covers other aspects of financial planning, wills, etc., Dennis Clifford's Plan Your Estate. I was so impressed I also bought copies of both books for my parents and my sister so we could all get our finances in order.

Only for simple Trusts:
If you have and estate of more than $2 million or if you are in a second marriage and want to create a family trust as well as a marital trust, you are wasting your money on this book. I learned more in a 2 hour meeting with a trust officer than I did in this whole book.

Excellent Book!:
I found the information easy to understand, and useful. I have yet tried the CD, but if the program is a good as the book, preparing the trust document is likely to be a very simple process.

Make your own living trust:
Excellent hands on, easy to understand workbook; will choose to use the completed forms as a framework to discuss with a trust lawyer.