Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies
Executing an estate or a trust fund is a big responsibility. Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies contains advice for handling estates and trusts of any size. It offers solid pointers on reading and interpreting a will and other documents, and helping heirs avoid paying too much (or too little). It also shows you how to take care of a loved one’s estate in the event that a will or trust was never created.
This authoritative, plain-English guide helps you understand and follow the rules that govern estates and trusts, ensure a smooth transfer of property, and manage fiduciary affairs in an orderly manner. You’ll get help choosing and assembling a team of professional advisors, settling debts and paying bequests, operating a revocable or irrevocable trust, and making sound trust investment decisions.
Discover how to:
- Understand executors’ and trustees’ duties
- Read and interpret important documents
- Properly execute an estate or trust
- Handle estates both large and small
- Get familiar with the probate process and estate taxes
- Identify different types of trusts
- Follow the deceased’s wishes — and the law
- Notify insurers and employers of a death
- Follow the steps for closing an estate
- Establish, fund, and change ownership of a trust
- Keep proper trust records
Yes, you can do the job and do it well. All you need is a little help from Estate and Trust Administration For Dummies.
529 & Other College Savings Plans For Dummies
There’s no question: The cost of college continues to soar, even when the rest of the economy stagnates, and this reality is not likely to change any time soon. Fortunately, everyone, including you, the various governments (federal and state), and the colleges themselves, are in on this secret, so everyone can plan and plot, well in advance of that eventual first day of your child’s freshman year, ways to get that child there, and ways to help you pay the bills when they happen. Consider this book to be your accomplice.
529 & Other College Savings Plans For Dummies is simply a way to find a reasonable solution to a seemingly unreasonable problem: saving for future college costs in the sanest, least stressful way possible for you. In keeping with the theme of stress reduction, you can use this book in a variety of ways:
- As a reference: It’s all here: the ins, the outs, the do’s, and the don’ts. The world of college savings is one of very specific rules, and they’re here, in all their glory, and they’re all explained.
- As an advisor: It’s a case of the very good savings techniques, the merely okay savings techniques, and the truly ugly techniques (which you really want to avoid), and this book highlights them all.
- As a little light reading: Amazingly enough, the topic of money can be mildly amusing, and college savings is no exception. Read this with an eye towards the absurd, and you won’t go far wrong.
This down-to-earth book is designed to explain the strategies that are out there to help you save, save, save. There’s no doubt that the bill will be large; there’s also no question that, with planning, strategy, and purpose, you can achieve your goal. To help you get there, this book covers all these vital topics, and more:
- Evaluating all your resources
- Understanding the basics of Section 529 plans
- Working around the 529 shortcomings
- Contributing to Coverdell accounts
- Choosing savings bonds that workrecords
- Looking at your investment options
- Searching for scholarships, fellowships, and grants
- Tapping into your Roth IRA
- Financial Aid 101
In this one-size-fits-all world, the powers that be have recognized that all people don’t save money the same way. Some save more, some save less, some can live with risk, and others can’t tolerate any risk. Clearly, no two are alike, but you’re all savers, either present or potential. Numerous options exist that make saving possible and desirable for everyone. 529 & Other College Savings Plans For Dummies is here to tell you that it is possible to understand the costs associated with college, both right now and in the future, and then find ways to pay for those costs.
Taxes for Dummies
The one-stop tax guide for the first-time or last-minute filer
Updated and revised, Taxes For Dummies is the only tax guide on the market that walks readers through the major tax forms line by line, including the 1040 Schedules A through E. Filled with helpful tips and strategies for filing income tax returns accurately and on time, this book is aimed at individuals who want to do their own taxes without hiring a preparer. Financial expert Eric Tyson teams up with tax experts Margaret Munro and David Silverman to answer the most frequently asked tax questions in plain English.
Praise for Taxes For Dummies
“The best of these books for tax novices.”
– Worth magazine
“The most accessible and creative. It’s also the best organized.”
– USA Today
“Will make tax preparation less traumatic.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“Sound financial advice you can use throughout the year.”
– The Seattle Times
Discover how to
- Itemize your deductions
- Negotiate with the IRS
- Take advantage of tax credits to reduce what you owe
- Make tax-wise personal finance decisions
- Avoid common mistakes before you file
- Audit-proof your tax return