Step 1:
Understand Your Unique Issues and Opportunities as a Business Owner

• Introduction
• What Is Business Succession and Estate Planning?
• Your Business Succession and Estate Planning Advisors
• The Business Succession Planning Grid
• The Gift and Sales Options for Your Business
• Overview of the Business Succession and Estate Planning Process
• Summary

Step 2:
Consider All Your Options Regarding Your Business' Future

• Introduction
• Organizing for Best Business Succession Results: What Is Your Business's Legal Form?
• Business Valuation: What Is Your Business Worth?
• The Need for Liquidity and the Role of Life Insurance in Your Business Succession and Estate Plan
• Options for a Successful Exit by Selling Your Business
• Summary

Step 3:
Determine the Best Strategy to Transfer Business Interests to Your Family Members

• Introduction
• Identify Your Family Business Successors
• Transfer Your Business to Family Members After Death Through Your Estate Plan
• Transfer Business Interests to Family Members During Your Lifetime by Sale
• Understanding Buy-Sell Agreements
• Summary

Step 4:
Include Your Retirement Plan, 401(k) and IRAs in Your Estate Plan

• Introduction 61
• Taxes Affecting Qualified Retirement Plans, 401(k)s and IRAs
• Required Retirement Plan Distributions During Your Lifetime
• Required Retirement Plan Distributions After Your Death
• Estate Planning Considerations When Naming Your IRA and Retirement Plan Beneficiaries
• Summary

Step 5:
Make the World a Better Place by Leaving a Charitable Legacy

• Introduction
• What Is Charitable Estate Planning?
• Income Tax Benefits of Charitable Gifts
• Enhanced Tax Benefits of Donating Appreciated Stock or Real Estate
• Making Charitable Gifts With IRAs and Retirement Plans
• Charitable Bequests From Wills and Living Trusts
• Charitable Gift Annuities (CGA)
• Charitable Remainder Trust
• Charitable Lead Trusts
• Pooled Income Funds
• Private Foundations
• Community Foundations
• Donor-Advised Funds
• Summary

Step 6:
Control the Distribution of All Your Assets After Death With a Will or Living Trust

• Introduction
• What Happens to Your Assets at Death Depends Upon “How” You Own Them
• Why Comprehensive Estate Planning Is Important
• Your Will
• The Nine Primary Benefits of Wills
• The Eight Primary Benefits of Living Trusts
• The Parties to a Revocable Living Trust
• How to Choose a Trustee
• Funding Your Living Trust
• The Operation of the Revocable Living Trust
• Tax Treatment of Revocable Living Trusts
• Summary

Step 7:
Staying in Control of Your Business and Your Assets if You Become Incapacitated

• Introduction
• Who Will Manage Your Assets if You Become Incapacitated?
• Who Will Make Your Healthcare Decisions if You Become Incapacitated?
• Who Will Pay for Your Care if You Cannot Take Care of Yourself?
• Medicaid Planning for Nursing Home Costs
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Trusts for Family Members With Disabilities
• Summary 160

Step 8:
Discover How to Pay Zero Estate Tax

• Introduction
• Who Must Pay the Estate Tax?
• What Are the Tax Rates?
• How to Calculate the Federal Estate Tax
• Assets Included in Your Gross Estate at Death
• Valuing the Gross Estate
• Estate Tax Deductions and Credits
• Liquidity Planning
• Overview of the Gift Tax
• Who Must Pay the Gift Tax?
• How the Gift Tax Interacts With the Estate Tax
• The Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
• How to Pay Zero Estate Tax
• Strategy Number One: Maximize the Unlimited Marital Deduction
• Strategy Number Two: A Credit Shelter Trust “Saves” the Lifetime Exclusion Amount of the First Spouse to Die
• Strategy Number Three: Make Lifetime Gifts to Family Members
• Strategy Number Four: Prepay Estate Tax With Discounted Life Insurance Dollars
• Summary

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

APPENDICES

• Appendix 1: The Confidential Estate Planning Questionnaire
• Appendix 2: Professional Designations of Estate Planning Advisors
• Glossary
• Index