Where There's a Will: A Guide for the Executor or Administrator of the Estate of a Decedent

Rating:
Summary: Far inferior to the competition
Review: This book was a great disappointment. It is far inferior to its main competitor, "How to Settle an Estate" by Plotnick and Leimberg. There just isn't very much information in it. The text is only 103 pages long, with large margins and not much print on each page versus 273 dense pages for Plotnick and Leimberg. The rest of the book is appendices containing filled-in forms, with 2 extra pages per form for an appendix title page and a reverse blank page. Compare Plotnick and Leimberg's detailed discussion of the Form 706 estate tax return with Bauers's advice: "see a CPA". Or the glossary: 3 sparse pages in Bauers versus 17 dense pages in Plotnick and Leimberg.

Or compare a specific glossary item, the definition of "executor":

Bauers: a person designated by will to administer the estate of the deceased.

Plotnick and Leimberg: The person named by the deceased in her will to manage the decedent's affairs; the personal representative of the decedent who stands in the shoes of the decedent, pays the debts and taxes, and makes distribution of the remaining property to the beneficiaries and heirs.

For anyone facing the task of being an executor, the choice is clear - and the better book is cheaper, too!

Rating:
Summary: This books is written clearly and it is user-friendly.
Review: Where There's A Will is written in a clear and usable style. The pages are large which make the book easier to read and to lay open. The information is presented succintly, logically and sequentally. How to Settle An Estate (a smaller book which would naturally require more pages for equal content) was published in 1986 and some of the information is out of date. Comparing the number of pages is not as important as the comparison of content. How to Settle an Estate is more difficult to read and follow. This book was authored by two professors and appears to be taken from lectures to their law classses over a period of time. There is repetition and the entire text would have to be read more than once in order to follow it. For an ordinary grieving person who is appointed as an executor to an estate, Where There's a Will is more readily understandable and more immediately applicable to the situation at hand.

Rating:
Summary: For anyone bearing the heavy burden of duty
Review: Where There's A Will...: A Guide For The Executor Or Administrator Of An Estate experienced estate executor and administrator F. William Bauers, Jr. is a practical, accessible, no-nonsense guide for anyone charged with the somber responsibility of being the executor or administrator of an estate. Within its pages are countless useful sample forms as well as solid and practical information concerning money and tax issues, obligatory duties, required notifications, and much more. Enhanced with a glossary of commonly-used terms, as well as 29 appendices (including forms in use, samples of letters to be written, financial presentations, and tax forms) Where There's A Will... is very highly recommended for anyone bearing the heavy burden of duty.