Rating: 
Summary: It changed my mind, and I changed my will
Review: The first rule of estate planning might be: Don't ever die. The second rule: If you can't follow the first rule, plan ahead. If you have wealth that will be around longer than you are, spend some serious time thinking about who's going to get it when you go. I am a professional money manager and the subject of inheritance planning is something I deal with every day. But "Beyond the Grave" opened my eyes to some potential problems and solutions that I hadn't thought of. And after some soul-searching, the book prompted me to change the way I will leave my own estate to my family. I love the way the authors filled their book not with legal jargon but with stories of their clients. Some did things the right way, others made mistakes. But the lawyers learned from every case, and thanks to this book, I learned too. Any parent who's disappointed at a son or daughter could take delight in the story called "Our Rotten Children" in which a couple accomplished their own goals - and some of their children's goals - in a most unexpected way. The two married sons and a daughter seemed to be waiting around for their parents to die so they could collect sizeable inheritances from the parents' $30 million real estate empire. The parents devised a clever inheritance plan to force their chronically unemployed offspring to "get a life." Without spoiling the story I can relate that one result showed up almost immediately: the two daughters-in-law filed for divorce, figuring that - if there was no seven- or eight-figure inheritance in their future - they had little reason to stick with their ne'er-do-well husbands. The authors repeatedly demonstrate the merits of what I think could be called "smart generosity" to children and grandchildren. In anecdote after anecdote, they show the benefits of treating siblings equally and of thinking ahead of time about how to preserve not only assets but family relationships and harmony as well. If you have wealth to leave, I can almost guarantee you'll find an interesting idea or two in this book that you haven't thought about. If your parents haven't talked to you about their own plan, you might consider giving them a copy of "Beyond the Grave."
Rating: 
Summary: Required Reading if you're doing an estate plan
Review: This book gets you thinking about all the pitfalls in deciding who you should leave your money to, and with what stipulations. How do you avoid the mistakes other people have made? I have read about 9 estate planning books and talked to one attorney. This book gave me crucial advice that I did not find anywhere else. The stories and advice changed my mind about what I will do, because I have learned from the dozens of situations Mr. Condon experienced over the years. The book is not a masterpiece. And you may need one or two other books to round out your knowledge. However, it is clearly written, well organized, and rather entertaining. I give it 4-1/2 stars, and suggest it as required reading for anyone creating a will.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and easy to read
Review: This book presents a lot of potentially confusing information in an easy-to-read format with practical examples. It apporpriately encourages you to use the book as a starting point for talking with an estate planning professional. This isn't a "how to" book. You'll be a much more informed consumer of estate planning services if you read this book
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