Estate Planning is the process by which an individual or family arranges the transfer of assets in anticipation of death. An estate plan aims to preserve the maximum amount of wealth possible for the intended beneficiaries and flexibility for the individual prior to death. A major concern for drafters of these plans are Federal and State tax law.

Scope
This web guide is intended for use by persons interested in reliable and up to date information on estate planning. The guide contains a comprehensive lists of sources from all fields of estate planning which can be found on the Internet.

GENERAL ESTATE PLANNING ONLINE RESOURCES:

Estate Planning Links
This web site is composed of links to a variety of estate planning resources located on Internet. This site attempts to provide a well organized listing of all sources in one place, it is intended for consumers and estate planning professionals.

SmartMoney
This website includes a variety of personal finance resources such as worksheets and articles discussing all matters of estate planning.

NOLO-Law for All
This is a basic website for the most prominent information of self-help legal aids. Nolo gives people the ability to handle their own legal matters or learn enough about them to work with a lawyer.

We@lthkeepers
This site is an online resource for estate planning which disects the most relevant, up to date topic in todays estate planning environment in an easy to comprehend manner. Also included in the site are newsletters, a library, and links to other sites.

LifeNet
This site includes a complete section on estate planning detailing the reasons estate planning is needed, why wills are needed, types of wills and trusts, probate information, and revocable living trusts or inter-vivos trusts.

ASSOCIATIONS:

American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
This site includes an estate planning information center compiled by estate planning attorneys. It gives estate planning news, newsletter, techniques, attorney listings, and special reports.

National Association of Financial and Estate Planning
The NAFEP site includes useful information comprised of concerns in planning estates, asset protection, capital gains tax referral, 2001 Tax Act, charitable foundations,and special interest.

Legal Research for Estate Planners
LREP is a site which includes organized helpful estate planning information which can be located by categories linked to the topic. This site is divided into six categories, from general estate planning research information to specific practical information.

JOURNALS:

Law Journal EXTRA!
This site offers a compendium of current news articles, in-depth analyses of recent developments,law firm memoranda, cases, statutes, and links to other sources.

FIRMS:

DeLoitte & Touche Online
DT online offers hints and strategies to obtaining a sucessful estate plan from the leading accounting, tax, and consulting firm.

Teahan & Constantino
This site is based in Poughkepsie, New York under the law firm of Teahan and Constantino. This site and firm house "Tax and Estate Planning Resources on the Web," an article examining the best web sites for tax and estate planning professionals. This site also includes a sample family estate plan.

Leimberg Information Services Inc.
LISI provides a fee based monthly subscription service on estate planning which delivers fast, frank, and incisive analysis of proposed and recent legislation directly to you by e-mail.

BOOKS AND ORDERING:

AMAZON
This site includes a variety of books and other related sources for estate planning. By entering the keyword "estate planning" a comprehensive result list includes materials for lawyers and non-lawyers.

SOFTWARE:

ES:The Estate Plan Analyzer
This is a site which offers software for analyzing estate plan options which is designed for professionals and consumers. Via the web site a demonstration can be downloaded.

Brentmark Software
This website provides personal financial planning products and services for professionals and consumers: estate, financial, and retirement planning software. Software products include Pension & Roth IRA Analyzer, Estate Planning Tools, Estate Planning QuickView, PFP Notebook™, Savings Bond Toolkit, Investment Scenario Generator™, Roth IRA Conversion Analyzer, Charitable Financial Planner, IRS Factors Calculator, Roth IRA Conversion Calculator, Pension Distributions Calculator, and Minimum Distributions Calculator.

ProBATE Software
This web site offers sophisticated software for estate planning. With a constant aim of providing new and innovative software this site continues to have the most useful and understandable software.Also includes demonstrations and downloads.

Prepared by Joi Jones, October 4, 2001