Planning your estate is one of the most complicated endeavors you"ll ever undertake, yet its results are also the most far-reaching; after all, it will continue to affect those you care about long after you no longer can. So it"s worth understanding all the options and ramifications, being personally involved, and doing it right. This Nolo Press guide to estate planning is an excellent source of information on the many various details and considerations that you need to take into account--such as children and probate, estate and gift taxes, second marriages, and a wide variety of trust options (charitable, generation-skipping, spendthrift, living, and educational, for starters). It delves into the factors that affect married people versus single, the laws regarding children, types of beneficiaries and wills, plus joint tenancy, life insurance, retirement benefits, taxes, and organ donation. Showing a number of sample estate plans, explaining what hiring a lawyer can do for you (and how to choose a good one), how to do your own research, and including a glossary of estate-planning terms, Clifford and Jordan give you the tools to decide for yourself how you want your estate disposed of--and to make sure that"s what your legal documents reflect. --Stephanie Gold