Practical Guide to Estate Planning (2026)

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Practical Guide to Estate Planning (2026)

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The Practical Guide to Estate Planning is designed for the everyday use of individuals whose work requires an understanding of any aspect of estate planning. The text is easily accessible to those with little background in estate planning who want to gain a more complete understanding of the tools of the estate planner while still addressing issues of concern to the more experienced estate planner. The sophisticated estate planner often needs to provide explanations to clients in terms that a lay person can understand.

The first section of the book provides an overview of the estate planning process, how property passes upon death (including the different rules applicable to probate and nonprobate property), a description of basic estate planning documents and the role of the trust in estate planning. The second section of the book focuses on the tax principles involved in estate planning and how basic estate plans are structured to take advantage of tax saving opportunities. The third section of the book addresses some of the more specialized topics in estate planning including the generation-skipping transfer tax, charitable planning, issues of particular concern to the business owner, a description of the various types of life insurance and its uses in estate planning, retirement benefits, including the special rules for withdrawals and the problems and opportunities involved in passing on retirement benefits at death, and the estate planning opportunities that are available after a person has died. The final section of the book contains a set of estate planning forms with comprehensive annotations.

Practical Guide to Estate Planning is written by a respected group of authors with extensive experience in the field, including:

Ray D. Madoff

Martin A. Hall

Cornelia R. Tenney

Sarah M. Waelchli

Austin W. Bramwell

Lisa Nalchajian Mingolla

Nancy E. Dempze

David Scott Sloan

R. Brent Berselli

Mark Baron

Stuart J. Hamilton

The Estate Planning Process
Basic Rules of Property Transfers Upon Death
Basic Estate Planning Documents
Trust Basics
Estate and Gift Tax Basics: Tax Tools of the Estate Planner
Planning for A Spouse or Nonmarital Partner
Issues in Planning for Children
Using Gifts in Estate Planning
Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Planning
Charitable Giving
Planning for a Closely Held Business Interest
Insurance
Estate Planning with Retirement Benefits
Post Mortem Estate Planning

Form 1 LivingTrust
Form 2 Living Trust Amendment
Form 3 Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
Form 4 Annual Exclusion Trust
Form 5 Additional Annual Exclusion Trust
Form 6 Will with Pour-Over Provision
Form 7 Will with Outright Dispositions
Form 8 Codicil
Form 9 Durable Power of Attorney
Form 10 Health Care Proxy
Form 11 Living Will
Form 12 Charitable Remainder Unitrust
Form 13 Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)
Form 14 Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)

Index

Ray Madoff, is a Professor at Boston College Law School where she has been specializing in the areas of trusts and estates and estate planning since 1993. Prior to entering teaching, she practiced law in New York and Boston, most recently with the firm of Hill & Barlow, P.C. She received her B.A. from Brown University with honors and her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Professor Madoff has been a frequent lecturer on issues of tax and estate planning and is the author of numerous publications including, Undue Influence, 81 Minnesota Law Review 571 (1997) and Taxing Personhood: Estate Taxes and the Compelled Commodification of Identity, 17 Virginia Tax Review 759 (1998).

Professor Madoff is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel. ACTEC is a national association of approximately 2,700 lawyers "who have made outstanding contributions to the field of Trusts and Estates in their communities."

Cornelia R. Tenney is an attorney in the estate planning and nonprofit groups at Hemenway and Barnes in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a B.A. with honors and an M.L.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, and an LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University. She served as a clerk to Justice Ruth Abrams at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Her practice is focused on sophisticated estate planning, planning for business interests, and charitable organizations, and she has written and lectured frequently on these topics.

Martin A. Hall has been with the law firm of Ropes & Gray, in Boston, Massachusetts, since 1986 and has been a partner since 1994. He is a member of the Private Client Group and Tax and Benefits Department. Martin graduated with an M.A. in law, first class honors (1981) from Cambridge University, England and earned a J.D., summa cum laude (1986) from Boston University School of Law. Martin is co-author with Carolyn M. Osteen, also of Ropes & Gray, of the Harvard Manual on Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving (8th ed. 1999). Martin is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, current Vice-Chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association, and Chair of the Professional Advisors Committee to The Boston Foundation.

Lisa Nalchajian Mingolla is a partner in the Trusts and Estates and Tax Departments at Sullivan & Worcester LLP In Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Mingolla received her B.S.E., magna cum laude, from Princeton University, her J.D. from Boston College Law School, and her LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. She is a member of the Trusts and Estates Section and Estate Planning Committee of the Boston Bar Association.