The Tools and Techniques of Estate Planning, 22nd edition offers comprehensive, practical guidance for estate planners across every stage of the process, from foundational goals and property transfer to complex tax, trust, and insurance strategies. Organized into ten focused sections, the book equips practitioners to help clients make informed decisions on taxes, investments, insurance, and estate administration while preserving assets under current law—regardless of whether the estate is large or small.
Each chapter breaks down a specific estate planning tool by explaining its purpose, appropriate use cases, requirements, and tax implications, making it easy to apply to real client situations. With coverage spanning wills and probate, irrevocable trusts, charitable giving, intra-family transfers, retirement and employee benefits planning, and asset valuation, the book serves as both a comprehensive reference and a time-saving resource for handling diverse estates and circumstances.
New in the 22nd Edition:
- A $15 million game-changer: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reshapes the landscape with a new $15 million lifetime exclusion, plus fresh provisions on qualified business income deductions and itemized deductions that every planner needs to know
- 2026 numbers, decoded: the latest inflation-adjusted figures for annual gift exclusions and the estate tax unified credit, so you're working with next year's numbers today
- IRA contribution limits, demystified: how the rules shift based on a client's modified AGI, with the IRS thresholds spelled out clearly
- Medical aid in dying laws, state by state: a current snapshot of which jurisdictions now permit medical aid in dying through statute or court ruling — critical context for end-of-life estate planning
- The rule against perpetuities, updated: the latest state-by-state developments planners can't afford to miss
- Community property, reexamined: what's changed across community property states and what it means for your clients' plans
Key Topics Covered:
- The foundation first: a clear-eyed overview of estate planning fundamentals, plus the ethical and malpractice pitfalls every planner needs to sidestep
- Property, protected and passed on: from the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act to powers of appointment, wills, and probate — the essential mechanics of ownership and transfer
- Taxes, tackled head-on: navigate estate taxes, gift taxes, and the generation-skipping transfer tax with confidence
- Trusts for every situation: master the tools that matter, including grantor retained interest trusts, QTIP trusts, and marital deduction trusts
- Life insurance as a planning powerhouse: strategic use of life insurance and life insurance trusts to protect what clients have built
- Smart business succession: from split interest property purchases and buy-sell agreements to LLCs and S corporations, structure business transfers that work
- Retirement planning, simplified: pension plans, 401(k)s, IRAs, and SEPs — help clients secure their future with clarity
- Planning for life's harder chapters: guidance on aging, health care documents, and the unique dynamics of blended families
- Valuation for the modern era: put a price on what matters, including digital assets and the special considerations for non-U.S. persons