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Every Californian's Guide to Estate Planning: Wills, Trusts, and Everything Else
Editions 3- cataloged as a serial in LC.
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 9, 2026
I found this book to be helpful, clear and easy to follow.
March 23, 2025
I'm a father with assets but no house who wanted to know what's the fastest way to setup a "good enough" estate plan, what are the gists of the laws, and if a lawyer is even really necessary.
When judging these kind of books I really have one question in mind: does the book add value over the internet and LLMs.
Well, for estate planning the internet is a hellhole of marketing for lawyers with surface level SEO optimized websites aimed at drawing in customers. And LLMs are a choose your own adventure when a table of contents is actually useful to know which adventure you want to dive into.
So yes, it was a relief to see a well written book with clear tables and infographics to help explain estate planning. I especially like the table that explains what goes into probate and what does not (bank accounts with designated beneficiaries).
Still the book has flaws. It doesn't actually give examples of wills, and instead steers you towards buying Nolo's WillMaker (which is probably not needed). I wish it explained more about how custodianship can work with underage children. And that it would give more details about trusts. I'm still not really sure how useful a lawyer would be for setting one up.
There is probably a better book out there. But I liked this one over the trashy internet.
Liza Hanks book is a clearly written introduction to the topic with handy suggestions about when a lawyer is worth it. I especially liked her explanations around what goes into trusteeship vs what does not ()
When judging these kind of books I really have one question in mind: does the book add value over the internet and LLMs.
Well, for estate planning the internet is a hellhole of marketing for lawyers with surface level SEO optimized websites aimed at drawing in customers. And LLMs are a choose your own adventure when a table of contents is actually useful to know which adventure you want to dive into.
So yes, it was a relief to see a well written book with clear tables and infographics to help explain estate planning. I especially like the table that explains what goes into probate and what does not (bank accounts with designated beneficiaries).
Still the book has flaws. It doesn't actually give examples of wills, and instead steers you towards buying Nolo's WillMaker (which is probably not needed). I wish it explained more about how custodianship can work with underage children. And that it would give more details about trusts. I'm still not really sure how useful a lawyer would be for setting one up.
There is probably a better book out there. But I liked this one over the trashy internet.
Liza Hanks book is a clearly written introduction to the topic with handy suggestions about when a lawyer is worth it. I especially liked her explanations around what goes into trusteeship vs what does not ()
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews