Did you know? If you plan carefully, your estate may not have to go through the process of probate. Probate can drag on for years, and can easily cost your family thousands of dollars -- money that would otherwise have gone to them.

8 Ways to Avoid Probate offers simple and effective methods for skipping the probate process so that property goes directly to the intended beneficiaries. Using the simple, plain English instructions, you'll learn how to create a savvy estate plan. Find out about:

. setting up payable-on-death accounts
. naming beneficiaries, including children, institutions, and multiple beneficiaries
. naming beneficiaries for retirement accounts, vehicles, real estate, and stocks and bonds
. special procedures for small estates
. holding property in joint ownership, and alternatives to joint ownership
. using a living trust to avoid probate
. making gifts of property and money

This edition provides updates to estate and gift tax laws, updated 50-state tables on simplified probate, and additional information on how to bequeath real estate without probate --12 states now offer a special deed for just this purpose.