Loving Trust

Accepted notions of prudence in money mattersjoint bank accounts, insurance beneficiary formulas and, above all, formal willsget rough treatment in this study of estate planning by Esperti and Peterson, coauthors of Incorporating Your Talents. They warn that such conventional procedures entail complications and delays in cases of disability or death, with deep attrition of assets through court and legal costs. Their alternative is a little-known instrument called a Loving Trust (""Love sells. Love makes people happy''), which enables individuals or couples to direct the care of their loved ones and control the flow of assets to themoutside the probate court process. But, as the detailed instructions included here show, setting up a Loving Trust can be a complicated legal matter. 40,000 first printing; $65,000 ad/promo; author tour. (April)