EVERY WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL PLANNING

Really for the well-heeled woman--with enough time, besides, to sort through the comparatively complicated legal and tax consequences of trusts and custodial arrangements. Prof. Westfall (Harvard Law School) is an estate-planning authority, and what he does review he covers thoroughly. There is an excellent rundown on property-ownership options--outlining, among other things, the pitfalls of joint tenancy. There is instructive material on using trusts (or other instruments) to convey assets, save on taxes, and achieve other personal goals. Among the more creative possibilities are sales for an annuity. Thus, a woman who seeks to provide financial assistance to children or other relatives, without making a gift, can transfer a property's title to a recipient/buyer who agrees to make a specified annual payment during the balance of her lifetime. Also covered are: wills; ante-nuptial agreements (to protect assets intended for the children of prior marriages, perhaps); charitable contributions; and inheritance taxes. (From Westfall's up-to-date information, the affluent would be well advised to hang on until 1987, when the federal estate exemption tops out at $600,000; now it's $325,000.) An expert guide--for a small minority.