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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL & ESTATE PLANNING
www.nafep.com
RANK:   5
SCORE: 21
QUALITY

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Here you will find a very complete site, giving an in depth overview of the major estate planning areas. The page entitled General Estate Planning Concerns begins with some basic definitions and an answer to "Why do estate planning?" This is a very effective way to begin the site as it immediately addresses any questions one might have about the importance of estate planning. The answer includes a long description of probate and why it should be avoided. Also included is a discussion of estate and gift tax, complete with cartoon-like illustrations. A point that is often forgotten, but given here as a reason for an estate plan, is the fact that long term health care can devestate many estates and should be planned for. An excellent list of eleven questions is given for one to think about when undertaking heir planning. Further down the page is a good description of several types of trusts and terms associated with trusts. Although many reasons are given as to the benefits of trusts, not mentioned is the fact that using a trust can increase privacy, although many other benefits of trusts are given.

Other ares of the site are equally as detailed. On a page entitled, Asset Protection, solid, easy to understand, information and examples are given. One article is about the liabilities of joint tenancies and presents good information about how joint tenancy leaves you terribly exposed to lawsuits. Another section of the site presents the benefits of using annuities and how to defer capital gains tax. Also included on this site is information about setting up your own charitable family foundation and its benefits. Seven strong reasons are given as to why setting up a charitable family foundation is a good idea. Lastly, is a page devoted to discovering scams and warnings about how to avoid being caught in a trust scam. This page really serves to complete the information provided on the site, as it warns users that trusts are not always the best solution, and one should be aware of promoters of scam trusts.

RELEVANCY
To lay individuals and attorneys needing a refresher in estate planning techniques, this site has it all. Although the coverage is aimed at non-attorneys, the information provided is up to date and highly useful for estate planning. The site could be made even better with more links to reference material in case a user wants more in depth coverage.
QUANTITY
For the topics covered, there is plenty of information provided. A thorough read of the pages on this site will leave the reader with more than enough information to get started with estate planning.
APPEARANCE
The site is rather bland looking, although the cartoon illustrations are amusing. Also, the font used too small to read without straining.
EASE OF USE
Because so much information is provided the pages tend to become rather long. Breaking up the articles into multiple pages would help functionality. The information is easy to locate though, behind several well placed buttons.
 
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