New York Times bestselling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty--his mother's family, the Vanderbilts. When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father's small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money, build two empires--one in shipping and another in railroads--that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by "the Commodore," subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers--the seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius's grandson and namesake had built--the family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all. Now, the Commodore's great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family's empire, basked in the Commodore's wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other. Written with a unique insider's viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.

Product Description \nDiscover the ins and outs of planning your own or your loved one’s last wishes with this easy-to-understand guide to estate planning.\\nNo one likes to talk about death, but being prepared for any unexpected tragedy can help your loved ones navigate your loss more easily in the long run. From creating your advanced medical directives to designating your beneficiaries, estate planning can ensure that your wishes are carried out when you are no longer around.\\nWith\nEstate Planning\n101, you can get your affairs in order before any unfortunate incident occurs. This easy-to-understand guide comes with detailed information on what needs to be done to protect your estate. With information on creating a living will, minimizing estate taxes, choosing an executor, and more, you will be prepared for the future, no matter what it brings.\\nEstate Planning 101 offers you step-by-step instructions and checklists to keep you organized for whatever life throws your way.\n About the Author \nVicki Cook and Amy Blacklock are the cofounders of the award-winning personal finance website Women Who Money. Combined they own five websites and are currently working together on number six. Vicki is the founder and blogger behind Make Smarter Decisions. She’s been a regular contributor to\nGOBankingRates, Medi-Share, and a variety of personal finance sites around the web.\\nAmy Blacklock and Vicki Cook are the cofounders of the award-winning personal finance website Women Who Money. Combined they own five websites and are currently working together on number six. Amy is the founder and blogger behind the award-winning site\n Life Zemplified. She’s been a frequent contributor to\nGOBankingRates,\nWealthfit, Medi-Share, and to a variety of personal finance sites around the web.

An updated and revised edition of the authoritative legal handbook on wills and estates (over forty thousand copies sold), now including a new section on trusts.The Complete Guide to Wills, Estates, and Trusts, Second Edition features extensively revised will and estate planning information and now details the most up-to-date laws and benefits for a wide variety of trusts, including educational trusts, medicaid trusts, asset protection trusts, and more. Providing clear explanations of legal terms and practices and many asset-saving tips highlighted by entertaining and illustrative stories, Alexander Bove tells readers how to:o Make a willo Settle an estateo Make a claim against an estateo Contest a willo Create a living trusto Avoid probate and taxesThis is the only legal guide readers will ever need to ensure that their money and holdings remain in the family.

Despicable financial acts committed against the elderly have been, and continue to be, a growing problem. We are well past the time that says, "Enough is enough." It's time to STAND UP TO ELDER FINANCIAL ABU$E. Have you ever succumbed to a fraudster's deception, know someone who has, or want to avoid being a victim of their psychological manipulations? If so, this is the book for you. In his poem, Beautiful Old Age, D.H. Lawrence wrote, "It ought to be lovely to be old." However, "lovely" is not how many aged men and women feel after being swindled. While those 65 and older comprise about an eighth of the U.S. population, they represent about a third of scam victims, according to the American Association of Retired Persons. Not one day goes by without a news story about a despicable financial act committed against someone who is elderly. The abuser not only takes the victim's money, but the victim's trust in society that they've built up over the years; their independence in taking care of themselves, including their financial needs; and their pride in making sound judgments. After the crime, these casualties are left emotionally, physically, and financially drained. More than any other age group, those 65 or older are falling victim to frauds because they are often easily accessible and socially isolated as they reach their retirement years, spending more time at home. Also, they experience declining physical and mental well-being as they grow older, causing the fraudster to take advantage of their decreased cognitive abilities. Finally, and most importantly, significant assets are controlled by retirees, who have accumulated them over a lifetime of hard work. Con artists go where the money is, and it's with seniors. Older Americans control trillions of dollars of wealth, a figure that makes scammers salivate. Don't ever say to yourself, "This can't possibly happen to me." It can, and, for some of you, it has, but you may not even know it. Realize that it's not your fault. You did nothing wrong, so don't blame yourself. None of us is too smart for someone as cunning as a determined financial scammer. Start protecting yourself, and your money, from these charlatans. We'll get into the fraudster's mind to understand their motivation and tricks of the trade, and your mind, so you can understand your own vulnerabilities to these tactics. We'll go through some of the financial scams that are targeted towards the elderly, along with recommendations for the victims, and their loved ones, to follow. Investigators and regulators who care about these sages of wisdom, and want to protect them from the dregs of society, will also learn from the scenarios presented herein, and will be better prepared to follow-up on suspicious activity that might indicate a senior has been financially abused. And, finally, lawmakers will learn of the extent of the problem, and the gaps in our laws that need to be closed, if seniors are to be better protected. This book is for all fraud fighters - victims, family and friends, caretakers, lawmakers, investigators, and regulators, anyone who cares about the scourge of elder financial abuse, and wants to do something to combat it. We must work together to get it done. As Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." When it comes to protecting ourselves from street criminals, we turn on our outdoor lights, lock our doors, get an alarm system, put our valuables in a safe, tell our neighbors to pick up our mail and newspapers, but what do we do to protect ourselves from the sophisticated and slick fraudster? When it comes to the innovative, less violent, financial crimes, we do little. These, and the people who commit them, need to be stopped, and this book will empower you to do just that. So, let's get started on the journey to doing something.

Put your life in order with this valuable new resource from AARP and the American Bar Association. Checklist for My Family guides you through the process of gathering in one place your finances, legal documents, online accounts, wishes about medical care, and more. Plus it tells you what you need, why you need it, what’s missing, and where to get it. While giving you peace of mind, this book is also a gift to your loved ones. It spares them stressful decisions and needless frustrations when you’re ill or upon your death. And it presents them with your legacy, by providing specific knowledge of family history and recollections about your life, interests, and accomplishments. Whether you choose to gather this critical information in the book itself or through the forms available free online, you can easily customize and organize your information.With this one-of-a-kind guide, you’ll stay in control of your life and feel satisfied in knowing that if anything happens to you, you—and your family—will be well prepared.

Learn How to Prepare Your Estate and Avoid Costly Mistakes Want to avoid probate? Gleaned from his forty-four years as an estate attorney, Sharp describes the probate process and the many reasons why it should be your last resort in estate settlement methods in How to Avoid Probate for Everyone. Living trusts are important, but there are many alternatives to using a living trust for probate avoidance. These alternatives are explained step-by-step as Sharp delves into the details. Examples of such approaches include: While state laws vary, most allow for expedited procedures for low-value estates without having to create a trust. There are a dozen different ways of leaving assets to heirs automatically at death. Special types of deeds allow you to keep control of your real estate during lifetime yet transfer it to heirs automatically at death. There are several ways of titling vehicles that allow heirs to get them without court procedures. Beneficiary designations on bank and investment accounts keep them out of your probate estate. Joint ownership of accounts and real estate can solve inheritance problems. Common myths and misconceptions about estates and probate are debunked. Trusts are covered in detail, including a section on must-use trust provisions to cover common complications and showing how a trust can easily resolve these. Joint and single trusts are examined and issues, such as how to handle personal property items, are suggested. (For instance, who gets the piano?) By avoiding probate court-supervised adult guardianship and conservatorship, families can avoid embarrassing and time-consuming incompetency hearings in court. Samples of the described documents are also included to give the reader an idea of what the paperwork actually looks like. Sharp's matter-of-fact explanations will prepare any reader to take the necessary steps to prepare their estate with confidence and avoid probate.

Imagine a system of justice in this country that strips its citizens of their Constitutional rights, voids their existing legal documents, gives others the right to spend their money and sell their assets, isolates them, and has the ability to limit the time they can spend with their loved ones. While you may be thinking of the criminal justice system, the previous description refers to a parallel system that preys on the elderly and is determined to deem them unable to care for themselves. It is a system that allows those in control to take full advantage of their “wards of the state”―legally and under the watchful eyes of judges. It is called guardianship.Guardianship exists in every state, and while it has gone under the radar for many decades, Dr. Sam Sugar’s new book, Guardianships and the Elderly, sheds light on this system, which enables those in-the-know to commit “the perfect crime.” Dr. Sugar, a licensed physician and president of the Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship (AAAPG), as well as a victim of the system himself, has written a unique guide that can be used by anyone caught up in the world of guardianship.The book begins by looking at the history of guardianship―from ancient times till today. It then provides a clear overview of how this system is set up to work―from the triggers that set it off to the different groups of people that make up the process: the judges, the guardians, and all their associates. The book goes on to detail the responsibilities given to these players and describes how easily they can manipulate the system to their own advantage. It also presents an accurate picture of just how difficult it is to free a family member from the system. There are things loved ones can do to fight the system, to be sure, but many obstacles and pitfalls await them in the battle. This book is meant to prepare the reader for these eventualities and includes a comprehensive glossary, a helpful resource section, and a number of documents that may prove useful in the pursuit of real justice.While the press has exposed some of the most heinous crimes committed by guardians, for the most part, those who know how to work the system continue to plunder their victims’ estates. Guardianships and the Elderly is designed to explain the guardianship process clearly and make the reader aware of the common violations carried out by court insiders and their affiliates. The information found in this book can serve as a powerful tool when it comes to uncovering their crimes.