Estate planning is similar to financial planning. The only difference is that under estate planning people often mean how do you manage your assets along your life and under financial planning they mean how to you organize your cash-flow in the short to middle term.

Estate planning is the strategy you use to conserve and enlarge your estate. Under estate we mean all your assets. As the name suggest, starting with real estate, but also other stable forms of property.

The value of good estate planning cannot be stressed enough. It is not only what you accrued during your lifetime, it is also what you produced, invested, and worked for.

Your estate planning should aim at a elaborated balance between assets of many types. You'll need real estate, stock market and cash. Some professional estate planners include 1% or 2% of some form of very stable asset like gold.

Equilibrating different kinds of asset will guarantee that your estate is less risky.

Not all investments can go wrong at the same time. Younger investors can therefore take more risk than older investors, who are already saving for retirement.

This is due to the fact that younger investors will have time to compensate for fluctuations in real estate prices or in the stock market. They will also have more chances of profiting from such fluctuations.

Bear in mind in your estate planning the compound interest effect. If you are able to save currently only a small amount for your retirement, just do it!

Even a small amount of $50 every month will turn to a reasonable amount in 30 years time. Just do the math and confirm it by yourself. There are many estate planning tools available for this kind of calculation.

Besides the rule above of diversifying your assets, your estate plan should also consider your actual necessities. If you spend money in pounds, dollars or euros, you'll need to have some pounds, dollars or euros saved. Since you live in a home, your estate plan should always include some form of home equity.

Of course, if you cannot afford to buy a home, you can always take a mortgage and accumulate home equity paying this mortgage.

A reasonable estate planning also includes thinking about the heirs. Some forms of estate are easily shared. Stock of a company is measurable. On the other hand, estate like real estate properties and family companies are often the source of dispute among heirs.

It is advisable to consult with an estate planning attorney on how to better organize your estate, since he will be able to help your avoid taxes and liabilities.

Worried about what will happen to your assets after you’re gone? Don’t want to leave your heirs with a fat tax bill? Relax!

Now there’s Estate Planning For Dummies, the simple guide that takes the pain out of planning for the future. It’ll help you minimize estate taxes, write a proper will, keep your plan up-to-date, and much more!