BEYONDTHE DOCUMENTSA BOOK FROM
LEGACY ASSURANCE PLAN

A MORE COMPLETE APPROACH TO ESTATE PLANNING

Your documents
are the beginning.

Your family needs a plan that connects
everything that matters.

Estate Planning: Beyond the Legal Documents explores how your legal, financial, business, and tax decisions can work together in one comprehensive strategy.

Get the book on Amazon

Available in paperback and Kindle editions

Estate Planning: Beyond the Legal Documents, standing on two copies of the book
THE 2026 EDITION
BY DAVID M. McINERNEY, J.D., LL.M.
AND KELLY GICALE, J.D., CFRELegal. Financial. Business. Tax.
One connected perspective.

THE IDEA BEHIND THE BOOK

A signed plan.
An unfinished picture.

You have a will. Perhaps a trust. But do your accounts, beneficiaries, business interests, and family’s needs tell the same story?

This book looks beyond the paperwork to the decisions that give a plan its meaning. Through practical explanations and planning examples, it helps you recognize gaps, ask better questions, and have more informed conversations with your professionals.

Whether you’re starting fresh or revisiting an existing plan, the goal is a clearer view of how the pieces fit together.

01

Do your assets
follow your intentions?

Explore the connections among account ownership, beneficiary designations, and trust funding.

02

Does your plan
account for life?

Understand why incapacity, changing family circumstances, and long-term care deserve attention.

03

Are your professionals
seeing the whole picture?

Consider how legal documents, financial decisions, tax planning, and business succession intersect.

EXPLORE THE BOOK

A wider lens.
A practical guide.

Twenty-five chapters move from the foundations to the details that can be easy to overlook.

25CHAPTERS
8PARTS
11APPENDICES
Angled view of the book cover

Plus checklists, a personal planning organizer, comparison guides, a glossary, and reference materials.

SELECT A PART TO VIEW ITS CHAPTERS

01Estate Planning Fundamentals
  1. Why Estate Planning Matters
  2. The Legal Profession and Estate Planning
  3. Common Approaches to Estate Planning
  4. The Estate Planning Process
02Estate Planning Documents
  1. Last Will and Testament
  2. Powers of Attorney
  3. Revocable Living Trusts
03Probate and Probate Avoidance
  1. Understanding Probate
  2. Living Probate and Guardianship
  3. Avoiding Probate
04Special Planning Situations
  1. Planning for Life’s Circumstances
  2. Planning for Beneficiaries with Special Needs
  3. Long-Term Care and Medicaid Planning
  4. Digital Asset Planning
  5. Irrevocable Trusts and Asset Protection Strategies
05Tax Planning
  1. Estate, Gift, and Inheritance Taxes
  2. Charitable Giving and Tax Benefits
06Business Planning
  1. Business Entities and Asset Protection
  2. Integrating Business Interests with Estate Planning
  3. Family Business Succession Planning
  4. Farm and Agricultural Succession Planning
07Final Plans and Estate Settlement
  1. End-of-Life Planning
  2. Estate Administration
08Financial and Retirement Planning
  1. Financial Planning
  2. Retirement Income Planning

FROM THE PREFACE

“This book was written
because documents
are not enough.”

Discover the thinking behind a more coordinated approach to estate planning.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PAGES

Experience. Perspective.
Plain-language guidance.

Two attorneys bring their experience in estate planning, taxation, and planned giving to a shared purpose: helping readers see the bigger picture.

CO-AUTHOR

David M. McInerney

J.D., LL.M.

David has dedicated more than 30 years of his legal career to comprehensive estate planning. His advanced legal training includes a Master of Laws in taxation. He serves as chief legal officer of Legacy Assurance Plan.

CO-AUTHOR

Kelly Gicale

J.D., CFRE

Kelly is an attorney and Certified Fund Raising Executive specializing in planned giving. Her experience as a legal writer brings a clear, accessible perspective to technical concepts and the intersection of planning and philanthropy.

PUBLISHED BY

Legacy Assurance Plan

A membership-based estate planning services organization with a coordinated approach to legal documents, assets, taxes, risk, and business planning.

Meet Legacy Assurance Plan

THE BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT

PR Newswire • September 2, 2026

Why even well-drafted
estate plans can fall short.

Read the publisher’s press release

A FEW HELPFUL ANSWERS

Before you
turn the page.

Who is this book for?

Individuals and families who want to understand estate planning more fully, including those with an existing plan. It also covers considerations for business owners, people planning for retirement, and families with special planning needs.

I already have a will or trust. Is it still relevant?

Yes. A central theme is the relationship between your documents and the rest of your financial life. The book encourages readers to examine how ownership, beneficiaries, tax considerations, business interests, and changing circumstances fit with their existing plan.

Does the book replace professional advice?

No. It is an educational resource to help you ask more informed questions. It does not provide individualized legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Consult qualified professionals about your circumstances and the laws that apply to you.

Where can I buy a copy?

The book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Visit the Amazon listing for current prices, editions, and delivery options.

Estate Planning: Beyond the Legal Documents book

TAKE A MORE COMPLETE VIEW

Plan for the people
behind the paperwork.

Start with a clearer understanding of how your decisions connect.

Get your copy on Amazon

Paperback & Kindle • 2026 edition

AN EXCERPT FROM THE PREFACE

Beyond the documents.

Estate Planning: Beyond the Legal Documents

Most people who complete an estate plan walk away feeling a sense of relief. The documents are signed, the attorney was knowledgeable, and the plan is in place. What they don’t realize—and what no one may have told them—is how much falls outside the attorney’s scope.

[Excerpt continues later in the preface]

This book was written because documents are not enough.

[Excerpt continues later in the preface]

Comprehensive estate planning—the approach this book describes and advocates—addresses those shortcomings directly. It begins with education rather than document drafting and coordinates legal documents with financial accounts, beneficiary designations, and insurance products. It also integrates business succession planning and considers incapacity planning to be equal in importance to death planning.

When legal documents, financial matters, and tax strategies are coordinated together, the likely result is a plan that functions as intended. When they lack coordination, plans can break down.

Selected passages from the preface. © 2026 Legacy Assurance Plan.

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