Women control 75 percent of the total personal wealth in the United States today, fill more than half the jobs, earn more than half the college degrees, and make up the fastest growing sector of new business owners. Yet most American women have not taken steps to put the legal mechanisms in place through estate planning to protect their assets, their families and themselves. This book is for you. Women and Money, A Practical Guide to Estate Planning is an exhortation, a resource, and a trusted companion. Written by attorney Patricia Annino, who has been advising both men and women about estate planning for more than two decades, the book makes a complicated process easily accessible to readers by explaining away the legal jargon, bringing the issues to life with real life stories, and addressing the concerns of women in all age and economic groups. The first time a new mother leaves her baby with a sitter, she leaves detailed instructions. Estate planning is a way to leave instructions for a lifetime, a way to make sure that if anything ever happens to you, the person you want to take care of your children will do so, your directions will determine the care they will be given, and your finances will be great enough to cover all costs. This is a book for women with significant assets and women with concerns about their financial futures, women with elderly parents and women with special needs children, single, married, divorced, widowed, and remarrying women. In short, this is a book for you and for any woman who wants to control her own financial destiny, protect herself and protect those she cares about most.