This guide states the law governing assets that pass outside probate. Part 1 catalogs the instruments and the three principles that govern all of them. Part 2 covers ERISA preemption, the plan documents rule, and the decisions that make retirement plans and federal insurance programs the hardest cases. Parts 3 and 4 cover spousal protections — qualified plan consent, the elective share and augmented estate, and community property — and the revocation-on-divorce statutes together with their many exceptions. Parts 5 and 6 cover joint property, account designations, transfer-on-death deeds, trusts named as beneficiaries, and the retirement distribution rules that determine what a beneficiary actually receives. Parts 7 and 8 cover estate and income tax, creditor access, Medicaid estate recovery, and the disputes and remedies that arise when proceeds are paid to the wrong person. Later parts address administration after death, state variations, and the practice points that prevent nearly all of these problems.