About

Deborah L. Jacobs is a lawyer and award-winning journalist with a broad range, from service-oriented columns about legal matters to quirky features about far-flung destinations. She has contributed to many national publications, including The New York Times, Bloomberg Wealth Manager and BusinessWeek. A former senior editor at Forbes, where she wrote for the “Money & Investing” section of Forbes magazine and was a key contributor to its bi-annual Investment Guide, Jacobs also launched a popular personal finance blog on Forbes.com.

Her book, Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide, now in the fourth edition, has become what one reviewer referred to as "a category killer." The Wall Street Journal called it "a terrific guide for people who are just beginning to grapple with estate planning, as well as those who have (or think they have) their affairs in order."

Four Seasons in a Day: Travel, Transitions and Letting Go of the Place We Call Home is her latest book. It chronicles her misadventures after she quit an oppressive editorial job, rented her Brooklyn, NY townhouse and planned to Airbnb her way through France with her husband. The book is a memoir about their escapades; a story of career reinvention; and a candid assessment of the homesharing economy.

Other Works

  • Estate Planning Smarts: 4th Edition: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide

    2015

Awards and Recognition

  • "Four Seasons in a Day" was chosen as a 2017 award-winning finalist in the “Travel: Guides & Essays” category of the International Book Awards and in the travel category of the CIPA EVVY awards.
  • "Estate Planning Smarts" has placed in the 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Awards