More Articles on Retirement Planning

Estate Planning for Those with Special Needs: The Special Needs Trust

In last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly, I presented Estate Planning for Those with Special Needs. There are other important provisions for proper estate planning in this scenario, so let’s dive right in. Living trusts become more important to those with chronic illness or conditions. These trusts allow a co-trustee to manage trust assets […]

Estate Planning

How To Create an Estate Plan for Those with Special Needs

Estate planning typically focuses on healthy people and their families. Many families, however, have one or more members with chronic illnesses or conditions. That changes the estate planning equation. The person with the illness or condition might be the estate owner or a loved one of the owner, especially a child. In either case, the […]

Trusts

How To Create a Trust for Your Heirs (Part 2)

In last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly, I presented How To Create a Trust for Your Heirs. There are a few more important provisions and clauses for setting up beneficiary trusts, so let’s get right to it. Matching Trust: This is another clause designed to pay out trust principal only when the beneficiary has […]

Trusts, Wills and Estate Planning

Will vs. Trust: Which is Better?

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” said inventor, diplomat and founding father Benjamin Franklin in describing the importance of planning for the future. It is only natural for people to want to maintain some level of control over the assets that they worked so hard to accumulate throughout their life. Creating a […]

Trusts

How To Create a Trust for Your Heirs

“Great Fortunes Lost” was an article in Fortune magazine years ago. It described how various individuals, usually heirs, lost or squandered very large fortunes. Some of the individuals lost more than money. They lost their health or wasted their lives because of the effects wealth had on them. It’s nice to leave enough to make […]

Trusts

What is a Grantor Trust?

A grantor trust is one in which the grantor retains control of its income and assets. Grantor trusts are a type of living trust that is created during the lifetime of the individual who creates it. The grantor typically is self-appointed as the trustee to maintain control over the assets. The grantor can then name […]

Annuities, Variable & Indexed Annuities

What is a Variable Annuity and How Does it Work?

Variable annuities are a specific type of contract issued by an insurance company that requires the annuitant, or the annuity owner, to choose from a variety of investments to put the principal. The funds put into the investment are called the principal, and the payouts received by the annuity owner are contingent upon the […]

survival-guide-for-family-limited-partnerships

Estate Planning for Singles

Estate Planning for the Growing Unmarried and Single Population

In last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly, I presented Estate Planning for “Modern Families.” There’s a lot more ground to cover, so let’s dive right back in – starting with estate tax implications for single people. Under the estate and gift tax, singles do not have the advantage of the marital deduction. An unmarried […]

Trusts

At What Net Worth Do You Need a Trust?

July 20, 2020

Trusts are typically thought of as tools for the wealthy, however, affluence is not a prerequisite to reap the benefits of owning a trust. Trusts can be useful estate planning tools for many people, but it may not be worth the expense for people who do not have many assets. Background: What is a Trust? […]

Heirs, Beneficiaries, and Children

Heirs and Beneficiaries – Why Traditional Estate Plans Won’t Work for Modern Families

The make-up of the modern family has changed quite a bit over the years. Therefore, traditional estate plans won’t work well for many families these days. A traditional plan is for couples who are in their first and only marriage and have only kids from that marriage. Different plans, tools, and strategies might be needed […]