Estate Planning
Estate Planning is the process of determining how your wealth and assets should be transferred to the heirs of your choice: your children, grandchildren, friends, families, charitable causes, etc. and then deciding which legal tools and structures to use to best meet your estate planning goals.
Estate planning is not simply reducing or eliminating taxes and avoiding probate. Only after establishing how you want your estate’s assets to be distributed should you consider ways to reduce taxes and avoid probate. From there, good estate plans deal with a host of other issues. Now, with all but a few estates exempt from the federal estate tax, those other issues are, or should be, at the forefront of estate planning.
An estate plan is to ensure that you are taken care of the rest of your life and that your wealth is transferred to the people you want to have it. A good estate plan ensures these goals are accomplished with as much efficiency and as little cost as possible. An estate plan addresses the management and distribution of an individual’s property and financial obligations after he or she dies with financial tools such as wills, revocable living trusts and power of attorney.
For a comprehensive overview of Estate Planning, please start with our article:
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How To Maximize the Tax Benefits of Estate Planning Gifts
Today’s high estate and gift tax exemptions could be slashed in a few years. Maximize those and other benefits now. The substantial increases in estate and gift taxes that were widely discussed in 2021 appear to be off the table, at least for now. But the current lifetime estate and gift tax exemption is scheduled […]
Another Way Congress Is Making It Harder for Retirees
Congress is making it more and more difficult to deduct charitable contributions. So it’s good to know the latest rules… so the IRS won’t be able to deny tax breaks for your charitable donations. The increase in the standard deduction – in the 2017 tax law – means you have to give more to receive […]
The Estate Plan Questions Your Spouse & Children Must Be Able To Answer
Most estate plan failures aren’t due to flaws in the documents or the strategies. A high percentage of plans fall short of their goals, and it’s often because the people implementing them didn’t have all the information they needed. You see, an estate plan covers more than the property you leave to others. It covers […]
Key Questions Your Spouse and Children Must Be Able To Answer
Most estate plan failures aren’t due to flaws in the documents or the strategies. A high percent- age of plans fall short of their goals, and it’s often because the people implementing them didn’t have all the information they needed. An estate plan covers more than the property you leave to others. It covers other […]
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How To Create Your ‘Digital Estate Plan’
In last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly, I explained why your estate plan should include digital assets. In part 2, below, I share some pro tips on how to go digital in your plan. A surprise to many people is they don’t own most of the books, music, movies and more that were “purchased” […]
Digital Assets: Why They’re So Important for Your Estate Plan
How long does it take to administer an estate? There’s no simple answer to that. Yet few things these days do more to increase the cost of and delay the time it takes to administer an estate… …Than leaving an electronic mess for the executor and heirs to clean up. And that’s exactly what many […]
‘DIY’ Estate Planning Software vs. Hiring an Estate Planner [Pros & Cons]
Here’s a question I’m seeing more and more from my readers… “Is it a good idea to use do-it-yourself software or websites in preparing your estate plan?” The answer is both Yes, and No. First off, estate plan preparation software for individuals is nothing new. It has been around since the early days of the […]
The Retirement Watch Guide to Understanding the Last Will & Testament
There’s a lot more to know about wills than many people realize. The additional knowledge can often result in a much improved estate plan. Let’s first review some basic terms and concepts of the will. A will is a written statement of your instructions and intentions regarding your estate. The phrase “last will and testament” […]
