Retirement Watch Lighthouse Logo

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:

 

Found 731 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.

Your 20-Minute Estate Plan: Building a Lasting Legacy

April 17, 2023

Estate planning should be a key part of your financial planning. Unfortunately most planning experts shroud the topic in complex tax, legal, and insurance jargon that will disinterest most people. I’ve put together this report to provide you with simple, practical explanations that will help determine the right elements of your estate plan. To learn more, click the PDF below. […]

The New Rules of Estate Planning

April 7, 2023

To read the Special Report, please click the PDF below. […]

Make Family Wealth, Businesses Endure Using the Vanderbilt Strategies

March 27, 2023

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, a popular resort and tourist attraction, is a legacy of George W. Vanderbilt, the youngest son of the oldest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the builder of the Vanderbilt fortune. My wife, Elaine, and I enjoy visiting there. The Biltmore House, built primarily between 1895 and 1899, still is […]

Which is Best for You: A Will or Trust?

March 27, 2023

There are two tools available for passing the bulk of your legacy to others. The best choice for one person might not be optimum for another. Either a will or trust can be the foundation of your estate plan. If it’s a trust, it’s usually a revocable living trust. They’re not exclusive. Most estate plans […]

SUBSCRIBE TO Lifetime Retirement Protection Program

Bob’s exclusive new service gives members the tools and knowledge to maximize their retirement finances for the rest of their lives. The Lifetime Retirement Protection Program includes all monthly issues of Bob’s Retirement Watch newsletter, all monthly video webinars in his Retirement Watch Spotlight service, every one of Bob’s premium reports and white papers (past and future), complete access to RetirementWatch.com, and 90 days’ membership in Eagle Financial’s DividendInvestor.com. Click here now to access all of Bob Carlson’s research.

estate planning

All the Ways You Can (Legally) Avoid Probate

March 26, 2023

Avoiding probate often is a major estate planning goal, but most people don’t learn all the strategies available. In probate, a deceased person’s estate is administered and distributed according to state and local law. The process ensures debts are paid and legal title to assets passes as the decedent wanted, or according to state law […]

There Are Four Ways You Can Make Tax-Free Gifts

February 20, 2023

Gift giving is an essential strategy in many estate plans. When done properly, gifts reduce lifetime income taxes and reduce or eliminate estate and gift taxes. Through gifts, you help loved ones today, and see the benefits of that help, instead of having them wait to inherit. To optimize gifts, know how to minimize gift […]

What Tom Brady Taught Us About Retirement: Unintentional Lessons from a Superstar

February 10, 2023

It is NFL playoff season, and the Super Bowl is almost here. That makes this a good opportunity to turn to the NFL for some lessons about retirement planning that apply to all of us. The newly-retired quarterback Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner, is a great source of retirement lessons. Over the last […]

Estate Planning

Get To Know These 6 ‘Hidden’ Estate Planning Opportunities

January 29, 2023

Opportunities to increase family after-tax wealth arise throughout the year… Yet all too often go unnoticed. Estate planning should be viewed as more than an obligation to be undertaken as infrequently as possible. It is a continuing exercise that’s rife with the potential to protect assets, reduce income taxes, simplify personal finances and more. The […]

Log In

Forgot Password

Search