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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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Tax Links

April 29, 2016

Individual Retirement Accounts: Brentmark Software’s site and CPA Ed Slott’s web site Uncle Fed’s Tax Board: Comprehensive links to tax sources. Taxes for Investors State taxes: Here are several links to help research state and local taxes: taxsites.com: comprehensive links to federal and state tax sources. taxadmin.org: official sites of the state tax administrators. Includes […]

Insurance Links

April 29, 2016

Buying insurance: It’s easier than ever to compare dozens or even hundreds of insurance policies using the Web. Here are some of the more popular sites for buying all kinds of insurance. Be sure to use several sites, since each site gives quotes for different insurers. None deals with all the insurers. Life insurance: www.Masterquote.com […]

College Savings Links

April 29, 2016

General information College savings.org compiles information on all Section 529 plans. Scholarships: Check sources and eligibility at: College Board Fast Web Sallie Mae Fin Aid.org Loan information is available from: National Student Loan Program E Student Loan Department of Education Looking for a college? Try: Embark Campus Tours.com Tax breaks for college […]

Data Points to Improved Labor Market

April 7, 2016

It won’t be published officially for a few more weeks, but the revised edition of my book, “The New Rules of Retirement,” is rising in popularity on Amazon.com thanks to your interest and pre-publication orders. The changes from the first edition are significant. I had to almost completely re-write the book. It covers all the […]

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estate planning

Nuts & Bolts of Estate Planning – The Basics

April 3, 2016

Most discussions of estate planning, including in this newsletter, focus on discrete topics and strategies. Once in a while, especially early in the year, it is good idea to step back and look at the broader picture. There are concepts and strategies common to every estate plan and estate owner. Use these concepts and strategies […]

Estate Planning Estate Tax and Trust Tricks, Traps for Married Couples

April 3, 2016

Too many married couples are making a big mistake. They believe current estate tax law exempts them from having to plan or consider estate taxes in their plans. That misunderstanding could lead to problems. While the estate tax law enacted in early 2013 has many benefits, you need to know how to maximize them. Two […]

Retirement Spending Model

April 3, 2016

Bob Carlson of Retirement Watch has developed a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that enables individuals to develop a custom model of their retirement spending. You will need Microsoft Word to read the instruction sheet and Microsoft Excel to work with the spreadsheet. Click on the links below to download the appropriate files. Retirement Spending Spreadsheet Instructions […]

estate plan

Checklist: Wills and Estate Planning Update

April 3, 2016

If there has been a change in any one or more of the factors listed since the last review of your estate plan, then it is time to get in touch with your estate planner and update the plan. The marital status of you or any of your family members The birth or adoption of […]

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