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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Estate Tax Tricks, Traps for Married Couples
Too many married couples are making a big mistake. They believe current estate tax law exempts them from having to plan or consider estate tax implications 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 […]
Knowing When to Include Grandkids in Your Estate Planning
When is a child or grandchild ready to receive some wealth? Will some people never be ready to handle gifts or inheritances? Those are some of the most difficult and anguishing questions for people considering their Estate Planning. Almost every parent doubts the maturity and responsibility of at least one child and grandchild. They don’t […]
Avoid Unintentionally Disinheriting Your Spouse in your Wills and Trusts
Many people don’t realize it, but their wills leave nothing outright to their spouse. Before the current high federal exempt amount was established, a standard will stated that a portion of the estate equal to the federal exempt amount was left in a bypass trust or other trust that benefitted the surviving spouse for life […]
Another Estate Planning Failure
A major Washington, D.C.-area business made the headlines in an unflattering way on Saturday. A lawsuit was filed over the estate plan of the owner of major auto dealerships and related businesses. According to the allegations, the daughter from the owner’s first marriage was promised a one-third interest in the business. Instead, two sons from […]
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Estate Planning for Small, Yet Important, Personal Items, Art and Collectibles
Small, personal items often cause the biggest Estate Planning problems. Those with experience handling estates know the worst disputes among heirs often are over what seem like trivial items. Even in a large estate, heirs might aggressively contest the disposition of a few pieces of furniture or personal mementos. Those small, personal items are most […]
How to Review Your Estate Planning Essentials
You need a complete, up-to-date estate plan now more than ever, regardless of the value of your estate. Estate Planning never was all about taxes, though people thought it was back when estate taxes clipped many estates. Because few estates will face a federal tax burden, we can focus on the real issues of estate […]
Making Smarter Estate Planning Gifts to Family Members
Giving gifts isn’t as easy as one might think. It’s not easy, that is, if you want to maximize the value and impact of your gifts. Watching every gift is the tax man, looking to take a piece of it. Even if your estate isn’t likely to be taxable, you should be looking for ways […]
When Should Children Inherit from Trusts?
Many people put their money in trusts because they know their children or grandchildren aren’t ready to directly control the wealth. The question they struggle with is when money should be released from the trust directly to the beneficiaries. Here’s a succinct summary of the factors that show a person is ready to inherit wealth. […]
