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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Nuts & Bolts of Estate Planning
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 […]
January 2008
January 22, 2008 02:10 p.m.The Big Sell Off It seems I caused a substantial decline in world stock markets. Last week I posted the February 2008 issue of Retirement Watch in which I argued that today’s market environment is more like 2001 or early 2002, with more losses to come, than it was like late […]
A Shrewd Look at Power of Attorney – Part 2
The Power of Attorney is an essential part of every estate plan, but few people understand it or give it much thought. Last month we discussed some details of POAs that help ensure your wishes are followed. This month we will look at a few more details of the documents with an eye toward protecting […]
A Fresh Look at Family Limited Partnerships
Family limited partnerships have been a key element in many estate plans, and that is why they have been targets of the IRS for years. The tax law regarding FLPs has fluctuated, but there now are enough court cases decided to develop a road map for securing the benefits of an FLP. An FLP is […]
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December 2007
December 17, 2007 3:05 p.m. The Specter of Inflation Rises Friday’s inflation report brought to the forefront something we warned about for some time: The threat of rising inflation is not dead. We are not living in the disinflationary and potentially deflationary era of the 1990s. Global growth and easy money policies around the world […]
A Shrewd Look at the Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is an essential part of an estate plan. You know that from past visits. The POA ensures that someone can manage your estate when you are unable to. Bills can be paid; investments can be managed; and other actions can be taken. Having a document called a power of attorney does […]
November 2007
November 27, 2007 01:25 p.m. Some Portfolio Changes The markets and headlines have been rolling like the ocean surf before a major storm. Try to adjust your portfolio based on the latest sentiment and you will be changing the portfolio every few days. We focus on longer-term trends than the latest headlines, and those trends […]
Five Myths of Business Succession
Few small firms survive past the first generation of owners. That is well-known. Most people assume the business failures are due to the inadequacies and mistakes of the succeeding owners and managers. At least an equal share of blame goes to the founding owners who do not properly develop and implement succession plans. With proper […]
