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Heirs, Beneficiaries, and Children

Found 25 Articles.
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Heirs and Beneficiaries – Why Traditional Estate Plans Won’t Work for Modern Families

July 14, 2020

The make-up of the modern family has changed quite a bit over the years. Therefore, traditional estate plans won’t work well for many families these days. A traditional plan is for couples who are in their first and only marriage and have only kids from that marriage. Different plans, tools, and strategies might be needed […]

estate planning

How To Involve Your Children in Your Estate Plan

June 11, 2019

Of course it’s a good idea for parents to talk with their children about money from an early age… But it’s never too late to start… if you didn’t start early. First, you need to be clear what the money means to you and what its purpose is. You also should know what’s important to […]

estate planning

Forget Estate Planning: Follow This “Inheritance Plan” Instead to Help your Heirs and Beneficiaries

June 4, 2019

Estate Planning isn’t “all about the money.” At least, it’s not if you want the plan to be successful. Likewise, I’ve said for years that estate planning isn’t all about taxes. Truth is, you need an estate plan even when the estate isn’t likely to be hit with federal estate taxes. You also need to […]

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Can Your Children Answer These 8 Estate Planning Questions?

February 25, 2019

Many estate plans fail, and often not because of any flaws in the documents or the plans. Estate Planning failures frequently occur in the implementation and execution. Especially important are actions taken by others, often your children. They’re likely to be the ones putting key parts of the plan into action, not you. So to ensure […]

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How to Plan for Family Conflicts, Difficult Beneficiaries and Disinherited Heirs

November 19, 2018

A difficult or irresponsible potential heir can wreak havoc on your estate if you don’t recognize the risks and plan for them. It doesn’t take much for a person to mount a will contest or other legal attack on your estate plan, upending the entire plan. Court records are filled with cases in which a […]

6 Key Issues about Gifts to Children and Grandchildren

July 26, 2018

One of the questions I receive most frequently from Retirement Watch subscribers is how to make estate planning gifts. Let’s take a look at the issues that recur among many readers. Gifts to family members are one of the staples of estate planning. But the tax law has changed, and that’s altered the role of […]

estate planning

Managing the Key Players in Your Estate Planning Strategy (Your Heirs, Beneficiaries, Executors, and Trustees)

June 22, 2018

In last week’s story, we reviewed the major potential “surrogates” in estate plans (the agents, trustees, executors, and others). Today we offer some pointers for reducing problems you may face with surrogate designations. Know all the surrogates you designated Review financial accounts, insurance policies, and estate planning documents to be sure you know who currently […]

8 Questions Your Children Need to Be Able to Answer

May 1, 2018

Many estate plans fail, and often not because of any flaws in the documents or the plans. Estate plan failures frequently occur in the implementation and execution. Especially important are actions taken by others, often your children. They’re likely to be the ones putting key parts of the plan into action, not you. To ensure […]

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