Trusts
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Understanding and Using Estate Planning Trusts
Trusts are an essential part of Estate Planning, not only for the rich and famous. They’re also simpler than many lawyers and estate planning professionals make them seem. Almost every-one needs a working knowledge of trusts to ensure estate planning is effective. It’s easy to obtain that knowledge. A trust is simply a contract between […]
The Importance of Updating Your Trusts for Estate Planning
Trusts are one of the most important Estate Planning tools. They’re not only for the very wealthy, as we’ve discussed in past visits. When everything isn’t done right and kept up-to-date, however, a trust can cause more problems than it overcomes, especially for heirs. Financial advisors are spending a lot of time resolving problems with […]
Estate Planning to Protect Assets, Heirs with a QTIP Trust
The marital deduction is a widely used, but often misused, Estate Planning tool. It’s powerful, but it also can create problems and headaches when not used properly. Here’s how to achieve your goals while avoiding the minefield of potential marital deduction problems. The marital deduction is simple and has two advantages. Under the estate […]
Using Trusts to Secure Stretch IRAs
Trusts are a key part of many estate plans. You can run into trouble, however, when you try to couple a trust and an IRA. You can use a trust to make your IRA last longer and control your heirs’ access to it, but you need an experienced estate planner to navigate the minefield of […]
Choosing a Trustee for a Winning Estate Planning Strategy
Trusts are an important component of many estate planning strategies. Once used only by the wealthy to reduce taxes, trusts now meet a variety of needs for estates of all sizes. A trust can be used to avoid probate, hold life insurance, preserve assets for beneficiaries, and meet a range of other goals. The unfortunate […]
Buying Only One Fund for Long Term Estate Planning for Grandchildren
Setting money aside for a grandchild, or helping a grand-child who is starting to save without proper Estate Planning, presents a problem. Usually the initial savings are relatively small. Few grandchildren begin with portfolios of $100,000 or more. A portfolio of a few thousand dollars or less presents a problem when you are trying to […]
Adding Life Insurance Trusts to Your Estate Planning Strategy
Life insurance used to be a standard part of almost every Estate Planning Strategy. In recent years, insurance moved to the back burner or completely off the menu of many estate planning strategies. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the very wealthy make up the bulk of current permanent life […]
Adding Flexibility with a Disclaimer Trust
It’s tough to keep your estate plan in tune with the rapid pace of change. The estate tax changes. Your family situation and the value of your assets also change. Any of those factors can trigger a need to change your will or other elements of your estate plan, and the pace of change seems […]
