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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Can Your Children Answer These 8 Estate Planning Questions?
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 […]
Bob’s Journal for 2/21/19
The economy clearly is slowing. Is there a recession on the way? Most of the economic data the last few months has been weaker than previous data and weaker than expected. That has caused many economists to begin warning that a recession might occur in 2020 and perhaps later in 2019. Corporations have been issuing […]
Bob’s Journal for 2/14/19
Investors should shift their focus from the United States to other economies, especially Europe. Most investors have been complacent about Europe since the Greek debt crisis seemed to be resolved a few years ago. But there’s a lot more going on in Europe, and little of it is good. The European economy has been weak […]
Bob’s Journal 1/31/2019
Most investors are focused on U.S. markets, but this is a good time to take a look at emerging markets. While U.S. markets were outpacing the world from the second half of 2016 through the first three quarters of 2018, emerging markets lumbered through another bear market during much of that time. We sold our […]
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Bob’s Journal for 1/24/19
Is all the bad news reflected in the markets, or are the markets still too optimistic? It is early in earnings season, and we’ve received a mixed message so far. Last Tuesday, the stock indexes had nice rebounds following positive earnings reports from IBM, Procter & Gamble and United Technologies. The gains, however, were mostly […]
How to Choose Between Wills and Trusts
There are two tools available for passing the bulk of your legacy to others, and the best choice for one person might not be a good choice for another. The foundation of your estate plan can be either a will or a trust, usually a revocable Living Trust. They’re not exclusive. Most estates have both […]
Bob’s Journal Update for 1/17
We’ll soon know if the recent rally in the markets will continue, because fourth-quarter earnings reports are being rolled out. Most markets had a dismal fourth quarter of 2018. But markets turned a corner after Christmas and the subsequent rallies are impressive. While the S&P 500 still is down 4.28% for the last three months, […]
How to Generate Guaranteed Lifetime Income (Second Social Security Check)
Lifetime income security is what everyone wants in retirement, but it is increasingly a challenge to achieve. Low interest rates and investment returns, longer life spans, inflation, long-term care expense, medical expenses, higher taxes and more are major obstacles to achieving financial security in retirement. Everyone wants what I call the “Second Social Security Check.” […]
Asset Protection
Building a Legacy
Business Ownership and Succession
Digital Assets Estate Planning
Estate Planning Basics
Estate Planning Checklist
Estate Planning for Singles
Estate Planning Forms and Documents
Estate Planning Mistakes
Estate Planning Strategies
Estate Tax
Executors and Trustees
Family Limited Partnerships
Gifts and Gift Giving
Grandchildren
Heirs, Beneficiaries, and Children
IRAs & Your Estate
Power of Attorney
Probate
Trusts
Wills and Estate Planning
