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:

• What is Estate Planning – A Comprehensive Overview

Estate Planning Forms and Documents, Estate Planning Strategies

The Financial Emergency Kit: How to Build a Complete Estate Planning Strategy and Document File

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

Many people think they have estate plans… but oftentimes it turns out they really don’t. I’m not talking about those who haven’t done any planning and don’t even have a basic will. I’m talking about people who have taken action on their estate plans — and yet have plans that are woefully incomplete. You see, […]

Trusts, Wills and Estate Planning

Estate Planning Without Wills & Trusts – Part 2

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

In Part 1 of this article, I shared some of the avenues through which you can ensure transfer of assets without the need for wills and trusts. So this week, let’s continue the discussion with more ways to avoid probate and transfer property… starting with: Bank accounts. Though once obscure, payable on death (POD) bank accounts […]

Probate, Trusts, Wills and Estate Planning

How to Manage Your Estate Planning without Wills, Trusts, and Probate

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

You might be surprised to learn that many Estate Planning goals can be accomplished without wills and trusts. In fact, using other tools can spare you some of the expense and complications of wills and trusts. These strategies also cause the assets to avoid the delay and expense of probate, transferring the title of each […]

Power of Attorney

Estate Planning to Improve Your Financial Power of Attorney

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

It’s one of the most overlooked and understated pieces in most peoples’ estate plans… The Power of Attorney. And it’s so much more than simply deciding who manages your affairs when you can’t. So today let’s review more tips on how to navigate this vital step in the estate planning process. Which actions can the […]