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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Timing is Right for Transferring a Business
The economic decline doesn’t have many positive effects, but it can increase the benefits of estate planning strategies, especially for business owners. The current environment allows you to transfer business interests to your loved ones at a low estate and gift tax cost. Business owners should meet with estate planners and consider accelerating plans to […]
December 2009
December 31, 2009 10:45 a.m. Happy New Year, and Some Important Items You Might Have Missed I wish all my readers a Happy New Year. We have great plans for Retirement Watch, and the markets and economy promise to provide another interesting year. There also will be changes in the income tax, estate tax, and […]
Choosing the Right Estate Planning Options: The Marital Deduction, Trusts, and Estate Tax
The foundation of every family estate plan is formed from the same tools and strategies. No matter the size of your estate and how simple or complex it is, you’ll begin by choosing from this basic menu. You don’t want a cookie-cutter estate plan. There are variations of these tools, and many plans need additional […]
How to Climb the Estate Planning Ladder – An Estate Planning Checklist
Estate Planning overwhelms many people. Planners use their own language. As estate owner you have to choose from many strategies. The complications lead to procrastination and unfinished plans. One way to break the procrastination and creates a plan is to use an estate planning ladder. The ladder starts with a basic estate plan. You move […]
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November 2009
November 27, 2009 11:00 a.m. The Next Shoe? The tricky thing about a financial crisis is you never know what will trigger it or make it worse. Of those who thought the financial crisis was not over, few expressed the thought that a debt default by Dubai World would trigger the next phase of the […]
The Keys to Estate Planning – Taxes and The Law
In fewer than 10 years Estate Planning changed dramatically and still is changing. When I first wrote about estate planning, estate taxes were the driver of most plans. Even middle class Americans – modest millionaires we called them – needed plans to avoid estate taxes. The estate tax code changed dramatically. The 2001 tax law […]
Giving Gifts and a Lecture
Grandparents are filling only half their roles these days. They are providing financial help to their grand-children. In fact, they increased their financial aid as the economy worsened. Unfortunately, they are offering gifts and providing financial aid without much advice. About 63% of grandparents say they provided some form of financial assistance to their grandchildren […]
Why Estate Planning Details are Important: Debts and Estate Taxes
I regularly remind readers about the nitty gritty details of Estate Planning?stating who pays debts and taxes, ensuring whether the estate will have enough cash, and appointing executors and trustees. These are not as exciting as the issues that are most discussed, such as tax reduction strategies, but these are the key issues that determine […]
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
