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:
Found 775 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.
Types of Trusts and Reasons for Using Them
Trusts are not used primarily for reducing taxes any more. And trusts are not only for the wealthy. The non-wealthy are more financially sophisticated and have more wealth than in the past. The non-wealthy turned to trusts in recent years and for reasons other than tax reduction. In this part of the visit, we’ll review […]
Estate Planning Mistakes – How to Avoid Mismanagement of Inheritance by Heirs and Beneficiaries
Many estate plans ultimately fail. The problems are not with the plans. The owners spent a fair amount of time and money preparing and executing the plans. The problem with many estate plans is the final stage. The heirs are not prepared to receive the wealth. So they mishandle it. Or they did not know […]
How to Put Together a Disaster Recovery Document Kit for your Estate Plan
The 2005 hurricane season caused many people to focus on an issue that had seemed remote. But millions of people realize they are more vulnerable to disasters than they had thought. A surprise to many people is that the potential damage to their persons and property is not the only concern. Personal information and documents […]
Estate Planning for Pets
Often a pet is a cherished member of the household. If that is the case, you might want to include the pet in the estate plan. This is particularly true of single people or owners of unusual or exotic pets that the heirs of the property estate are unable or do not wish to care […]
SUBSCRIBE TO RETIREMENT WATCH
What you don’t know about retirement can hurt you. In fact, just a few wrong decisions in your investments, taxes, or estate planning could completely derail your retirement plans. Worse yet, the rules of the game keep changing, making it harder to keep up. For these reasons, I’ve assembled all the key points – everything you need to know — into one comprehensive report. Click here today for free access.
How Planned Disclaimers Can Improve an Estate Plan
A key to successful Estate Planning these days is flexibility. Scheduled changes in the federal estate tax, and the possibility of additional changes, make flexibility essential. In past visits we have discussed language that can be included in wills to increase flexibility. Another tool to make available to your heirs is the disclaimer. Normally, disclaimers […]
Investing Education for Grandkids
Recently, when I was the guest on a radio show, the host asked where young people learn about money, investments, and personal finance. Schools are too busy with diversity training and sex education to teach personal finance. Even at the college level practical money management is scarce. Many parents, especially, the Boomers, try to keep […]
6 Easy and Legitimate Ways to Protect Assets
Many people consider asset protection to be part of an estate plan. Protecting wealth from creditors, lawsuits, and other claims during life can be just as important as protecting it from taxes. A good plan also can protect assets from claims against your heirs. Assets can be protected without elaborate schemes that involve multiple levels […]
Instruction Letters and Ethical Wills
The typical estate plan is a collection of legal documents with sterile discussions of trusts and property distributions. It need not be that way. Your estate plan and your legacy can be enhanced by adding to your plan documents that are more personalized and speak directly to your loved ones. Certainly the main focus of […]
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
