Planning is important when providing for your children or grandchildren. But planning for their education has special importance and may have special advantages. This article by my friend and colleague Steve Hartnett, an estate planning expert, looks at how 529 plans may have tax advantages when providing for education. Further, the article looks at how such a plan may provide asset protection in bankruptcy, as well.529 Plans: Planning for Education with a Tax and Asset Protection Bonus … [Read more...]
What Is a Spendthrift Trust?
Sometimes, the most difficult part of creating an estate plan is not deciding who to include as beneficiaries, but deciding how to gift assets to those beneficiaries. For example, you may be reluctant to pass down assets directly to a beneficiary because that individual cannot be trusted to manage his/her own money for one reason or another. If you find yourself in that position, a spendthrift trust may be the solution. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, let's see how a spendthrift … [Read more...]
What Can I Do to Prevent My Beneficiaries from Contesting My Will?
For most people, reducing the likelihood of litigation is a primary factor in the decision to create a Last Will and Testament. If your wishes are clearly stated in your Will, there shouldn’t be anything for your heirs to fight over after you are gone, right? What happens though if someone contests the Will you create? Let's discuss what you can do to prevent your beneficiaries from contesting your Will. What Is a Will Contest? After your death, your estate will likely need to go through the … [Read more...]
Do I Really Need a Trust?
We get a lot of questions about revocable living trusts and some prospective clients wonder whether they really need a trust. They say, “After all, I’m not a Warren Buffet or a Kennedy. Do I really need a trust?”Whether you need a trust (or not) depends upon your assets and your goals; mainly your goals. You do not need to be wealthy to benefit from a trust.You Need to Consider a Revocable Living Trust if you…Want to avoid probate Want to avoid court interference, through the … [Read more...]
Five Estate Planning Don’ts
Some people take the time to begin their estate planning, while others never even get around to it. If you want to be prepared throughout your lifetime and after your death, it’s important to have an estate plan in place. Take a look at the following estate planning don’ts for advice on what not to do when creating your estate planDon’t put off your planning! Many people put off planning because they are fearful of the process, they think they don’t need planning, or they are busy and … [Read more...]
Who Needs A Power of Attorney?
While almost anyone can create and use a power of attorney, not everyone needs to grant an agent to handle their affairs. However, you can always create a power of attorney that will take effect in the event it is needed. If you are a person in any of the following categories, you should talk to your estate planning attorney to create a power of attorney.Seniors. Aging often requires us to give others the ability to help us manage your affairs. Your estate plan should includedifferent … [Read more...]
Trustors, Trustees and Beneficiaries – The Same Person?
A trust creates a special relationship between people and property that the trust owns. The person who created the trust, called the trustor, transfers ownership of his or her property to the trust as the new owner. Trustors are also sometimes referred to as settlors and trust makers. The trustor also states who shall receive the benefit of that property, a person known as a beneficiary, and who shall manage the property for the trust, known as the trustee. But can a trustor also be a … [Read more...]
Can Life Insurance Be Paid to a Trust?
Life insurance is often an integral part of both financial planning and estate planning. This is particularly true when you are young and just getting started in life. At that time, life insurance can provide the financial security you have yet to establish through working, saving, and investing. Later on in life, however, life insurance may still play an important role in your estate plan as a way to fund a trust. Let's see how life insurance can be paid into a trust. How Does Life Insurance … [Read more...]
Do You Have to Go through Probate with a Living Trust?
Estate planning typically involves trying to achieve numerous goals and objectives in one comprehensive plan. One of the more common estate planning goals is probate avoidance. There are several things you can do within your estate plan to help you avoid probate. Using a living trust to distribute the majority of your estate is one way to help your estate avoid probate. What Is Probate? The estate you leave behind includes both real and personal property as well as both tangible and intangible … [Read more...]
Top 3 Reasons to Create a Living Trust
Although a Last Will and Testament remains the most common estate planning document, a living trust is not far behind in popularity. One reason living trusts are so commonly included in an estate plan is the flexible nature of a trust. The Sacramento living trust attorneys at the Northern California Center for Estate Planning & Elder Law discuss the top three reasons to create a living trust for your estate plan. What Is a Living Trust? The general concept behind a trust is rather simple. … [Read more...]
