When considering creating or updating your estate plan in 2019, you will want to make sure that you consider all of your planning needs. This will ensure that you have a proper plan that will protect you during all of life’s unexpected events. The information below will explain more about your needs. In this second installment about estate planning considerations, we address additional issues often overlooked in many estate plans. If you have any questions about the information below, or if … [Read more...]
Estate Planning Considerations Entering the New Year (part 1 of 2)
As we approach the New Year, many folks include among their resolutions creating or updating their estate plans. What is often not appreciated are the number of issues that should be considered and addressed in one's estate plan. It’s important to take time to handle these issues so that you’re protected throughout your lifetime as well as after you die. Many people don’t take the time to fully think about their individual estate planning needs. Take a look at the information below to … [Read more...]
The importance of reviewing your IRA Beneficiary Designations
Whether you realize it or not, you have a beneficiary designation on your IRAs (i.e. individual retirement accounts.) It would be prudent for you to check the beneficiary designations to ensure that they are in line with your current intent, goals, and estate planning documents. Stretch out goals IRAs make great inheritances for children and grandchildren who, with proper planning, can stretch the IRA distributions out over their life expectancy. The tax deferred growth is amazing and … [Read more...]
Estate Planning Q and A: Part II of III
One of the best parts of an estate planning attorney’s job is answering client questions. It’s an essential part of the estate planning process so we’ve outlined some of your questions below. This is part II in our three part estate planning question series. Do I have to leave my children an inheritance? No, even minor children are not legally entitled to an inheritance. Many would argue that there is a moral obligation to leave funds for the care of minor children. If you choose not … [Read more...]
Don’t Forget Beneficiary Designations When Creating Your Estate Plan
When handling your estate planning affairs, it can be easy to forget to check your beneficiary designations. You may have designated beneficiaries for your retirement account and life insurance policies a long time ago. Do you know who will be getting these assets after your death? Take a look at the following information to better understand this planning need. If you have any questions, or if you’d like to review your beneficiary designations, contact an estate planning attorney. When … [Read more...]
Protecting Your Beneficiaries . . . From Themselves
Experts tell us that we are on the verge of the greatest transfer of wealth the United States has ever seen. If you are on the gifting end of those transfers you need to consider the question “Will your beneficiaries blow their inheritance?” Unfortunately, experts also estimate that at least one-third of the recipients of the coming wealth transfer will indeed do just that – blow their inheritance. What can you do to protect the inheritance you leave behind? The single most important step you … [Read more...]
The Government Will Not Inherit Your Property – 3 Facts About Escheat
There are several myths and misconceptions surrounding estate planning that sometimes pop up. For example, some people believe that the state of California will inherit your property if you don't make a will or create some kind of estate plan. While this is possible, it is very rare. The process through which the state inherits someone's property is called escheat. Let's take a look at it and why it rarely happens. You can choose who inherits your property. In order to pass on your property … [Read more...]
Do All Estates Have to Go Through Probate?
If you have recently suffered the loss of a family member or loved one, you may be concerned about the legal steps required to probate the decedent’s estate. Probate is the legal process in court by which a decedent’s estate assets are inventoried and valued, debts of the decedent are paid and assets eventually transferred to the beneficiaries or heirs of the estate. Whether or not an estate must go through probate depends on a number of factors. Wills, Trusts, and Estate matters are governed … [Read more...]
Are Pay on Death (POD) Accounts a Good Idea?
While there are some rather complicated estate planning instruments utilized to achieve certain objectives, there are some simple and straightforward ways to transfer assets to your loved ones as well. One of these would be through the utilization of payable on death (POD) or transfer on death (TOD) accounts. You can set up an account like this at banks or credit unions, and some brokerage houses will allow for transfer on death options as well. When you set up the account you name a … [Read more...]
Life Insurance's Role in an Estate Plan
Life insurance can be a powerful estate planning tool. There are several roles it can play in easing the burden of your passing on your loved ones. While many consider life insurance to simply be an income replacement when a loved one passes, there are other ways it fits into an estate plan: 1. To pay expenses while an estate is in probate. Since life insurance pays benefits to a named beneficiary, it avoids probate, and therefore the funds can be accessed more quickly than property … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »
