When considering creating or updating your estate plan in 2020, 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...]
Your Estate Plan: Get It Into a Writing or Else
Your estate plan must be in writing to be legally valid; conversations with your spouse or other family members are not enough. Without written directions and authorization, family discord and upset may result and your wishes may not be followed. Don’t Want to be Hooked to Life Support Machines, Put it in Writing in an Advance Health Care Directive For example, Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman kept on life support for 15 years, had reportedly told her husband that she didn’t want to be … [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 Need Life Insurance?
Periodically, sit down and reevaluate your need for life insurance. It’s often an essential part of an estate plan. Life insurance can be used to: Replace income Fund a business buy – sell agreement Create an estate Pay federal estate taxes Equalize an estate Provide an inheritance for a child not in the family business General life insurance tips: Only pay premiums that won’t take food off your table. If you are insurance poor, you’ll end up dropping it. Term … [Read more...]
If You’re in a Second Marriage, It is Important to Plan to Protect Your Children
If you’re in a blended family, such as a second marriage with children from a previous relationship, you can do much to keep the peace in your family with your estate plan. One way to keep the peace, using your estate plan, is to specifically consider and plan for your children. This could include not making your children wait until your second spouse dies before they will inherit. Waiting and putting the children second may cause hurt feelings and a breakdown of relationships that you’ve … [Read more...]
A Role for Life Insurance in an Estate Plan
When creating your estate plan, you will not only have to decide how your assets will be distributed, you will also need to make sure that your loved ones are always protected by having enough assets including, perhaps, life insurance. We’ve outlined information below to help you better understand the importance of life insurance. If you have any questions, or if you’d like to make sure that you have enough life insurance coverage, contact a qualified and experienced estate planning … [Read more...]
My Daughter’s 24; Does She Need Life Insurance?
It’s wise and prudent to examine the need for life insurance, even if your daughter is only 24. If a tragedy such as death would strike, there are likely final arrangement expenses which average about $7,000, last bills, credit card bills, lease obligations, car payments, and utilities to be paid. In addition, if your daughter has a child or children, mortgage, or spouse, the need for life insurance is greatly increased. In general, life insurance is used to create an estate, pay last … [Read more...]
Insurance and Estate Planning
A complete estate plan involves a variety of tools and options, and no two plans are identical. For many people, insurance is an extremely important part of their plans. There are several different types of insurance you may want to incorporate into your own estate plan, but there are several that are commonly used by many people. Life Insurance There are two basic types of life insurance: term and whole. Term life insurance is something you buy every year. Its costs tend to get higher the … [Read more...]
Why Your Former Spouse May Still Receive Your Life Insurance Benefits
Believe it or not, your former spouse may still receive your life insurance benefits, instead of your current spouse, when you die. Although the idea that someone you divorced years ago might receive your life insurance benefits, instead of the person to whom you are currently married, seems rather nonsensical, the law does not always adhere to common sense. Why does this occur? When a couple gets divorced there are a great many thoughts and turbulent emotions swirling around in one’s head, as … [Read more...]
Probate Basics: Some Considerations
Question 1: What is Probate? Probate is legal process through which a deceased person’s property must proceed before a new legal owner can be identified. Probate is designed to evaluate what a deceased person owned, as well as what kind of debts the person had. The property the person owned is used to pay off the debts, and anything left over is distributed to his or her inheritors. Question 2: Does all a Person’s Property go Through Probate? No. Some property is specifically exempt from … [Read more...]
