As you go through life, you need to make sure that you have a valid and comprehensive estate plan in place. An estate plan will allow you to live your life with less stress, and can ensure that your affairs are in order, no matter what. Take a look at the 5 questions below to ask yourself about your estate plan. Do you have a will or trust in place? If you’re just beginning your planning, you may not have a will or trust. These are fundamental planning tools. You can appoint a … [Read more...]
Information From A Living Trust Lawyer Sacramento Area Residents Can Use
Many clients create a living trust as a way to avoid the time and cost of probate. Every state has its own probate laws which establish the requirements for creating living trusts in order to ensure they are valid. If you are considering including a living trust in your estate plan, then you need to first understand how a living trust works. Here is some information from a living trust lawyer Sacramento residents can use. What is a living trust? A "living trust" is a special type of trust that … [Read more...]
Why Do I Need an Estate Planning Attorney?
We live in very different times than we lived in decades ago. These days, you can simply ask your smart phone any question, and it will provide you with an answer instantly.The Internet has changed everything as well. There are many different do-it-yourself resources that you can access online, and boilerplate legal documents can be purchased and downloaded. This can make you wonder why you would ever need an estate planning attorney to devise your plan.Before you decide that you can … [Read more...]
Why Estate Planning Attorneys Like What They Do
Some people are surprised to find out that a lot of estate planning attorneys love going to work every day. This fact can strike people as, at best, counterintuitive, and at worst, downright strange. After all, don’t estate planning lawyers routinely deal with issues like incapacitation, sickness, aging, and death? What’s so rewarding about spending all day thinking about some of the most morbid and depressing topics a person can face?While it might not initially appear so to those looking in … [Read more...]
If You’re Getting Remarried, Consider Your Estate Plan Carefully
If you’ve been divorced and are considering remarriage, you’ll want to take some time to carefully consider the implications remarriage will have on your estate plan. Whether you have yet to develop an estate plan or have already created one, there are several issues you will need to think about.Blended InheritancesGetting remarried means that both you and your new spouse mayy automatically have the right to inherit from one another if the other should die. This inheritance can have a … [Read more...]
Updating or Fixing Your Estate Plan
If you have already put together an estate plan there are many reasons why it may be time for you to reevaluate that plan and make some changes. You may be wondering why you would need to update your estate plan, which is a valid question. The answer is that the composition of family’s change, laws change, and one’s financial status or outlook on the transfer of wealth may change – all of which may give rise to problems that need to be fixed.During one's lifetime, most wills and trusts are … [Read more...]
Three Considerations When Deciding About Amending A Trust
Question 1: Can I change my revocable living trust? What about an irrevocable trust?Anyone who creates a revocable living trust, known as a trustor, can change the terms of that trust at any time as long as he or she is mentally capable. You cannot change the terms of your trust after you die by, for example, dictating the amendment through your last will and testament. Also, if you created the revocable living trust jointly with a spouse, both you and your spouse will have to agree to any … [Read more...]
Getting Started in Estate Planning – The First Meeting with Your Attorney
If you have made the decision to stop delaying and create an estate plan, congratulations. You've taken a step that most people will never take and one which will greatly help you and your family. Now that you have made the choice, you can help your estate planning attorney a great deal by taking some time to get prepared for your first meeting. There are specific documents you can bring to your first meeting with your lawyer, as well as questions you can start thinking about now so your … [Read more...]
Minimizing the "Death Tax"
Effective estate planning can help you to minimize or completely avoid the federal estate tax, sometimes referred to as the "death tax". California presently does not have a state estate tax. Some professionals call the estate tax a “voluntary” tax because you only volunteer to pay it if you don’t sufficiently plan.You can avoid estate tax by:Creating a life insurance trust (ILIT) to own life insurance policies on your life. If you don’t own it, it’s not taxed at your death. Gifting … [Read more...]
Minimizing the "Death Tax"
Effective estate planning can help you to minimize or completely avoid the federal estate tax, sometimes referred to as the "death tax". California presently does not have a state estate tax. Some professionals call the estate tax a “voluntary” tax because you only volunteer to pay it if you don’t sufficiently plan.You can avoid estate tax by:Creating a life insurance trust (ILIT) to own life insurance policies on your life. If you don’t own it, it’s not taxed at your death. Gifting … [Read more...]
