Whether you are approaching retirement or already in it, this stage calls for a fresh look at your estate plan and timely adjustments that match your next chapter.
A well-designed estate plan can help anticipate and mitigate these risks by providing structure, guidance, and protection around inherited wealth.
As the child who was not cut out of the estate plan, you may find yourself in an especially delicate spot, particularly if your parent named you as the executor (also called a personal representative) or trustee in their estate plan.
Among the numerous types of trusts aimed at fulfilling different estate planning purposes, an inheritor’s trust is specially designed to help protect an inheritance.
You have decided to meet with an estate planning attorney to get your affairs in order and ensure that your loved ones are protected. Now that you have scheduled the appointment, it is time to get yourself organized and prepare for the first meeting.
A comprehensive estate plan is also meant to positively impact your life by planning for and providing necessary protections while you are still around to reap the benefits.
If you and your partner choose not to marry, you must have an estate plan tailored to your individual situation. Without an estate plan, your partner generally has no legal authority to make decisions for you if you become injured or incapacitated (unable to manage your own affairs) or to inherit from you when you pass away.
Since creating your estate plan, have you thought about updating it? If you are like most people, probably not.
State-level estate and inheritance taxes (often referred to collectively as death taxes) can significantly impact how much ultimately passes to a person’s loved ones, making it essential to understand state death tax rules when creating a comprehensive estate plan.
Many people think that owning property jointly allows them to avoid probate completely. Probate is the court process of transferring a person’s solely owned accounts and property that has no beneficiaries when the person dies to their heirs-at-law. While joint property ownership avoids the probate process when the first owner passes away, it does not guarantee that probate will be avoided forever.Many people think that owning property jointly allows them to avoid probate completely. While joint property ownership avoids the probate process when the first owner passes away, it does not guarantee that probate will be avoided forever.