What is an Estate Plan?
An Estate Plan has a lasting effect on you and your family. What you do now affects what they may have after you die and who can make decisions for you if you are unable to make your own decisions. Your plan may include one or more of these: Will; Advance Medical Directive (“Living Will”); and Durable Power Of Attorney for Health Care. You must plan carefully and that requires you think about your situation, family, and desires. Do so now while you have the time to reflect.
Estate plans are comprehensive strategies that allow an individual to determine how his or her estate will function in the event that the estate owner is no longer capable of making decisions regarding the management of assets associated with the estate. While many people assume that estate planning is all about the distribution of assets after the death of the estate owner, that is not always the case. A truly complete estate plan will also provide a strategy for estate management in the event that the owner is incapacitated by injury or illness and is no longer competent to manage his or her assets. At the heart of a basic estate plan is the determination of how the assets and belongings of the owner will be distributed at the time of death. To this end, a will can be seen as the foundation of this segment of the planning, as that document usually lays the foundation for disbursements of cash and transfer of property and stock holdings to beneficiaries. However, a will may also make
By Angie Epting Morris, Author of THE SETTLEMENT GAME: How to Settle an Estate Peacefully and Fairly. There are many misunderstandings about Estate Plans and who should have them. Many people think that an estate means a large tract of land and great wealth and extensive personal property that is very valuable, such as vintage antiques and collectibles. Although this can be true, ‘estate’ does not mean the same to everyone. In a recent version of Webster’s Dictionary, there are three definitions for the word estate: 1) a condition or stage of life; 2) property; possessions; and 3) a large individually owned piece of land containing a residence. Although definition number 3 hints at this description, the other two have nothing to do with “a large tract of land”. Definition 3 names ‘a residence’, but it does not indicate the type. According to definition 3, an estate could actually be a one-room shack sitting on very little land. According to these definitions, an estate can mean simply
An estate plan is a systematic plan for the accumulation, conservation and distribution of an estate. A good estate plan minimizes taxes and accomplishes the owner s goals efficiently and effectively. When the owner dies, the estate plan distributes the estate with minimum administrative costs. The sooner an estate plan is made, the more effective it can be.
