What is estate planning?
Estate planning is the process of identifying how you would like your assets and your affairs maintained (including the designation of guardians for minor children) in the event of your incapacity or death. The issues addressed in a comprehensive estate plan are incapacity protection, probate avoidance and distribution planning. Depending upon the value of your estate, estate tax planning may also be incorporated into your arrangements.
Estate planning is a written expression of how you want your assets to be owned, managed, and preserved during your lifetime as well as how you want those assets distributed upon your death. Estate planning can involve the use of several different documents to achieve your goals, including Powers of Attorney for Pproperty and Hhealth Ccare, Trust Agreements, Marital Property Agreements, and a Will. These documents are explained further in more detail in other FAQs. Estate planning may cover many areas including wWills, trusts, financial planning, insurance, accounting, business continuation, and estate, gift and income taxes. Often, the needed skills and knowledge are available by bringing together an Estate Planning Team. The various members of your chosen team can then work closely with you to preserve your estate and pass it on to your heirs with the least amount of expense and aggravation.
Estate planning is the creation of a definite plan for managing your wealth while you’re alive and distributing your assets after your death. When we talk about an estate, we mean all assets of any value that you own, including real property, business interests, investments, insurance proceeds, personal property and even your personal effects. These assets may be owned by you separately or jointly with others. Below are some examples of how married couples often hold title to property: • Separate Property: Entire interest owned by one of the spouses. Property was generally acquired prior to marriage or was a gift or inheritance to one spouse alone after the marriage. • Joint Tenancy: Individual interest owned by any two or more people in which the survivor acquires the entire interest upon the death of the other joint tenants.
A. Estate planning is the preservation and the distribution of your assets, both during your life and upon your death. It is accomplishing your personal and family goals and easing the management of your financial and legal affairs, as well as minimizing taxes if your estate is large enough for taxes to be of concern. An “estate plan,” generally, refers to the means by which your estate is passed on to your loved ones on your death. Estate planning can be accomplished through a variety of methods, including: • Revocable Living Trusts • Last Will and Testament / Probate • Lifetime Gifting • Joint Ownership • Beneficiary Designations • Life Estates Problems often arise when people don’t coordinate all of these methods of passing on their estate. To take just one example, a father’s will may say that everything should be equally divided among his children, but if the father creates a joint account with only one of the children “for the sake of convenience,” there could be a fight about wh
