Why Do Estate Planning?
How can estate planning benefit me? The Frequently Asked Questions on this Estate Planning page covers the essential basic estate planning considerations and documents everyone ought to know about, in an easy to read format. Our Elder Law Page provides additional helpful information, particularly with regard to the needs of senior citizens. In addition, for your convenience, we’ve assembled a list of senior care facilities, along with a list of helpful links to other web sites. You can eliminate or reduce much of the stress that a crisis produces by being prepared. Preparation allows others to know and implement your wishes more effectively, and avoids stress and squabbling among those who want to help. Protecting one s assets and providing for loved ones requires planning and understanding of how the law works.
Heirs are placed in a situation of having to liquidate assets (homes, businesses, etc.) to pay for the expenses of processing the estate. Selling assets in duress typically leads to having to take a lower price than the actual value of the asset to access the needed funds quickly. Simply put, we can assist you with your estate planning to protect your family from losing the financial stability that you have worked so hard to attain for them. Estate taxes can cost as much as 55% of your estate. You spend a lifetime amassing a legacy for your children, charity, or cause that more than half can be lost to the IRS. Life insurance might cost more at a later age but this does not compare to the cost of estate taxes. But, there’s good news because this doesn’t have to happen. Using the opportunity of life insurance, you can essentially discount your estate tax costs by a full 90%. You can even increase your exemptions to the extent where you have virtually no tax exposure at all.
The primary purpose of estate planning is to ensure that one’s assets are available to care for beneficiaries – usually a spouse or family members. While minimizing estate taxes and administration costs are important goals, many individuals are more interested in the direction and timing of their estate transfer, and who will control it. Others are concerned about family values, and teaching their children to manage wealth responsibly. Regardless of one’s objectives, it is important to understand that even the best estate planning is completely useless if it is never implemented — so above all, the process should be simplified and managed so that it can be completed.
• To distribute your assets • To eliminate or reduce federal and state estate taxes • To avoid unnecessary high costs in legal fees and taxes to your heirs • To pass on tax-free the maximum allowed assets (these figures seem to be changing yearly) • To make sure things get handled the way YOU want them to be handled What is taxable? Many of the items that are taxable can include: Life Insurance, IRA and other Retirement benefits, Investments, Bank Accounts, Personal Property, Collectibles, your business, your home, and other real estate. What do I need? Some of the things you will want to look into, research, and ask about are: • Durable Powers of Attorney this document transfers authority to another TRUSTED person to manage your finances. • Health Care Powers of Attorney this document gives someone legal authority to act on your behalf with regard to your health care. • Living Will this document will provide instructions as to the type of medical treatment that you prefer. • Will a do
