Category: Trustee
“The trust is a very useful and flexible tool for estate planning, yet it is probably the most underused estate management technique. A trust is an artificial entity, something like a corporation, created by a document or instrument.” There are four elements to a trust, as described in this recent article “Trust as an Estate […]
“Early in 2021, you should communicate with your advisers and review several items about your 2020 planning, if that planning is to have any likelihood of succeeding.” If you reviewed or created your estate plan in 2020, you are ahead of most Americans, but you’re not done yet. If you created a trust, gave gifts […]
“An applicable multi-beneficiary trust can solve some–but not all–of the challenges that the new act presents.” The SECURE Act eliminated the life expectancy payout for inherited IRAs for most people, but it also preserved the life expectancy option for five classes of eligible beneficiaries, referred to as “EDBs” in a recent article from Morningstar.com titled […]
“Done right by a lawyer, your heirs can avoid the expense and time of probating your will and may save on estate taxes, while easing the administration of your affairs while alive and after you have gone.” Trusts are used to solve problems in estate planning, giving great flexibility in how assets are divided after […]
“In a nutshell, an estate plan encompasses the accumulation, conservation and distribution of an estate. Done well, it will enhance and maintain the financial security of the next generation.” Having a well-prepared estate plan means that you have a plan in place to distribute your home, assets and possessions. However, the estate plan does more, […]
“Death and taxes may be certainties of life, but how much tax your family pays upon your death is still within your control to a certain degree.” Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, or “ILITs” are life insurance policies owned by irrevocable trusts used to manage taxes on estates. There are complexities to using an ILIT, but […]
“Estate planning generally focuses primarily on lifetime protection and post-death distribution of assets. Special needs planning focuses primarily on the individual beneficiary’s lifestyle and care needs.” Special needs planning is far more detailed than estate planning, although both require regular reviews and updates to be effective. For creating a wholly new plan or reviewing an […]
“A trustee is a manager of assets in a trust. The grantor creates the trust and appoints the trustee. A trustee has a ‘fiduciary duty’ to serve the grantor and not benefit personally.” Before accepting the role of a trustee, it is important to have a thorough understanding of what you will need to do […]
“When dealing with the emotional pain of the loss of a loved one, family members also have to address daunting administrative tasks.” For most families, the process of estate administration or the probate of a will starts weeks after the death of a loved one. However, before that time, there are certain steps that need […]
“The Covid-19 has produced a rise in estate planning…but not a large enough one. Most Americans still do not have a last will and testament.” It’s true—many people still believe that they don’t have enough assets so they don’t need a will, or that their money will automatically go to a next of kin. Both […]
