Category: Trusts
“Many baby boomers may hesitate to discuss money with their children, but the reality is that a massive amount of wealth will be transferred in the next couple of decades.” Some $68 trillion will move between generations in the next two decades, reports U.S. News & World Report in the article “Discuss Your Estate Plan […]
“Some people are concerned that the new conservative 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court will roll back protections for non-traditional families. Regardless of the decisions at the Supreme Court, or the impact on the state family courts, there are many ways that non-traditional families can maintain control.” Today’s non-traditional family are not just LGBTQ couples, […]
“By definition, a Will accounts for a person’s wishes of how their assets and estate should be distributed and handled once they die. It spells out who should get what and who should do what, after the benefactor’s demise.” A last will and testament is used to point out the beneficiaries and trustees and the […]
“Avoiding probate usually is the main appeal for living trusts. Trusts also can provide a gentler transition, if the grantor becomes incapacitated.” Any trust created while the person, known as the “grantor,” is living, is known as a “living trust.” However, the term is also used interchangeably with “revocable trusts,” which can be changed according […]
“Everyone, regardless of financial status or age, can benefit from having an estate plan—assuming you have assets to leave and people to leave them to.” Estate planning is not just about making a will, nor is it just for people who live in mansions. Estate planning is best described in the title of this article […]
“If you don’t also fund it, unexpected things can happen and some of those things may not reflect the intent to the grantor.” Thinking you have divided assets equally between children by creating a trust that names all as equal heirs while placing only one child’s name on other assets is not an equally divided […]
“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 […]
“A majority of retirees—53%—have a last will and testament. However, most lack six other crucial legal documents.” You might think that the coronavirus pandemic has caused everyone to get their estate planning documents in order, but the 20th annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Retirees found that 30% of all retirees have nothing prepared—not even a […]
“Many people plan their estates diligently, with input from legal, tax and financial professionals. Others plan earnestly but make mistakes that can potentially affect both the transfer and destiny of family wealth.” Estate planning for any sized estate is an important responsibility to loved ones. Done correctly, it can help families flourish over generations, control […]
