Estate Planning:
Do you wish to leave a legacy? Would you like to establish a charitable foundation in your name at passing? Would you like your grandchildren’s college education to be fully paid for? Have you setup your business to transfer to your partner at your passing and to compensate your spouse properly? Is your former spouse still your beneficiary on your life insurance or IRA? How is your house titled?
All of these questions fall into the realm of estate planning. While discussing your passing may not be the easiest conversation, planning properly can make a tremendous difference knowing that your wishes will be met and that the impact of taxes has been mitigated.
What is estate planning?
Estate planning covers everything from beneficiaries on life insurance to the passing of the title of your home. When your estate planning is in order, your needs and desires for the transfer have been established to minimize the impact of income and estate taxation and to maximize the amount received by your designated heirs. In advanced estate planning, there are often several options on how to achieve a desired result, with the options offering several plusses and minuses. Understanding and determining which one will best suit your needs is the job of you, your financial planner, and your estate attorney.
Who needs estate planning?
There are fundamental pieces of estate planning that every person should have. For example, a health care proxy is a common aspect of estate preparation. It is important to have a designated person that understands your desires and views when making medical decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated. Making sure your children cannot spend your life’s savings at their age of majority may also be an important part of your will that may have been overlooked. Therefore, it is clearly our view that estate planning should be an important component of everyone’s situation.
