Estate Planning

Estate Planning is the process of determining how your wealth and assets should be transferred to the heirs of your choice: your children, grandchildren, friends, families, charitable causes, etc. and then deciding which legal tools and structures to use to best meet your estate planning goals.

Estate planning is not simply reducing or eliminating taxes and avoiding probate.  Only after establishing how you want your estate’s assets to be distributed should you consider ways to reduce taxes and avoid probate. From there, good estate plans deal with a host of other issues. Now, with all but a few estates exempt from the federal estate tax, those other issues are, or should be, at the forefront of estate planning.

An estate plan is to ensure that you are taken care of the rest of your life and that your wealth is transferred to the people you want to have it. A good estate plan ensures these goals are accomplished with as much efficiency and as little cost as possible. An estate plan addresses the management and distribution of an individual’s property and financial obligations after he or she dies with financial tools such as wills, revocable living trusts and power of attorney.

For a comprehensive overview of Estate Planning, please start with our article:

• What is Estate Planning – A Comprehensive Overview

Estate Planning Mistakes

Avoiding the Most Common Causes of Failed Estate Planning

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

Many estate plans end in failure, and most of those failures were preventable. Estate planners know that many plans don’t produce the results the owners intended. The failures usually don’t spring from the tax strategies or language in the will. The failures most often result from the human side, or soft side, of estate planning. […]

Estate Tax

Should Estate Planning Ever Be Put On Hold Because of Potential Estate Tax Changes?

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

Tax reform proposals slowly are being developed in Congress, including changes in the estate tax. People are asking, “Should I delay my Estate Planning until the new law is clear?” We’ve been down this road before, and the answer is: You shouldn’t delay. Congress is looking at changing only the federal estate and gift taxes, […]

Estate Planning Checklist, Estate Planning Strategies

Should You Put Your Estate Planning Strategy On Hold? (8-Point Checklist)

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

Tax reform proposals are slowly being developed in Congress, including changes in the estate tax. People are asking, “Should I delay my estate planning until the new law is clear?” We’ve been down this road before, and the answer is: You shouldn’t delay. Congress is looking at changing only the federal estate and gift taxes, […]

Executors and Trustees, Heirs, Beneficiaries, and Children

Managing the Beneficiaries, Heirs, Trustees, and Executors in Your Estate Planning Process

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

There’s a time bomb ticking in many estate plans. You likely won’t know if the bomb explodes. The bombs explode in many estates, however, and the only question is how big the explosion will be. The “bomb” is the person, or people, you name to act for you. Whether they act during your lifetime or […]