Estate planning critical to protect the living
By Carl Edwards
Half of all Americans with children do not have a legal will, according to a survey done by the legal service RocketLawyer.
While the survey was conducted in 2012, the attitudes Americans have on inheritance and legacy matters seems to remain the same through the years, individuals would rather focus on the here and now.
These parents love their children, and I think the concept of dying and not being there for their children is simply not an option they consider. Many of these folks are young and still in their prime earning years.
More surprisingly, however, is that fact that 41 percent of baby boomers age 55 to 64 do not have a will.
The time to plan for your financial legacy is now. Here are suggestions on how to move forward:
• Documentation is vital; sort out your will ASAP. A will is the most basic estate planning document; it tells the world exactly where you want your assets distributed when you die. While you’re not legally required to have a certified professional create a will, you should strongly consider one. These documents may be contested by people who are unhappy with the decisions you made. You deserve the peace of mind in knowing that your life’s economic work and other wishes will be executed as specified, and your family will be grateful to you for not leaving them with the headache of trying to sort out your estate. Other crucial documents include your living will, power of attorney, durable power of attorney (including for health care), joint ownership and living trust.
• Utilize executors and gifts effectively in your estate. Real property, financial investments, cash and personal possessions encompass the financial assets that you own. Once you have identified specific gifts you would like to distribute, you can apportion the rest of your estate in equal shares among your heirs, or you can split it into percentages. For example, you may decide to give 45 percent each to two children and the remaining 10 percent to a sibling. Choose your executor, the person responsible for carrying out the wishes outlined in the will, wisely.
• Consider an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust. Many individuals think of the income tax free benefits that may be had from life insurance, but they never realize that the same life insurance may push them into estate tax nightmares. An irrevocable life insurance trust can be established to assist you in passing your estate to your heirs without the surprise attack of life insurance that gets eaten by unexpected estate or inheritance taxes.
You don’t have to be super-rich to benefit from a tactful and ongoing approach to estate management.
• Trusts can be another powerful estate management tool. A trust is a legal entity that can own property. Properly structured trusts completely avoid probate and avoid the delays and expense that often accompany probate. Trusts are not a matter of public record. They’re a tool for maintaining privacy. And, even after your death, trusts can provide some measure of control over how assets are distributed to children and other beneficiaries. In addition, trusts are much more difficult to contest than a will.
Carl Edwards is a chartered financial consultant.
Any body here local have any suggestions who to use to make a will up at reasonable costs?
michael lee, I don’t know of many lawyers personally, and I believe , and don’t take offense, but I feel thats a good thing! As far as I can tell there are bunches in the phone book, so shop around.
Some good, some not so good. On the Nevada side Mr. Bill Cole helped me out of a jam with a very big traffic ticket (damned ol’ Norton Commando is just too darn fast!), but he’s a good guy. Don’t know that he does wills tho. You might try Bruce Grego He’s here on So. Shore and has been around these parts for quite awhile.
I don’t have any estate planning in place for myself as of yet. I’ll get around to it one of these days ( hmmm ,yeah, right, I’ll get right on that)!. Good luck, OLS
Both Wills and other legal paperwork such as how to establish a revocable personal trust, are all easily available from various sources on the internet. Be SURE to use the forms for the State in which you are a legal resident.
Study the literature before jumping in. You may end up wanting to avoid a Will requiring probate, and want a Trust, you need to understand how it works, what NOT to put into the Trust, and many more things. You probably will want a medical directions form also.
If you want to use a lawyer for any of these things, hire one that practices in your State, and who specializes in these particular things. ANY lawyer can easily press a button on his computer and have his laser printer crank out the forms, and he can fill them out during a conference with you, which is not cheap. On the other hand, these are serious documents, and the best thing is to go about it methodically and carefully, with full understanding of what you are doing.
and it can be very tricky if you dont fund the revocable trust correctly, if you have lots of assests like home, iras, pensions ect use a good trust attorney or it may come back to bit you in the a**.
Check with the state bar rederral for a good one that specializes in this. Good luck
For anyone interested in having estate planning documents drafted there are two attorneys in town, to my knowledge, that focus primarily on estate planning: Myself and Joe Tillson. I believe Ron Alling also focuses on estate planning but I am unsure if he practices solely in Nevada or if he takes on clients in California as well. My website is http://www.legaltahoe.com, and either of the aforementioned attorneys can also be found through a simple google search. Hope this helped!
Legal Shield does both wills and trusts at a very reasonable fee, attorney prepared. Take a look: joannconner.legalshieldassociate.com
Parasites.
Wow. Looks like the pot’s calling the kettle.
Why parasites, this person was asking for a referral and the attorney gave his contact numberas well as names to others that specialize in this in the area. the person can then interveiw the attoneys and make a choice on who he wants. this could be very important as well as save his family alot of heartache if something(god forbid) happens to him.
Tyler Fair did a great job for our family, very thoughtfull and professional, quick too!
‘Wow. Looks like the pot’s calling the kettle.’
How so?
Explain the dog logic.
LegalZoom.com will give you a pretty good idea. I think $250. covers most of what you’ll need. You can add more if you want.