Estate planning is more than a set-it-and-forget-it task. It requires ongoing attention to ensure that the plan continues to meet your goals, aligns with current laws, and reflects your changing financial and personal situations.
Trusts are bounded solely by your imagination and tax law. There is a tremendous amount of truth to that statement as trusts can be designed to do almost anything.
As the world goes increasingly digital, many of us have amassed sometimes large collections of non-physical assets such as digital photos, music, movies, eBooks, cryptocurrencies and more on our computers, smartphones, portable media players, hard drives and other devices. Although they are in an electronic format, these assets often have personal or financial value, which can make them part of your estate. And that means they should be included in your estate planning.
This checklist was created to help you organize your affairs. Your individual situation will dictate other items which may need to be addressed. We suggest discussing your plans with the executor of your will as well as consulting with your legal, financial, and tax advisors. The time to get these professionals involved is before an event occurs – plan ahead. If you wait, chances are the lack of preparation may cost you and your heirs more money, time, and frustration.
A beneficiary designation states to whom your assets will pass after your death. These types of designations are assigned to specific assets. For example, your employer’s 401k plan will have a beneficiary designation, which is separate from your personal IRA.
Talking with your children about disability and/or death can be a difficult task for most people. Parents spend the better part of their financial lives working, saving and planning only to end up avoiding proper communication and planning with their children on the topic of death. Parents often do not discuss their estate plans with adult children out of fear that this will only cause tension and improper incentives. But in my experience as an attorney and financial advisor, the most successful planning results come from good communication.
I’m often asked this question: “With the federal estate tax exemption amounts being so high, do I really need an estate plan?” The answer I give is “Absolutely yes!”
With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, many high-net-worth individuals breathed a sigh of relief, especially because of the provision that significantly raised the estate tax exemption ($12.92 million per individual for 2023).
The areas of trust planning and trust creation are vast and limited only by the imagination of the trust-makers, their attorney and the law.
The trustee acts as the legal owner of trust assets and is responsible for handling any of the assets held in trust, filing taxes for the trust and distributing the assets according to the terms of the trust.
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