Regardless of whether you have been named an executor or a trustee in someone’s estate, that title comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility and quite a list of duties and tasks. If you have not been briefed on what this role may entail, then understanding estate planning basics can go a long way towards
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An increasing number of Americans are growing the bulk of their wealth through retirement accounts (such as IRAs and 401(k)s), especially as defined benefit pension plans have become increasingly rare. Few people are expecting to survive on Social Security exclusively. With this investment comes to an important question – what will you do with the
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Losing a loved one is incredibly difficult. Even in cases where we have time to prepare ourselves for the inevitable, no amount of preparation is enough. However, no matter how hard it is to think and act, some things must be taken care of after the death of a loved one. This handy to-do list
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Whether you are looking to build your legal knowledge base or create an estate plan that best suits your needs and circumstances, it is essential to know what certified estate planner types and organizations exist and are available to you and what each entity entails requires. Certified estate planner roles exist to set an industry
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Retirement can be fun; a chance to revitalize old interests, explore your passions, seek a new purpose, enjoy time with your loved ones, or dedicate yourself to something other than work. But to get to all that, you must first prepare how to get there through successful retirement planning. As pensions become increasingly rare or
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Most people have the misconception that a trust is a tool or plan reserved for the incredibly rich, built purely for tax avoidance purposes, and irrelevant for most families. Yet trusts can prove incredibly useful for everyday Americans, and may: Help your family avoid probate. Minimize the impact of state estate taxes on modest estates.
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A life insurance policy can be a flexible financial tool meant to help give your spouse, children, or other beneficiaries the financial means with which to help themselves cover costs after your death. Sometimes, life insurance policies are built into an estate plan explicitly to cover state and/or federal estate taxes when all other options
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The model of the typical family has been shifting away from the “traditional” setup since the post-war era. From married couples with children (which accounted for about 79 percent of families in 1950, but only 55 percent in 1990), to a combination of heterosexual married couples, single-parent households, same-sex households, cohabitating parents, blended families, multi-generational
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A life estate, or a lifetime estate, is a form of property ownership wherein one party is given the right of occupancy to the property for the rest of their life in the form of a transferable title (the life tenancy), while another party holds property and gains total control over it once the life
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Beneficiary designation exists for vehicles, bank accounts, and smaller properties, but they are most utilized in retirement accounts and life insurance policies. A beneficiary designation provides the basis for an immediate transfer of any assets to that beneficiary upon the original owner’s death. Beneficiary designations bypass the probate process and are subject to unique federal
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