WHO NEEDS ESTATE PLANNING?
The facts…
Estate planning isn’t about how much money you have, it’s about protecting what you have for you, during your lifetime and for those you love after you’re gone. It ensures what you have gets to the people you love, the way you want, when you want.
If you were to die today, are you comfortable everything will be taken care of the way you wanted? Estate planning is legally ensuring things will be handled the way you want by providing sufficient instructions.
Estate Planning really is for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you have $40,000 or $400,000. You still have to plan for the future. Whether it’s to name a guardian for your minor children or ensure your children don’t blow through your assets if you unexpectedly die or become disabled (Terri Schiavo case).
Estate planning can only be done by attorneys, and it can be as simple as a Will, Health Care Documents, Living Will and Power of Attorney. It can also include a revocable, probate-avoidance trust, asset protection trusts, multi-generational tax-saving trusts, tax-saving charitable trusts, private family foundations, and many other fact-specific strategies.
Keeping your Estate Plan Current…
Once completed, your estate plan should be reviewed and kept current with life events such as the birth, death, marriage or divorce of anyone included in your plan. In addition, you should review your plan if there is a significant increase or decrease in your finances or if the laws related to your estate plan change.
We offer a maintenance program that provides you regular access to us to make sure your estate plan stays current with your wishes, family, finances and law.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT…
The facts…
If you own assets in your name alone, they may pass from you to the people you love, as long as you leave a Will. Without a Will, your assets pass according to the State’s rules, also known as intestacy. The State may not pass your assets to the people you care about. You should be sure.
Also, you should know that…
- Assets will pass through your Will to your loved ones if the Will is written properly.
- You can reduce your estate tax liability by using a trust in a Will.
- You can protect the ones you love by creating a trust in your Will which can protect that person from creditors.
- You can protect you.
- It is important that you give your family the tools to help you if you cannot help yourself, your children from divorce, or you may protect your children who are not good with money, or those who have other problems, such as addiction or mental illness.
- You can protect disabled beneficiaries by creating a Supplemental Needs Trust for them, which preserves assets for the family, while keeping their eligibility for public benefits.
- Your Will must go through probate – using the courts to divide your property.
POWER OF ATTONEY
The facts…
If you become sick or disabled, either temporarily or permanently, who will make decisions for you?
- A Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone you trust to handle your affairs if you cannot do so.
- If you cannot pay bills, get records or make other decisions, your family will be prevented from helping you get treatment, pay doctors or for Medicare.
- Without a Power of Attorney, your family may have to file what is known as an Article 81 Proceeding, seeking guardianship of the disabled person. This process involves the Court, several lawyers and usually at least $4,000 to $50,000. A Power of Attorney might cost $200.
- It is important that you give your family the tools to help you if you cannot help yourself.
REVOCABLE LIVING TRUSTS…
The facts…
A trust is a contract between the Grantor (the person who creates the trust), the Trustee (one who controls the trust) and the beneficiaries (those entitled to benefit from the trust). You, as Grantor, determine how the trust will be operated by the Trustee and who benefits, how and when. You can create a trust that permits you to be Trustee and give yourself the right to receive full benefits from it. This type of trust is typically referred to as a Revocable Living Trust and is often used as a substitute to your Will. It permits you to keep total control and access to all your assets during your lifetime, and provides for the distribution of your assets to your beneficiaries at your death. We often refer to a revocable living trust as your “Book of Instructions.” A well-established advantage to Revocable Living Trusts is the avoidance of probate, which is required if you use a will to distribute your assets after death. Other advantages of Revocable Trusts, when property drafted, can include:
- Asset protection for your spouse after your death.
- Special needs planning for disabled beneficiaries.
- Asset management and protection for children who are not proficient with handling money.
- Protection of assets from a spouse’s subsequent remarriage after your death.
- Disability planning in the event you become disabled prior to death.
- Asset protection for your child if his or her marriage should fail to ensure your assets are not part of a divorce settlement.
- Keeping your affairs private (as opposed to open for public review in probate).
- No court intervention required (handled entirely by the Trustee you name in accordance with your detailed instructions).
- Plan for proper management of your business in your absence.
Very few revocable living trusts provide these benefits. Only a qualified estate planning attorney will know how to incorporate these protections into your plan. While a Revocable Living Trust has many advantages, it does not protect your assets from a nursing home, lawsuits, divorce bankruptcy or other creditors.
IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS…
The facts…
A trust is a contract between the Grantor (the person who creates the trust), the Trustee (one who controls the trust) and the beneficiaries (those entitled to benefit from the trust). You, as Grantor, determine how the trust will be operated by the Trustee and who benefits, how and when.
While a Revocable Trust permits you to maintain full control (as Trustee) and have access to all your assets (as beneficiary), an Irrevocable Trust, once created, may prohibit your right to control the trust (as Trustee) or have access to your assets, but you get to decide to what extent.
It is a common misconception that irrevocable trusts, once created, cannot be changed. While that is true of many irrevocable trusts created to avoid taxes (tax reduction or avoidance trusts), it is not true of all irrevocable trusts. An irrevocable trust is a trust you create for the benefit of yourself or others and once created, you, as Grantor, must give up your right to something.
Debtor/Creditor law provides that whatever you can get, your creditors can get. You can have known creditors (i.e., bank/credit card debt) or unknown potential creditors (unforeseen lawsuits, nursing home, and divorce). A typical income-only irrevocable trust permits you to receive the income on your assets, but you must give up your right to your principal. In some irrevocable trusts, you can retain the right to change who gets your assets during your life and after your death, and maintain 100% control of your assets until your mental disability or death (asset protection trusts).
Tax reduction/avoidance trusts are much more restrictive than asset protection trusts. Typically, you cannot retain any right to control or access any of the assets in an irrevocable tax reduction/avoidance trust. There are many irrevocable trusts available that are quite flexible and grantor-friendly. You should consult a qualified estate planning attorney to get counseled on all your options before creating an irrevocable trust.
