When people are planning for their estates there are a few often important items that they tend to overlook. Planning for an estate can be complicated. You need to take stock of all of your assets, figure out what should be done with them, and talk to an estate planning attorney to discuss the best [...]
It is important to discuss your estate plan with your family. Some people struggle over when to do that. They could consider doing so over a holiday dinner. One of the most contentious issues many people face is talking about their own deaths and their estate plans with their friends and family. These are typically [...]
Like individuals, trusts have to pay tax on any trust income. Also, like individuals, trusts can take income tax deductions for donations to charity as long as the trust is set up properly. No one really likes paying income taxes. Almost everyone will seek to pay as little as they possibly can. That holds true [...]
There are a few things that every single estate plan needs to have regardless of the exact legal instruments that you end up using as your primary estate planning tools. Estate plans can take a variety of shapes. Some estate plans are small and simple. Other estate plans are large and contain many complex legal [...]
One of the main estate planning goals of many people is to avoid having a family fight over their estates. There are very few things that can be more destructive to a family than a fight over an estate. Once the fight begins it becomes nearly impossible to regain family harmony because of the deep [...]
Relatively recent changes to federal estate tax law have made bypass trusts less popular than they used to be. However, they are still good in many circumstances. It used to be a complicated process for a married couple to get the most out of the estate tax exemption. When one spouse passed away his or [...]
One of the first things that people have to decide when they start thinking about estate plans is whether they want to use a will or a trust. Both have their advantages. If you start asking your friends and family or look on the Internet for estate planning advice, then you are likely to receive [...]
Estate planning can sometimes seem like it requires a long, complicated list of different documents. It can be helpful to break those documents down into two basic categories. Once you start planning for your estate you can quickly get bogged down trying to figure out what all of the different estate planning documents are. There [...]
Getting a formal estate plan from an attorney is not the final step to prepare for your estate. Estate planning is a lifelong process. If you have taken the important steps of going to an estate planning attorney, discussing your wishes for your estate, having the attorney craft your plans and executing those plans, congratulations. [...]
Getting an estate plan often seems more difficult than it is. If you follow a few basic rules and steps, then you can get a good estate plan with little hassle. Many people have the mistaken idea that getting an estate plan is an overly complicated process. They let this idea stop them from doing [...]