Don’t Ask Heirs to Guess What You Wanted—Have an Estate Plan
Passing away without an estate plan is a huge mistake that can tie up your estate for years in probate.
Do Name Changes Need to Be Made in Estate Planning Documents?
The fact is people’s names often change. People get married and divorced or sometimes just legally change their names.
Like Going to the Dentist, Get Your Estate Plan Ready
However, if you get no further than scribbling notes or thinking about which lawyer to hire, you risk dying “intestate”—without a will that could guide your loved ones, head off family feuds and potentially save your family thousands of dollars.
Business Succession Planning For Business Owners
A solid estate plan should include your will, a power of attorney and a trust. All of these components provide asset protection for your business while you’re alive and after your death.
Second Marriage? Make Sure Estate Plan Is Ready
The first thing to realize is that as soon as you marry, your spouse is granted certain inheritance rights under law. However, these rights of inheritance can be waived or modified by using an anti-nuptial agreement, or as its more commonly known, a pre-nuptial agreement.
Leaving a Legacy Is Not Just about Money
Leaving a legacy — sounds like something only wealthy people can do, right? It can be something like making a giant bequest to a university or passing on a significant estate to your children.
Think of Estate Planning as Stewardship for the Future
Planning is a part of our daily lives. We plan menus for the day or week; we plan vacations; we plan meetings; and the list goes on.
Here’s Why a Basic Will Doesn’t Work
However, some want you to believe that you need only purchase a form to have an effective estate plan. Using this form, you are told, can save money and — best of all — the form is valid in all 50 states.
Make Sure Your Power of Attorney Works When Needed
If you find it increasingly difficult in recent years to have your power of attorney recognized by banks and financial institutions, it might help to know some of the history behind both changes in the law and in attitude.
Are You Spending Your Children’s Inheritance?
A key financial question for retirees, is what to do with their hard-earned retirement savings. For example, some investors may find it more fulfilling to provide a college fund for grandchildren, rather than purchase a second home for themselves. The opposite can also be true, and that's okay.