Your Estate Planning Checklist for 2021
Early in 2021, you should communicate with your advisers and review several items about your 2020 planning, if that planning is to have any likelihood of succeeding.
What Kind of Estate Planning Do I Need During the Pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a nightmare for many people, and inadequate estate planning can exacerbate the pain.
SECURE Act has Changed Special Needs Planning
An applicable multi-beneficiary trust can solve some--but not all--of the challenges that the new act presents.
What Do I Need to Know about Gift-Giving with the Biden Administration?
Gifting sounds pretty simple, but there are many ways to do it, and several tax ramifications to be aware of as well.
Trusts Make Sense Even When You Aren’t a Billionaire
Done right by a lawyer, your heirs can avoid the expense and time of probating your will and may save on estate taxes, while easing the administration of your affairs while alive and after you have gone.
Do You Know Your Job as Executor, Agent or Trustee?
Has a family member or close friend asked you to serve as their executor, trustee or power of attorney? If you accepted the responsibility, do you know what this entails? Have you been given a copy of the documents you were named under? Do you know when you would begin serving in these roles? These are all important questions to ask or consider.
No Time Like the Present Pandemic to Get the Estate Plan Going
There’s nothing like a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic to focus one’s thinking. This year has been one for the books.
Special Needs Plans Need Regular Reviews to Protect Loved Ones
Estate planning generally focuses primarily on lifetime protection and post-death distribution of assets. Special needs planning focuses primarily on the individual beneficiary’s lifestyle and care needs.
What Key Estate Planning Terms Should I Know?
Estate planning is an incredibly important tool, not just for the uber wealthy or those thinking about retirement. On the contrary, estate planning is something every adult should do.
Can I Leave My Pet Some of My Estate?
In addition to writing wills, Minnesotans are now setting up trusts to care for pets, ranging from dogs and horses to parrots and raccoons.