There are a lot of details to take into consideration when you are planning your legacy, and the best way to address them is with the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney. Rather than being consistently confronted with a series of unanswered questions as you think things through it is much simpler and more efficient to sit down with a legacy planning professional and work through the process from an informed perspective.
Experienced estate planning attorneys know how to proceed under any circumstances and they also understand how to adjust your estate plan on an ongoing basis as changes both within your life and throughout society as a whole take place that impact your existing plan.
One of the intricacies that people often face when they are engaged in inheritance planning involves providing for minor children. There are a number of different ways to proceed, and one of them would be to create a trust and make the child the beneficiary.
You can stipulate whatever you would like to in the trust with regard to what expenditures the trust is empowered to make in behalf of the child while he or she is still a minor. The grantor could then go on to set forth the terms for distribution of assets after the child becomes a legal adult.
Some people allow for the transfer of the total lump sum when the child reaches a particular age, and others arrange for more gradual distributions. You could even choose to include incentives such as allowing for regular distributions while the beneficiary remains in college with a lump sum to follow upon graduation.
Short of creating a trust you could name a property guardian in your will or appoint a custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. At a minimum, parents of minor children must have a will where a guardian of the person of your children can be named.
Providing for minor children is an important part of many estate plans. If you would like to learn more details, simply arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Estate planning involves consideration of the time when you are incapable of making your own decisions or when you are deceased. This requires the choice of representatives to administer your estate. One of those representatives includes your trustee or personal representative. If you have a trust or will then you have selected someone to perform the hands-on tasks involved in administering your estate. This individual should possess a certain measure of business acumen to handle all of the affairs of the estate. Property will be liquidated in most cases, there will be bills to pay, and the executor will have to bring in a probate attorney and in many cases an accountant and an appraiser. It is natural for some people to automatically choose someone close to them to be a personal representative, but it is not merely a ceremonial role. The practical responsibilities that accompany this title is something to take seriously.
There may come a time when you can no longer make sound medical and financial decisions for yourself. To address this issue you should be prepared with a durable power of attorney for health care and a durable financial power of attorney. Again, you should consider your choice of representatives carefully. You don't have to select the same person to serve both roles. In many cases the best financial mind is not going to be the person that you would like to see making your medical decisions.
Choosing the people who will take care of your affairs upon your death or incapacity is an important part of the process of estate planning. Careful consideration should be given to who who would fill these important roles in your estate plan.

There are a number of misconceptions about estate planning that are simply not true. One of them involves the notion that the estate tax only applies to the "rich." First of all, how is the word "rich" being defined in this context? Multi-billionaires may easily fit this description. However, would you consider yourself rich if you and your spouse accumulated say $2 million over the course of your lives, including any inheritances you may have received? Most people would say no, but if you had an estate valued at $2 million and you took no estate planning steps your estate would be subject to approximately $550,000 in estate taxes if you died in 2013 as the laws stand right now.
Another misconception is that legal representation is too expensive to be worth it. In reality, most people are going to save far more money than they pay when they work with an estate planning attorney. This is why wise people retain legal counsel to assist with their estate planning.
Also there are common sources of asset erosion that can be avoided or minimized, such as the estate tax and probate expenses. You also would want to make sure that your wishes aren't challenged. These are only some of the many reasons why you would do well to work with an experienced estate planning attorney.
The last misconception we will address is the idea that you can establish your own estate plan using general template documents. Estate planning even for very modest estates generally involves many complex considerations that simply cannot be provided for by a form. Many estate planning issues are unique and very personal. The nuances of these types of issues can only be properly identified and addressed by an experienced estate planning attorney.
 

The last will is a document that most people are familiar with and is the most common estate planning tool. In fact, many movies have romanticized the proverbial "reading" of the last will of a deceased family member. We can all imagine a family gathered in a lawyers office as the will is read, letting each person know what they received, or did not receive, from the estate.
Most people know that there are other legal instruments that can be utilized. But a lot of them are under the impression that only people of extraordinary wealth need to step outside of the tried-and-true last will as a primary vehicle of asset transfer.
In reality, people of ordinary means may want to consider alternatives to a last will when they are making plans for the future. There are a number of reasons for this, but the most compelling one is the fact that your estate must be probated if you use a last will.
The process of probate can slow things down considerably. During this interim the probate court examines the will in an effort to determine whether or not it is valid. So, at this time interested parties who may not agree with the contents of the will could step forward and present challenges. This can result in a long and drawn out legal struggle. Just think back to the case of Anna Nicole Smith. That battle was just resolved last summer some 15 years after it began.
Probate is also a source of asset erosion. There are costs that the estate will incur while it is being probated. Depending on the size of the estate, the nature of the assets contained therein, and whether or not there are any challenges costs could reach 4-8% of the total value of the estate and in some cases even more.
Most people are not going to be fully informed when they start making plans for the future. The worst way to plan is to rely on Hollywood's representation of what an estate plan should look like. The best way to gain an understanding of how to proceed given the unique nature of your circumstances is to consult with an experienced, savvy estate planning attorney.

You find individuals who are in difficult positions sometimes pointing fingers at others who are enjoying a comfortable retirement or benefiting from an estate plan that was intelligently conceived by their loved ones. They say that these people are "lucky" and decry their own lack of such luck. But in reality, those who have no worries simply benefited from proactive, pragmatic planning. And of course they had the self-discipline to stick to the plan. It is as simple as that.
Our law firm understands this to be true and we try to educate people and encourage them to take action so that they can avoid the pitfalls that invariably accompany a lack of preparation. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of Americans ignore this advice and go through life without making important preparations for the future.
The results of a Harris telephone survey that was released at the end of 2009 shed some light on the subject. A total of 1,022 adults responded, and a mere 35% had composed a last will to elucidate their final wishes. Just 29% of the people who were interviewed said that they had a living will in place.
Merely 24% of people under 35 had executed at least one of the commonly recommended estate planning documents, and of course you would expect younger people to be less prepared. However, a surprisingly high 23% of people surveyed who were over the age of 55 had executed no estate planning documents at all.
Clearly, a lack of appropriate planning has reached epidemic proportions. When you shirk this basic adult responsibility, for the most part it is your family members who are going to suffer after your death or incapacity. This is a serious matter, and if you do not presently have at least a basic estate plan in place, do take action and arrange for a consultation with an estate planning attorney before it's too late.

When you are serious about making informed plans for the future you have to be aware of all of the options that are available to you and how to use them effectively. Depending on the resources that you have and what your legacy intentions are some of the instruments that would be useful are rather complex. So, unless you are in the field of financial planning or elder law you probably are not going to have a comprehensive understanding of the challenges that exist and the appropriate responses that are typically utilized by estate planning professionals.
This is why it is important to develop a good working relationship with a legacy planning attorney you can trust. He or she will gain an understanding of your wishes, evaluate your assets, and make the proper recommendations so that your legacy goals will eventually come to fruition.
One of the tools used that can provide tax savings as well as asset protection is the charitable remainder unitrust, which in estate planning circles is often shortened to the acronym CRUT. You create and fund the trust and name both a charitable and non-charitable beneficiary. The non-charitable beneficiary must receive annuity payments equal to between 5% and 50% of the fair market value of the trust annually, so most people are going to act as their own beneficiary. You could serve as the trustee as well.
At the end of the trust term, which can be upon your death if you choose to set up the trust in this manner, the charitable beneficiary assumes the remainder that is left in the trust. This remainder must equal at least 10% of the original fair market value of the CRUT.
Assets that are placed in the trust are no longer the personal property of the grantor so they are protected from creditors and claimants. From a tax perspective, the act of funding the trust reduces the value of your estate for estate tax purposes. And there are also capital gains tax advantages if you fund the trust with appreciated securities. In addition, you are entitled to a charitable deduction, the amount of which is determined by the application of IRS rules regarding charitable remainder unitrusts.
If you have an estate that will likely be subject to an estate tax at your death, make an appointment to meet with a legacy planning attorney to discuss a CRUT or other methods of reducing your taxable estate.

People often tend to procrastinate before they take action and execute the appropriate estate planning documents. Their reasons vary, but it is human nature to prioritize things based on how immediately relevant they may seem.
The current average life expectancy in the United States is over 78 years. So when you are in your 30s, 40s, and 50s you may simply think that you have plenty of time to plan your estate at some point in the future. You may even think that it is better to wait because of pending or unknown factors concerning your estate. The reality is that if you pass away without an estate plan you are potentially leaving your family members a very difficult situation to deal with.
When some finally take the plunge and work with an estate planning attorney to create a plan they put their documents in a lock box mistakenly believing that they are done. It is likely however that your estate plan will need updates as your life changes. For instance your family may experience additions or subtractions through marriages, births, deaths or divorces. The development of a disability by a beneficiary would also require special planning techniques.
Estate planning is best viewed as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. For this reason it is a good idea to develop a working relationship with a qualified estate planning attorney which will last throughout your life.

If you want to pass a proper legacy and be comprehensively prepared for all the contingencies that you may face during the latter stages of your life, it is wise to think long-term.  You hear people throw around the term "luck" quite a bit, but the wise individual knows that you make your own luck. When you see people who are enjoying a comfortable retirement while being able to leave significant bequests to their loved ones they probably didn't find themselves in this position by accident.
Yes, there are people who win the lottery and there are a few who come from very wealthy families. But for the most part, successful people devise intelligent long-term plans and stick to them. If you stick your head in the sand and simply hope for the best you may find yourself completely unprepared as you near what most people would consider to be the typical retirement age.
In fact, you may be surprised to hear just how unprepared a lot of people are. There was a poll conducted recently by AP-LifeGoesStrong.com that was intended to get an idea of how prepared baby boomers are for retirement. One fourth of the people who responded had no retirement savings at all, and a similar percentage said that they would never retire. Because of the fact that the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age 10,000 people are applying for Social Security every day, and this is supposed to go on for the next 20 years.
So when you combine the facts above you can see that large numbers of people are completely unprepared for retirement. Long-term planning is the key to being able to meet your financial responsibilities when you reach an advanced age while retaining a suitable legacy to pass on to your loved ones. If you do not currently have a solid long-term plan in place, now is the time to get in touch with an experienced legacy planning attorney to arrange for an initial consultation.
 

Life insurance is a very important and useful element that is included in most estate plans. The most common use for life insurance is as an income replacement vehicle, and it is vital for people who have family members relying on their income. Even if you are relatively young, there are no guarantees and the well-being of your family is at risk if you do not have adequate coverage.
In addition to its value as an income replacement vehicle, life insurance is used in estate planning for other purposes as well, and one of these is to balance inheritances. We will explain what this means by way of example.
Assume that you are the owner of a successful small business, and the value of the business is by far your most significant asset. You have two children, a son named Doug and a daughter named Deborah, and you want to leave them equal inheritances. Doug works in the business, loves the job, and has expressed his desire to assume ownership upon your passing. Deborah has never worked in the business and has no particular interest in it.
A solution for scenarios like this would be to utilize life insurance to balance the inheritances. You take out a life insurance policy on your own life in an amount that is equal to the estimated value of the business, and you make your daughter Deborah the beneficiary. When you ultimately pass on, each of your children will receive an inheritance of similar value.
Enabling the balancing of inheritances is just one of the ways that life insurance can play a role in your estate plan beyond serving as a vehicle of income replacement. To learn more about this and comprehensive estate planning in general, simply arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Former American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, has been in the news lately because he announced his intent to have his body cryonically frozen after he dies. Cryonic technology allows for preserving the human body after death by a type of freezing procedure. Individuals who opt for this procedure do so in hopes that technology to revive them will be developed some point in the future.
The current cost for this procedure is substantial. It can cost from $10,000 to have just the head preserved up to about $200,000 for the full body. Companies that provide the service recommend that the cost can be addressed through the purchase of life insurance, which should be affordable if purchased at a relatively young age.
From an estate planning perspective cryonics presents some interesting questions. One such question may involve property rights. How would the law address the property rights of an individual whose estate has already been administered but was later brought back to life?
Cowell has helped bring cryonics and some interesting legal implications into the public consciousness.

Making sure that your assets are properly prepared for distribution to your loved ones after your passing can be an involved matter. Because there's so much to take into consideration it is easy to look past some of the finer details. If you are a pet owner, making sure that your dog or cat is provided for after your passing may be one of these matters that gets lost in the shuffle. You may just assume that it is something that will take care of itself, or that you will outlive your pet. While it is possible that someone would simply step forward and care for the pet or that you will outlive it, it is best to make the appropriate arrangements "just in case."
It should be mentioned that pet ownership can be very beneficial for senior citizens. Many of our elders get lonely, and of course a dog or cat can be your best friend and provide some much-needed companionship. When you are retired and your children and grandchildren are no longer directly depending on you, you can be hard-pressed to find a sense of purpose. Caring for a pet can provide this life-affirming feeling. In addition, some types of pets can provide protection, even if it is simply by barking to alert its owner of unusual sounds coming from outside the residence.
To provide for your pet after your passing you must first identify a suitable caretaker. You may simply want to ask a family member or friend that you would consider to be a likely candidate. You then must make financial arrangements, and this can be done by simply leaving a bequest to the caretaker in your will. Another option would be to create a pet trust that will finance the care of your pet throughout its life.
To find out more about pet planning and pet trusts, simply arrange for an initial consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.

We often talk in estate planning circles about preparing your assets for distribution to your loved ones. Depending on your personal wishes and the size and scope of your estate, in most cases this is going to refer in large part to your children and grandchildren. However, we live in an era when the typical family is not necessarily comprised of a single patriarch and matriarch. These days more than 4 out of every 10 marriages ultimately terminate in divorce. Divorce itself creates the need for an estate plan update, but the reality is that most of the people who get divorced eventually remarry.
The majority of these people have children from their previous marriages, which results in what are called blended families. If you are in this situation, there is a lot more to consider from an estate planning perspective. Depending on the dynamic that exists between the people who are getting married a number of different courses of action may be appropriate.
The thing that most people are concerned with more than anything else is making sure that their children from their previous marriages are provided for. For this reason and others, many people who are bringing considerable assets into such a marriage have the desire to separate their personal property from the community property that will result from the marriage. This can be accomplished through the execution of a pre-marital agreement, and some people will choose to create trusts in an effort to protect assets.
The QTIP or Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust is one type of trust that is often used in these cases. These trusts provide the surviving spouse with income for the rest of his or her life. But, the grantor of the trust names the beneficiary or beneficiaries who will assume ownership of the assets after the death of the surviving spouse. This would presumably be his or her children.
Estate planning for blended families can be somewhat complicated, but there is an efficient solution for every possible scenario. It is just a matter retaining an estate planning attorney who is experienced and savvy when it comes to blended family planning.

Estate planning lawyers frequently emphasize the fact that estate planning is something that people of all ages should take seriously. Of course we would all like to live long and healthy lives, and the average lifespan is in fact over 78 years in the United States at the present time. So of course estate planning is going to become more and more relevant as you reach an advanced age, but there are people who pass away before their time.
Catastrophic illnesses sometimes strike, and accidents take the lives of younger people. In fact, younger drivers are more likely to be killed in accidents than older ones for the most part. Being prepared for all eventualities is important, and too many people simply don't take the proper precautions.
We all recently heard the terribly sad news about the death of British singer Amy Winehouse. She enjoyed remarkable success during her relatively brief career, capturing multiple Grammy awards while single-handedly revitalizing the British music scene. Though she appeared to be troubled, her talent was unmistakable and she will surely be missed by her fans and music lovers around the globe.
According to reports that are circulating in the British newspapers, Amy Winehouse did indeed have a solid estate plan in place unlike many other celebrities whose affairs were in disarray after their deaths. The overall value of the Winehouse estate is estimated at approximately $16.4 million, and the heirs to this estate are going to be her parents and her brother.
It was particularly important for her to engage in careful estate planning because she had an ex-spouse named Blake Fielder-Civil who may have been in line to inherit her fortune had the necessary documents not been executed, especially in light of British laws that favor former spouses.
The tragic death of Amy Winehouse underscores the reason why it is important to have a current estate plan in place regardless of your age because you just never know what the future holds.
 

When you are planning your estate it is likely that you have multiple objectives in mind, and if you're like most people making sure that your loved ones are provided for is at the top of that list.  To make sure that your family members get everything that you would like to leave them without allowing a significant portion of their inheritances to go to the IRS you sometimes have to take steps to gain estate tax efficiency. At the present time the estate tax exclusion is $5 million, but if no changes are made in the meantime it is going down to just $1 million at the end of 2012, and this is something to keep abreast of during the upcoming election season.
In addition to protecting your assets from erosion as you pass them along to your loved ones you may also feel the desire to make charitable giving a part of your legacy. There are a number of charitable giving vehicles that people utilize when they are planning their estates, and one of them that provides multiple benefits is the charitable remainder unitrust or CRUT.
These vehicles provide an ongoing source of income to the non-charitable beneficiary during the term of the trust, and then when the term expires or the grantor passes away the charitable beneficiary assumes ownership of the remainder. Most the time the grantor will act as the beneficiary and receive the annuity payments from the trust, which must be at least 5% and no more than 50% of the value of the trust per year. Once the term has concluded or upon the death of the grantor the charitable beneficiary must receive no less than 10% of the original value of the trust.
The creation of the trust removes these assets from your estate for estate tax purposes, and you are also entitled to a charitable deduction that is calculated via valuation of the remainder interest. Additionally, if you were to fund the trust with appreciated securities you could have the trust sell them and your capital gains liability would be spread out rather than being due all at once.
 
 

Making advance plans for the latter portion of your life is always going to be the wise course of action because the reality is that we all get older, we all reach retirement age, and we all eventually pass away. Unfortunately, many people procrastinate until it is too late to their own detriment and to the detriment of their family members. But even people who are proactive about making advance plans are faced with challenges because life does not stand still. Your estate plan at any given time is going to be based on a snapshot of your life as it was when you devised the plan. As things change, your estate plan must be updated to reflect these changes.
One of the first big events in your life that will impact your estate plan is marriage. Though young single people should have an estate plan in place, many do not, but when you get married an estate plan becomes a must. It is very likely that you and your spouse are living a standard of life that requires two incomes to maintain. Should one of you pass away suddenly in an accident or due to an illness, the other individual could be placed in a very tenuous financial situation. This is why it is so important to have sufficient life insurance coverage in place. Advance health care directives are also important for married couples of all ages.
We live in an era when 4 or 5 out of every ten marriages end in divorce, and when your marriage comes to an end you must revisit your estate plan and make sure that you update your beneficiaries. In addition, should you remarry, you and your new spouse must discuss the dynamics of your blended family and create an estate plan that reflects your current situation.
Estate planning is a lifelong process if you are serious about making sure that all of your bases are covered. This is why it is important to identify an estate planning attorney that you feel comfortable with who will gain an understanding of your situation and assist you as you move forward and experience life's inevitable twists and turns.

When people debate the fairness of the estate tax the primary argument against it is the fact that it is in and of itself an instance of double taxation. You pay income and payroll taxes, and then you have the remainder which may be as little as 70% of what you actually earned.   With this remainder you go forth, and as you do you must pay sales tax, property tax, capital gains tax, and any number of additional taxes. Then when you pass away your estate is taxed yet again, and at an exorbitant rate exceeding one third of the taxable portion.
The above is a pretty convincing argument, isn't it? But it really doesn't stop there. Let's say you leave a bequest to your children that is subject to the estate tax. They are successful in their own right and never touch that money. When they pass away and leave it to your grandchildren the taxable portion is once again going to be shaved down by the death levy, and in fact this can go on and on into future generations until nothing is left but the exempt amount.
This can be avoided, at least in part, through the creation of a generation-skipping trust. With these vehicles you name your children and grandchildren as the beneficiaries.  They can receive cash distributions, live in property that has been placed into the trust rent-free, and even direct trust administration in large part through a special power of appointment.  Plus, since these assets are not owned by the beneficiaries they are protected from the beneficiaries' potential future divorces and creditors (e.g., lawsuits).  Perhaps the greatest benefit, upon the death of your children, and even your grandchildren in states like Nevada, because the assets are owned by the trust and not the beneficiary, they are not once again subject to estate taxes.
The children and grandchildren can receive liberal benefits from the trust, but the assets can be passed down to future generations estate tax free.   The generation-skipping transfer tax is applicable, but there is a $5 million exclusion so many people will limit their contribution into the trust to this amount.
 

The estate tax can be devastating to your legacy, and it is important to take steps to mitigate your exposure for the well-being of your loved ones. At the present time the estate tax exclusion is $5 million but it is scheduled to be reduced to $1 million in 2013 if there are no changes made in the meantime. Believe it or not, the maximum rate of the tax is scheduled to go up to 55% at that time. So for example, if you had a $5 million estate $4 million of it would be subject to a 55% tax. If you do the math that equals $2.2 million. So out of the $5 million that you were able to accumulate throughout your lifetime, your family members would receive $2.8 million and the government would receive $2.2 million.
Of course it is logical to simply give gifts to your loved ones while you are alive in an effort to avoid the estate tax, but there is a gift tax in place as well that is unified with the estate tax. Because of this unification, even though there is a $5 million lifetime gift tax exclusion at this time, it really does you no good because any portion of it that you use to give gifts will be deducted from your available estate tax exemption.
There are however additional exemptions that do not impact this unified exclusion and one of them enables you to pay the college tuition of an unlimited number of students equaling any amount of money free of the gift tax. It should be noted that this exemption does not allow you to pay for living expenses, books and fees. However, there is a $13,000 per person annual exemption that does not impact the lifetime unified exclusion. So you could utilize this to help to cover these costs, and if you are married you and your spouse could combine your respective exemptions and provide your student with as much as $26,000 per year.
 
 

There are people who view estate planning as something that is separate from retirement planning and the rest of the financial planning that they do throughout their lives. But the fact is that all of this is intimately intertwined, and there is another stage of your life that you should prepare for as well, one that bridges active retirement planning and estate planning.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 70% of American senior citizens will eventually need some form of long-term care. One of the most alarming trends in the elder law community is the growing cost of long-term care. The national average for a year in an assisted-living facility in 2010 was close to $40,000, and the same period of time in a nursing home averaged over $83,000. Considering the fact that the average nursing home stay is about 2 1/2 years these are some very significant expenses, and most people will need to plan carefully to be able to meet them.
In addition, incapacity planning is something that should be considered. We've all heard of Alzheimer's disease, but many people are surprised when they learn that four out of every ten people who reach the age of 85 are Alzheimer's sufferers. Alzheimer's causes dementia which can strip you of your ability to make sound decisions on your own, and of course the oldest old can experience diminished faculties due to other causes. For this reason, it is a good idea to have powers of attorney in place, empowering attorneys-in-fact to act in your behalf should you become unable to handle your own affairs.
As you can see, retirement planning, estate planning, and making sure that you are prepared for possible eventualities that could take place during your twilight years are all connected. With this in mind, it may be a good idea to arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney who will help you put a comprehensive long-term plan in place.