To make sure your estate goes to whom you want, when you want, and the way you want. Most wills and trusts leave the assets to the next generation outright. However, with a little bit of thought on your part, you can delay large bequests until children or grandchildren are older or give it to them in stages so that they have the chance to make some mistakes with the money without jeopardizing the whole inheritance. Similarly, you can place conditions on receipt of the money such as "only upon graduation with a bachelor's degree" The possibilities are endless. It allows you to give back to the people and places that have helped you. Again, most people leave their assets to their children in equal shares however along with your family, however you may want to remember those people and institutions who have helped make you what you are today. For example, many people make bequests to local community foundations, alma maters and charities to show appreciation for the role they played in their life. It shows your family that you cared enough to plan for them. When you put time, thought and effort into planning your affairs it sends a powerful message to your loved ones. It saves your heirs legal fees, taxes and time in settling your affairs. By planning ahead with trusts instead of wills, you can abbreviate the settlement process, thus aiding the grieving process and allowing families to get on with their lives. In addition, while assets are tied up in a lengthy probate proceeding, valuable opportunities may be lost or additional expenses incurred, such as having to maintain a home. It makes sure your estate will pass by blood instead of by marriage. Most estate plans leave the money to the children and if they die who inherits from them - your son-in-law or daughter-in-law. Can they get remarried and share your $250,000 with a complete stranger? Sure, it happens all the time. Proper preparation of your trust will make sure that if your child should die, whatever they didn't spend goes to your grandchildren or your other surviving children, instead of to your in-laws. It guarantees you will be protected if you become disabled. About half of all people today have a period of disability before they die. Without a plan, you risk getting the state's plan where they appoint a legal guardian for you who (1) may be someone you don't even know (2) may change your investments (3) may be unable to protect your assets by transferring them to other family members if you have to go into a nursing home, and (4) may make it exceedingly difficult to get back control of your assets if you recover from your disability. When you set up a revocable living trust, you create a plan for disability that avoids a guardianship proceeding, puts the persons you chose in control and allows them to transfer and protect assets. Again, with a 50% disability rate, we all need to plan for it. It gives you peace of mind so that you can get on with your life. When you have a well thought out and executed plan you actually feel better. You feel safe and secure that no matter what happens you have a plan to deal with it and you have your team in place to carry it out. This allows you to put those concerns out of your mind and enjoy your life.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment