Our Estate Planning Blog
Your will may be the most important document you’ll ever write. The problem is, after many of us draft one, we put it somewhere for safekeeping and don’t look at it again. That can be a big mistake.
In past generations, families were very close, there were few estates that had any tax liability, and children respected their parents’ wishes, both before and after the parents passed away.
Probate is not always an efficient process. However, it is the way to properly dispose of an individual’s property after they have died. It gives the necessary stamp of approval that the will is legitimate, and the executor has been confirmed.
Let’s face it: mortality is hard to think about and death is impossible to plan for. What is doable, however, is getting affairs and assets in order to prevent loved ones from inheriting a headache and legal fees in the event of an incident.
You might be amazed at some of the bizarre places that people put their documents. It would take you a month of Sundays to find the papers if the person had not told you where to look.
One in five Americans has married at least twice. However, a sobering 60% of second marriages end in divorce, the Census Bureau found.
Sometimes you have to hold the reins tight, especially when it comes to money. A spendthrift trust does exactly that.
Your obligations to your family or loved ones do not stop, even if you have already passed on. If your family, especially your children, are still heavily dependent on you, you can still provide for them through proper estate planning, even if you are no longer present.
If you haven’t looked at your will or estate plan lately, now is a good time to do so.
Do not put off finalizing and signing your estate planning documents, just because you have reached an impasse on who to name as trustee.
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