Estate Planning

There can be confusion on the definition and need for an estate plan. We will all have estates someday, so it may be helpful to know what a plan actually does. While estate planning can be complicated to the layman, there are some basics that make it less confusing, according to the Vail Daily in…

A will isn’t just about avoiding the federal estate tax. Even if the Republican-controlled Presidency and Congress eliminate the federal tax, the need for an estate plan is not eliminated, according to Forbes in “Five Reasons You Need a Will (Even If the Estate Tax Is Repealed)!” The reasons include: In a will you appoint…

Estate planning is likely to be a lot easier than you think. As with most tasks, there are many reasons to be found for putting them off. A columnist details the challenges that she and her husband faced in an article in The Gleaner “HARDY: No reason to delay estate planning.” The article is instructive…

Trustees need to plan for automatic termination of Great Depression trusts. Dynastic trusts from the days of the Great Depression are near expiration and planning is required, according to Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in “Preparing for Trust Termination.” Most of the trusts created at that time have mandatory termination dates at which time,…

Consider carefully before making your trust the beneficiary of your IRA. For tax purposes, it is not always a good idea to designate a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, according to the Financial Advisor in “Is Naming A Trust As Beneficiary Of A Client’s IRA A Good Idea?” The biggest and most important…

The key reason for an estate plan is simple: protecting your family from future problems. Gathering the information to create an estate plan is probably not a pleasure. However, the reason for the estate plan is to protect your family from problems in the future, according to J Weekly in “Estate planning wards off problems…

An Online will may save you some money now but you can rack up a big bill in probate. Creating a homemade will that later goes to probate may be a big disappointment, according to the Huntsville Item in “A humorous look at the danger of homemade wills.” A will is designed to pass on…

We are facing big changes right now and more changes are likely. An estate plan should be considered as only temporarily up to date, because significant changes in situations should spark a review of the plan.  Recent Treasury Department regulatory changes make it likely that your plan needs review as Wealth Management discusses in “Remind…

Attorney-Client privilege is important in estate planning but there could be exceptions. Attorney-client privilege is one of the key doctrines of our legal system but there are exceptions as explained by the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in “Treasure-Hunter’s Documents Might Be in Deep Water.” This doctrine even has an important place in estate…

A family fight over an estate can be destructive but a good estate plan can reduce the chances of that battle beginning. It is a fact of life that all fights cannot be avoided but there are steps that can reduce the chances of conflict over an estate, according to the Lodi News-Sentinel in “Avoid…