Estate planning means making arrangements for handling yourself and your assets when you become sufficiently disabled and when you die. If so, what are some of the basics things you can do? In this article I suggest devices or strategies to use in response to estate planning questions you may have.

Arrangements to care for you and your assets if you become unable to do so:

If you’re severely injured by heart-attack, stroke, or accident that decisions must be made about
resuscitation or extraordinary care to keep you alive, you should create a health care proxy or health care power of attorney. Here you appoint someone you trust to make those decisions in conformity with what you would want to be done. (more…)

There is an old saying that goes: What is the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Personal property is the elephant of an estate. It is the responsibility that can take up most of your time, and it provides the estate with the least amount of money for the effort involved. But, dealing with the personal property cannot be avoided. The property must be inventoried, valued, distributed, or sold. Let us start our analysis by looking at what property we have (inventory); then we will determine what it is worth (valuation). In a future post, we will determine what to do with it (distribution/sale).

When you go to the courthouse, the clerk will provide you with the form you will need to fill out for the inventory. The form will ask you to provide general categories and a value for each category you have listed. For example, you would list: furniture, $1500; office equipment, $300, etc.. You will not have to list the items separately, such as sofa, $100; chair, $5; typewriter, $25. I suggest that you do keep a list of the individual items, though. Although you will not have to go into a lot of detail for the court, you will likely want a more detailed inventory for yourself. You will want this for two reasons: to track the sale of estate property, and to protect yourself against claims of heirs and/or creditors. (more…)

Heir advance is an option for beneficiaries to obtain cash for inheritance assets held in probate. Advances to heirs are not loans. There is no interest charged and the estate repays the funding source once probate settles.

Heir advance also refers to irrevocable life insurance trust structured settlement payments. Decedents engage in estate planning and devise a financial plan which provides annuity payments to beneficiaries over a period of time. Heirs can sell annuities in whole or part in exchange for a lump sum cash payment.

Cash advances for inheritance are provided through funding sources such as private investors, banks, or cash advance companies. Heir loans are generally reserved for beneficiaries entitled to assets valued at $15,000 or more. Beneficiaries assign inheritance rights to the funding source in exchange for a lump sum of money.

Funding sources charge a fee for providing cash for inheritance. Fees can range from 25- to 40-percent. For example, if a beneficiary is entitled to $100,000 of probate money, the funding source fee could range between $25,000 and $40,000.

Investors engaging in inheritance funding incur substantial risks. Although they conduct due diligence to ensure the estate is financially capable of repaying the advance, many things can go wrong during probate. (more…)

Have you noticed all of the new research data and information available about planned giving lately? What I find most interesting is younger people, even in their 30s, are less resistant to include a charity in their estate planning than people in their senior years.

Why is that so interesting? Well, for much of the last decade, planned gifts were marketed exactly the opposite of these findings–the majority of nonprofits focused their planned giving efforts on older supporters. Times and generations, they certainly are a-changin’. (more…)

Where are trust assets actually located?

This is another key point to consider. If a trust is administered in one jurisdiction, then that would by definition not be a good jurisdiction in which to keep the actual assets. By diversifying internationally, confidentiality is dramatically increased.

For example, we believe that New Zealand currently has some of the best trust law – and it has the added advantage of being generally seen as a high tax country, so it is not blacklisted. New Zealand is neutral and well respected, and therefore enjoys excellent relations with other countries big and small.

It is possible to structure a New Zealand trust so that there is no record kept in New Zealand of who the actual settler or beneficiary is – and what they don’t know, they can’t tell.

However, New Zealand is not a banking secrecy jurisdiction. A carefully structured trust could easily be blown apart by the bank where the assets are held being forced to reveal all. This risk is easily neutralized by simply taking the trust documents and opening a bank account elsewhere – preferably on the other side of the world. (more…)

Planning your estate is no small task, and making sure everything is done correctly can be critical to the financial wellbeing of your heirs and loved ones. Estate planning is more complicated than simply drafting a will. It also works to minimize taxes and other fees and sets up contingency plans for your health care should you become incapacitated. Because estate planning is literally a matter of life and death, you should only trust a qualified attorney that specializes in this field.

What Will the Attorney Do?

It’s tempting to save time and money by drafting your own will or investing in a will kit. It is impossible, however, for any of these simplified methods to accomplish all of your wishes, because every situation is unique. Also, there is not software in the world that can provide qualified advice that stems from experience. A qualified estate planning attorney will be able to help you navigate through laws governing property rights, taxes, wills, probate and trusts. (more…)

Creating a Last Will and Testament- Who Should Have One, and Why? The sad truth is that most Financial Advisors and Estate Planning Attorney’s will tell you that more than 70% of Americans die without a Will, also known as a Last Will and Testament. In my opinion, this is totally unacceptable! Why? Because I am fully confident that most of us:

• Truly love our family and loved ones

• Would prefer not to place any unnecessary or additional burden on our loved ones during a time of terrible emotional loss

Please allow me to explain why having a funeral estate plan is so important. Should you pass without so much as a Will, the unfortunate reality is that state law will determine how your property is distributed, as well as take control of your estate if you should you become disabled or incompetent. This statute is called the law of intestate. The best way I have found to describe intestate is simply; “having a lawsuit with your state of domicile over the management of your estate”. Put another way, it will not be you or your family who ultimately decides what happens to your assets, your children, and your financial legacy…but rather your state, the government, and your least favorite uncle…Uncle Sam.

I think it is safe to say that your personal wishes for the disposition of your money, children, estate, well-being, and how you want to be remembered would not be exactly the same as that of your state or local government. Therefore, dying without a Will is going to put your family through an extremely difficult, time-consuming, and expensive ordeal…at a time when they should be focusing on celebrating your life and the wonderful memories you’ve left behind. (more…)

There’s no negating the importance of establishing an estate plan. Whether your net worth is gargantuan or whether you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it’s critical that you have at least a basic estate plan in place. Doing so will ensure that your financial goals are met after you pass away. This kind of financial planning can provide payment of your debts, education or trust funds for your children, and much more.

Estate planning has the primary purpose to determine what you want done with your ‘estate’ after you die. In addition to that, effective estate planning can offer the following benefits:

* Ensure that you remain in control of the distribution of your assets
* Protect any wealth from expensive estate taxes
* Ensure that your family is taken care of after you die
* Avoid the complicated and expensive probate process
* Outline the care you want and oversight of your affairs should you become incapacitated
* Allow you to create special trusts for loved ones or organizations you care about (more…)

Britons simply love owning property. These days, with the growing popularity, options are endless for interested parties to buy considerable properties at desired locations. Choose a property dealer that can fulfill your demands and secure a niche for yourself.

Since the Real Estate market is going through a massive change, investing into residential housing isn’t the only viable option. Many buyers are looking ahead to investing in this form of property as well. Commercial establishments including offices, retail outlets and industrial warehousing are hugely popular and giving as good returns as usually people expect from residential property investment. (more…)

Estate planning is a way of preparing properties and other items for a specific person and the people that are special to them. This involves organization of properties and possessions into a will. A real estate plan would significantly lessen the taxes of the properties that are included in the will. Also, planning a real estate would include preparations that would ensure that everything I the will would be granted.

A good plan would be able to coordinate home, investments, benefits, business and insurance matters for the future. This should be ensured that even if the person passes away or becomes ill. The plan would also be able to set the direction about the health care one would accept especially if they become disabled. (more…)