Once you've determined that you need an estate plan, you'll need to understand the basic concepts about putting your plan together. Find out if you'll need a will or a revocable living trust, how a revocable living trust works to avoid probate, how to know if your estate plan will work when it's really needed, and when your estate plan should be updated.
A Last Will and Testament is a legal document that's the first building block to your estate plan. After determining your need for an estate plan, your attorney will recommend either a will-based plan or a trust-based plan. Your Last Will and Testament will take on significantly different roles depending upon the type of plan that has been recommended.
A Revocable Living Trust is a legal document that is created by an individual, called a Trustmaker, to hold and own the Trustmaker's assets, which are in turn invested and spent for the benefit of the Trustmaker by an individual or institution called the Trustee.
A question that I'm often asked as an estate planning attorney is "How do I know if I need a trust instead of a simple will?" Many people assume that revocable living trusts are just for the very wealthy, but the benefits that they can offer to the average person are significant. Here are some factors to consider.
Another common way to avoid probate is to establish and fund a Revocable Living Trust.
When it comes to estate planning terms, two that you'll need to be familiar with are “per stirpes” and “per capita.” These are Latin terms that are commonly used in Last Will and Testaments and Revocable Living Trusts to describe how your property is to be left to your beneficiaries.
One glaring problem that I see time and time again in my estate planning practice is that in reality most estate plans simply don’t work. Find out the basic components of a practical and common sense estate plan that will really work for you and your family.
Once you have your foundational estate plan up and running and your assets funded into your Revocable Living, your estate planning shouldn't stop there. Day in and day out things will happen that will affect your estate plan. Here are some things to consider that may warrant a review of your estate plan.
As an estate planning attorney, I contact my clients once a year through an annual review and maintenance program in order to remind them to think about their estate plans and any changes that may be needed. Unfortunately, not all estate planning attorneys have this type of program, so here are the top six reasons why you should consider updating your estate plan.
Each time that I sit down with a new client who already has an estate plan, the first thing that I do is a thorough review of their current estate planning documents. From years of experience in doing these reviews, I've developed a checklist of common problems that I see time and time again. Here's a list of the twelve things that I look for when reviewing an existing estate plan.
Each time that I sit down with a new client who already has an estate plan, the first thing that I do is a thorough review of their current estate planning documents. From years of experience in doing these reviews, I've developed a list of common problems that I see time and time again, and here it is - the checklist of the twelve things that I look for when reviewing an existing estate plan.
When I started out as an estate planning attorney nearly 14 years ago, estate planning was viewed as a one time transaction. The clients were simply sent on their way with their ideal plan at that particular point in their lives and then proceeded to stick the plan in a drawer and forget about it until it was needed. Today, that view has significantly changed.
One of the most common questions that I'm asked as an estate planning attorney is, "Who should I tell about my estate plan?" As with most of estate planning, the answer isn't a simple one.
Another frequent question that I'm asked as an estate planning attorney is, "Where should I keep my original estate planning documents?" The answer is really simple - in a safe and accessible place. But what does that mean?
