Gifting as an Estate Planning Tool: What You Need to Know
Many people plan to pass on money and property to their loved ones after they die. However, if you have a sizable estate, you need to consider using a combination of lifetime gifting and gifts at your death to ensure your heirs receive all you have spent a lifetime saving and not risk your estate […]
How to Update Your Estate Plan After a Divorce
The divorce process is often a very long and painful one. Although you may have already moved on emotionally, some legal aspects of your life can’t move forward until your divorce is finalized by the court. When you do receive that long-awaited divorce decree, one of your first priorities should be updating your estate plans. […]
Estate Planning Tips for New Parents
Before you had your child, you only had to think about inheritance for your partner (and maybe your siblings or cousins). As self-sufficient adults, your heirs would be financially OK if you died tomorrow and left them whatever was in your estate. More importantly, they’d understand what to do with those assets and how to […]
The True Costs of Probate: How to Save Your Loved Ones Money
You might think you can save on estate planning costs by skipping the lawyer and writing your own will, or forgoing a will altogether. While a good estate planning attorney does cost money, their fees pale in comparison to what your loved ones will have to pay if your assets get tied up in probate […]
How Do I Choose a Legal Guardian for My Child?
It’s something no parent wants to think about, but eventually must ask themselves: Who would take care of your child if you passed away before they reach adulthood? For most people, the answer is their spouse or partner. However, if you’re a single parent – or, if you’re considering the unlikely event that both you […]
4 Common Estate Planning Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make
Estate planning can be a difficult and stressful process, and mistakes and oversights are common. After all, there’s a lot to consider when writing a will and naming beneficiaries, and it’s easy to miss a thing or two. Unfortunately, the cost of these errors often falls on your loved ones when certain aspects of your […]
Explore the Tax-Saving Strategy of Lifetime Giving
Giving money or assets to your loved ones during your lifetime rather than having them wait until after your death to collect, is defined as lifetime giving. It is an estate-planning strategy used to reduce estate taxes by spreading gifts throughout your lifetime using certain exemptions created by the federal gift tax laws in the […]
The Act of Revoking or Changing a Will
Once you have prepared your Will, whether through a trusted attorney or by using an on-line software program, there may come a time when you need to update or change it. Since life is never stagnant, you should ensure that any life changes appear in your Will so that your wishes are carried out following […]
Don’t Let Errors Derail Your Retirement Income Plan
When people talk about retirement income planning, they are most often referring to the assets they have in their IRA and 401(k) plans, and how they will withdraw that money, transfer it, or move it from place to place. What they need to be careful of, however, is doing it properly. If done incorrectly, it […]
