Many people believe that estate planning is only about planning for their death. But planning for what happens after you die is only one piece of the estate-planning puzzle. It is just as important to plan for what happens if you become unable to manage your own financial or medical affairs while you are alive (in other words, if you become incapacitated).
As poet Robert Burns mused centuries ago, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Despite thoughtful effort and a concerted strategy, you cannot prepare for every emergency in life. A car accident, sudden illness, workplace injury, or chronic medical condition can force you to reevaluate the core assumptions you used to plan your future and set up your legacy.
Comprehensive estate planning involves more than just planning for your legacy after your death, avoiding probate, and reducing taxes. Good estate planning also appoints people to make legal, financial, and medical decisions for you if you are alive but unable to make those decisions for yourself (in other words, if you are incapacitated).
When people think about estate planning, they usually focus on who will receive their money and property when they pass away and how it will be received. However, estate planning can also address your end-of-life wishes—the considerations and expenses involved when it is time to say goodbye to your loved ones. The following are important questions to ask yourself, as the answers are a critical part of creating a comprehensive estate plan.
As a parent, you are responsible for the care of your minor child. In most circumstances, this means getting them up for school, making sure they are fed, and providing for other basic needs. However, what would happen if you and your child’s other parent were unable to care for them?
Sitting down to create or update your estate plan can be overwhelming. Crucial to a successful plan is your ability to address two major questions: Who will get your stuff when you die, and how do you want those individuals or charities to receive that stuff?
Your mortgage, like the rest of your debt, does not simply disappear when you die. If you leave your home that has an outstanding loan to a beneficiary in your will or trust, your beneficiary will inherit not only the property but also the outstanding debt. They may have the right to take over the mortgage and keep the home, or they may choose to sell it and keep the proceeds. A few different scenarios can unfold, however, depending on the mortgage terms and the estate plan instructions.
When developing your estate plan, it is nearly impossible to address every account or property you own. There are sure to be some things you unintentionally overlook. However, by including a residuary clause, you can intentionally disburse any remaining items inadvertently left over during the estate or trust administration process to a named beneficiary or group of beneficiaries.
Creating or revising an estate plan can feel overwhelming, causing many people to procrastinate. But the longer you put it off, the more potential there is to be caught unprepared in an emergency. So how can you motivate yourself and your loved ones to begin the process? Here are some strategies to help you overcome some of the negative feelings associated with this process and meet the challenge head-on.
Trust protectors are commonly used in the United States. Essentially, a trust protector is someone who serves as an appointed authority over a trust that will be in effect for a long period of time. Trust protectors ensure that trustees maintain the integrity of the trust, make solid distribution and investment decisions, and adapt the trust to changes in law and circumstance.
Personal property can be an important part of many people’s lives. Whether it is something that has monetary value or something that you have collected for many years, certain items hold a significant place in your heart. Figuring out what to do with these items when you are no longer around to enjoy them can be quite the task. This is especially true if you have multiple loved ones who you would like to receive your personal property. Without your instructions, this situation might turn into a disaster. People may start fighting or hiring lawyers to sue each other to determine what is rightfully theirs. You can help prevent this from happening by providing your loved ones with instructions. The following are some ways you can divide your personal property to help maintain harmony among your loved ones.
Most people usually think about who will receive their retirement and bank accounts, life insurance proceeds, real estate, and other valuable possessions upon their death. However, a person’s personal property (their stuff) can also be a source of value that needs to be addressed. When looking to start or continue your estate planning journey, ask yourself the following questions about your personal property.
Being self-employed is no easy task. You are the owner, and in some cases, the only employee. While you may have more freedom than the average worker, a lot of responsibilities lie on your shoulders. Working together, we can craft a comprehensive estate plan that will help you address three important concerns you may have.
You have a minor child who depends on you for their survival, so you need to make sure that they will be cared for if you are ever unable to care for them. By creating an estate plan, you can address your minor child’s care and custody and provide instructions about how your money and property should be used for their care should something happen to you.
Beginning your retirement is a great milestone that is worth celebrating. You have put in many years of hard work, and you are now able to focus your energy on the next phase of your life. However, before you begin this next chapter, you need to make sure that you have fully thought through this exciting change in your life.
Getting ready to embark on your next great adventure? Before you zip up the last suitcase, here are five issues you need to address to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Welcoming a child into the family is a major milestone in every parent’s life, especially if you have utilized assisted reproductive technology (ART). With this blessing comes the need for comprehensive financial and estate plans that are uniquely tailored to your family’s needs. As you continue your journey, we want to provide you with answers to some common questions you may have about planning for your family.
Because of the unique issues surrounding assisted reproductive technology (ART), it is crucial to create or amend your will or revocable living trust to include children who may be born using ART.
Most American strive to earn a decent-sized paycheck to support themselves and their families when they go to work. Stay-at-home parents, however, work to provide valuable nonfinancial contributions to their families everyday. They make sure that the home runs smoothly and that their family members have what they need to be successful and happy. If something were to happen to the stay-at-home parent, how would the family’s needs be met?
to work. Stay-at-home parents, however, work to provide valuable nonfinancial contributions to their families everyday. They make sure that the home runs smoothly and that their family members have what they need to be successful and happy. If something were to happen to the stay-at-home parent, how would the family’s needs be met?
DHS is ending the COVID-19 Temporary Policy for List B Identity Documents. Beginning May 1, Employers will no longer be able to accept expired List B documents.
On March 29, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act, that will expand premium processing service for Forms I-539, I-765 and certain EB-1 and EB-2 I-140s. The effective date is May 31, 2022.
It was not very long ago that all legal documents were printed on paper and signed with a pen. But in today’s world, where we sign commercial contracts, form and run businesses, and buy everything from groceries to cars online, it seems almost prehistoric for state laws to require that someone appear in person in front of witnesses to sign a will printed on paper.
Currently, the only options available to Ukrainians are those USCIS offers to all immigrants affected by special circumstances. Hopefully, as the situation in Ukraine develops USCIS will make more options available. USCIS has confirmed the invasion of Ukraine is an extreme situation contemplated by the following measures. It is noteworthy that these measures could aid displaced Afghanis as well. That being said, the applicability of each of these options depends on a case-by-case analysis of the immigrant’s circumstances. Also, these measures are not automatic, each must be specifically requested.
There is little doubt that highly skilled natives and immigrants have worked together for years to drive innovation in a broad range of fields and to build America’s private sector.
A will documents who gets what (and when) after you die. Without a will, state law doles out your belongings. In many cases, your assets may end up in the hands of complete strangers. That’s exactly what happened to these three mega-celebrities.
On January 31, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final regulation that changes the process U.S employers will have to follow in order to hire foreign workers under the “H-1B” program.
When we think of vast family wealth, most of us know the name Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad and shipping scion of one of the richest families in America in the 19th century. When he died in 1877, he left a fortune of $100 million — more than the U.S. Treasury held at the time.
The quality of the education a child receives through public or private school systems can vary greatly. The end product is a function of many variables, including teachers, administrators, parents, and of course, the children themselves.
Electronic technology has brought about tremendous benefits for today’s society. We can access goods, services, and information, all at the touch of a button. The flip-side of that coin, however, is that this same technology has also spawned countless new opportunities for dishonesty and crime.