To have a successful farm, thoughtful planning must be done every season. Your life is no different. To properly prepare for the next season in your life and the lives of your loved ones, you need a well-executed estate plan. When crafting a foundational plan to protect yourself, your loved ones, your business, and your legacy, consider the following planning tools.

Fighting over provisions in your will or trust can derail your final wishes, rapidly deplete your financial legacy, and tear your loved ones apart. However, with proper planning, you can help your family avoid a potentially disastrous fight.  

In many families, everyone gets along, happily gathering for the holidays, sharing laughs, telling stories, and enjoying each other’s company. Then, the matriarch or patriarch dies. Suddenly, years of pent-up resentment and hurt feelings surface, and the once-happy family is now embroiled in litigation over the head of the family’s money and property.

A common misconception is that only wealthy individuals and people in high-risk professions, such as doctors or lawyers, need an asset protection plan. However, anyone can be sued. A car accident, foreclosure, unpaid medical bills, or an injured tenant can result in a monetary judgment that could crush your finances. 

Many people believe that once they set up a revocable living trust and change the ownership of their accounts and property from themselves as individuals to their trust, those accounts and property are protected from lawsuits. This is not true.