You want the most for your child. Above all you want to make sure they get a good start in life. That includes getting the education and training they need for a good foundation and a good career. But, if you were to die before they’ve received that foundation, how can you be sure they would still get it? You could leave them money at your death. But, if you leave money to them outright, they could use the money for something else. Here’s a sad, but illustrative story: Alice had a son, John. … [Read more...]
Planning for Step-Children
If you have married someone and your spouse has children from a different relationship, those are your step-children. Even if you have helped raise the child from a very young age, unless you have adopted the child, they would not be considered your child for inheritance purposes. The implication of this can be significant. Here’s an example: When Harry met Sally, Sally had a newborn child, Betty. Harry married Sally shortly thereafter. They raised Betty together, but Harry never adopted her. … [Read more...]
Planning for Special Needs Children
A “special needs” child is a child who faces a physical or mental disability and may require needs-based benefits, such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). A special needs child is precious, like any other child. But the same planning won’t work for this unique child. Further, a lack of planning is even more problematic for a special needs child than it would be for a child without special needs. Let’s look at an example: Mike has $900,000 in assets and has three children, Amy, … [Read more...]
Your Planning Can Help Your Loved Ones
Whether or not we plan to do so, each of us will face death eventually. However, by planning, we can make our passing easier and better in many ways for those we leave behind. This is the second of a series on the ways we can ease the transition through planning. This second article focuses on the importance of the way in which you leave assets to your loved ones. The next article will focus on the importance of communicating your wishes to your family. When we think of leaving assets to our … [Read more...]
The Importance of Communicating Your Plans
Whether or not we plan to do so, each of us will face death eventually. However, by planning we can make our passing easier and better in many ways for those we leave behind. The first article in the series demonstrated how you could gain privacy from the public by planning and using a trust rather than going through the public probate process. The second article in the series focused on how you can make the transition better through the manner in which you leave your assets to your loved ones. … [Read more...]
Many Reasons to Plan
Whether or not we plan to do so, each of us will face death eventually. However, by planning, we can make our passing easier and better in many ways for those we leave behind. This is the first of a series on the ways we can ease the transition through planning. This first article focuses on privacy. The next article will focus on how you leave assets to your loved ones. Let’s look at two people who die in the same car accident. It’s a tragedy for both of them and their families. But, the … [Read more...]
Planning is Critical
Sometimes people seem to think that if they don’t plan for death, it just won’t happen. In fact, 58% of American adults have no will, no trust, and no estate plan at all, according to a recent study by Caring.com. Unfortunately, whether you plan for it or not, death is inevitable. If you have no plan, your state of residence has a plan for you, it’s called “intestacy.” With intestacy, your assets go to those the state has pre-determined. They may or may not be the people whom you love and who … [Read more...]
Estate Planning is Too Important to Procrastinate
Most of us recognize that estate planning is the loving and responsible thing to do. Yet, only 44% of adult Americans even have so much as a simple Will, according to a Gallup poll. Our world is increasingly complex. It seems our lives are busier than ever. Interestingly, this may not be what leads us to procrastinate. According to Psychology Today, there are three reasons we might procrastinate: Things Get Done. We procrastinate until we are faced with a deadline and the deadline … [Read more...]
