Even though it is critical for your assets, family and legacy, estate planning tends to fall to the bottom of people’s to-do lists. What new parent wants to draft a will, while finalizing a nursery paint color?
Vacation property can become a family legacy. Keeping your cabin, fishing lodge, hunting property or other special assets separate for future generations is often a special goal for a family.
We have seen some step siblings able to all get along fine but they seem to be the exception. More likely, one sibling feels divided loyalty to the birth parent, not the step-parent.
It may seem like a grim way to spend your free time, but planning your estate when you are young can actually give you the peace of mind you will need to enjoy your golden years in the future.
Many people already had pets before COVID-19, but a recent University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found as many as 10% of those individuals between ages 50 to 80 acquired a new pet between March 2020 and January 2021.
Right now, gifts to trusts can take advantage of high tax exemptions and remove future appreciation of assets from taxable estates. One example available to spouses is making a gift to a trust that allows for a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) election.
You can reduce stress and expenses for yourself and your family, if you develop an estate plan that includes these important documents.
What happens when a decedent’s will or trust does not provide for a decedent’s child?
Bitcoin has gone in value from less than one cent in 2010 to a high of $20,000 in 2017, to a value at the end of July 2020 of nearly $11,000. Now the U.S. Congress is holding hearings on the digitization of the dollar, so cryptocurrency has become an increasingly important financial tool for individuals and businesses.
If you have updated your estate plan during the Covid crisis and even found a way to sign your documents while maintaining social distance, do not overlook the last step of trust funding.