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Posts Tagged ‘families’

You Can’t Take it With You

Sarah Savasky
June 26, 2014

We all understand that “we can’t take it with us” but determining the best way to leave our things behind can be confusing.

Both a will and a trust allow you to choose who receives your assets after you die. A will also allows you to nominate a guardian for your minor children. For most of us, the main benefit of a revocable living trust is that it avoids the expensive and time consuming process called probate (I’ll talk more about probate in my next post). For the very wealthy a trust can also avoid or minimize estate taxes. A trust also allows you to plan for your incapacity and to provide for a child with special needs after you are gone. A will can be used as a stand alone document without a trust. However, a trust is used in combination with a will. In this situation the will is sometimes referred to as a pour over will and it serves as a back up plan in the event that some or all of your assets have not been placed in your trust.

If your estate is small (under $150,000) you might not benefit form a trust, because small estates are exempt from probate, but money isn’t the only consideration that’s why it’s so important to consult with an estate planning attorney to determine which type of plan is best for you.

The only thing you take with you when you’re gone is what you leave behind” –John Allston

When it Comes to Estate Plans, Size Doesn’t Matter

Sarah Savasky
June 11, 2014

There is a common misconception that only wealthy people need estate plans. The reality is that most people need an estate plan, but not everyone needs the same estate plan or benefits from one in the same way.

Although an estate plan typically includes four documents; a Revocable Living Trust, a Will, A Durable Power of Attorney for Management of Property and Personal Affairs (DPA) and an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD), estate plans are as unique as the people who create them. They are definitely not one size fits all.

For a family with modest assets a good estate plan is especially important because it can help them pass more of their assets to their loved ones by avoiding the expense and time associated with probate proceedings.

The most important part of an estate plan is not the estate, it’s the plan.

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