Named As A Trustee And Wondering What To Do? Here Is A Checklist Of Duties To Get You Started
If someone close to you passes away and you receive the information that they had named you as trustee, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed if you do not know what is needed to fulfill this role and if you have not served as a trustee before. Serving as a trustee isn’t an innate skill …
Estate planning for a single parent
Estate planning serves to ensure an individual’s assets are distributed as they wish after they pass away. Proper estate planning is even more vital for a single parent to ensure the wellbeing of their children as they are solely responsible for providing for and protecting their children. One of the most vital aspects of estate …
Estate Planning Essentials: How Smart Real Estate Titling Can Save You
How you title your real estate holdings is key to making sure your assets are transferred according to your wishes after you have passed away. In making decisions about how to title your assets, you’ll want to consider things such as avoiding probate, minimizing estate taxes, and liability protection. Avoiding Probate People often want to …
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Can you build an estate plan like a house?
Much like the process of building a house, the steps to building an estate plan should be well-defined and carefully considered. Here are some things to keep in mind when creating your estate plan: · Get the right “builder.” Just like for a house, you will most likely need to hire an estate planning professional …
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Estate Planning For Unmarried Couples
A number of couples, including some who have been together for many years, choose not to legally marry for a variety of personal and financial reasons. Sometimes older couples decide against marriage because they don’t want to affect their children’s inheritance. There are others who don’t want to deal with the legalities of marriage. Some …
Families get these 3 things wrong about estate planning, advisor says
In the wake of the pandemic, the topic of estate planning has suddenly become a lot less taboo, according to Lee Baker, a certified financial planner based in Atlanta. “We get more calls around estate planning,” he says. Baker is the founder, owner, and president of Apex Financial Services and is a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council. “The …
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Estate Planning Pitfall: You Haven’t Coordinated Beneficiary Designations With Your Will
If it’s been years since you drafted or last updated your will, it likely references many of your existing assets, such as retirement plan accounts and life insurance policies. You also have paperwork on file with the applicable financial institutions. It’s possible that you have modified one of these documents after life events such as …
I Created An Estate Plan When My Spouse And I Had Kids, Why Should I Update It Now? (Part 2)
In the last post, I wrote about 5 different major life events and changes for which you should revisit and potentially revise your estate plan. Here are 3 more life changes that are cause to take another look at your estate plan and update your documents if necessary: You may need to change important individuals …
I Created An Estate Plan When My Spouse And I Had Kids, Why Should I Update It Now? (Part 1)
Perhaps you met with a lawyer and created an estate plan when you were younger, soon after getting married and having children. Now your kids have grown into adults and may be married and/or have children of their own. No matter your specific life situation, there are a number of life events and changes that …
Estate Planning Pitfall: You Haven’t Made Funeral Arrangements
No one wants to think about their own death, and planning for one’s own funeral isn’t easy. Immediately following a loved one’s death, family members are already very distressed. It is hard enough to follow through with funeral arrangements that have been outlined in one’s will or other estate planning document. It is far more …
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