For many people, an important part of estate planning is setting up powers of attorney (POAs). An example of this is a medical POA, which involves potential future medical decisions. You set up the medical POA and name someone to act as your agent, If you’re...
Estate Planning
When should you review your estate plan?
Planning for the distribution of your assets and managing your affairs after your passing is a crucial aspect of financial planning. After creating it, you must review your estate plan and update it when your life or situation changes in certain ways. Life is dynamic,...
The estate planning tool you may not realize is right for you
One of the biggest misconceptions around estate planning is that unless you’re a multimillionaire, you don’t need anything more than a will. Living trusts, in particular, are often viewed as something that only very wealthy people need. In fact, a revocable living...
The potential benefits of funding a charitable trust
Funding a charitable trust is a sophisticated estate planning strategy that offers a multitude of benefits, both for a donor and the community at large. By allocating assets to a charitable trust, individuals can achieve their philanthropic goals while enjoying...
Have most people already made their estate plans?
Do you ever feel others have their lives so much more organized than you? That they’ve taken care of the things that responsible adults are meant to, and it's only you that hasn’t. If so, you’ll be delighted to learn most people do not have an estate plan. According...
Avoiding 3 common pitfalls when trust planning
Once used almost exclusively by the ultra-wealthy, trusts have become increasingly popular estate planning tools for people of relatively modest means – and for good reason. Trusts can safeguard assets, minimize estate taxes and make it easier to transfer wealth to...
3 reasons why second spouses don’t make good executors
You never expected to find love later in life, but a lot of people do – and you got lucky. You naturally want to make room in your estate plans for your second spouse, but you should probably think twice about naming your new spouse as your executor. Choosing the...
2 top causes of estate planning disputes
Estate planning is an important process that all adults should consider. Estate planning allows individuals to implement documents that provide instructions on how assets should be distributed upon a person’s death. Estate planning tools can also allocate child...
3 easy tips to keep your final will current, valid and secure
Your will is much more important than you may believe. Of course, it protects your final wishes, but perhaps more importantly, it gives your family guidance when they need it most - as they mourn your loss. Like most, you may take comfort in knowing your final...
Should you disinherit someone by leaving them a dollar?
Disinheriting someone means leaving nothing to someone who otherwise would have expected to get an inheritance. This could be a direct heir who would naturally inherit from you, or a beneficiary who was previously included in the will but is now being removed. One way...