US ESTATE PLANNING

Estate planning deals with the financial aspects surrounding the inevitability of death, such as obtaining life insurance to pay for the costs of a funeral, preparing a simple will and other preparations.

More comprehensive planning, such as preparing a more complex will, trust and related estate planning documents may also be needed. It depends on the size of your estate & how comprehensive your needs are.

No one likes to think about their eventual departure from this earth, but since we can’t live forever and you can’t take your material possessions with you - estate planning is essential to ensure that your wishes are carried out when you are gone. When you think of the word “estate” you probably conjure up the image of a grand home. But in legal terms, your estate is the sum of your possessions and legal attachments no matter how small.

ESTATE PLANNING IS MORE THAN A WILL

Estate planning is the process of using professional advisors who are familiar with your goals, concerns and assets to organize your estate. Estate planning covers the transfer of property at death as well as a variety of personal matters including, but not limited to:

Health care wishes

Choosing beneficiaries

Organ donations

Care of minor children

Power of attorney

Funeral arrangements

What would happen to you and your assets should you become incapacitated? Who will make decisions concerning your health, your possessions, and your finances? Who would care for your children if you and your spouse died at the same time? Estate planning is contingency planning & decision-making in advance of its necessity, and it can provide you and your family with peace of mind.

TRUSTS

Trusts are legal instruments that create a fiduciary relationship in which one party holds legal title to another's property for the benefit of a party who holds equitable title to the property. A trust allows you to gather together in one document all your significant property. This is important if you want to make sure that your property is distributed easily and quickly after your death. The trust, not you, owns that property.

This doesn't mean that you no longer have control of your assets. Since you, the grantor, will usually appoint yourself as the trust's initial trustee, you still have complete control of your property. You can do what you want with the property - you can even transfer property out of the trust or add property to it.

Living trusts allow you to control who gets your assets after you die. However, there are many more reasons for creating a living trust. For instance, a living trust can help your beneficiaries avoid the expense and delay of probate. Probate can last as long as three years and can take up to 10% of your estate's value.

A living trust can also provide you with more privacy than a will because you don't have to register it with the courts in probate. Living trusts can help avoid certain estate taxes if prepared properly. Finally, a living trust allows you to hand over management of your assets to someone else if you are unable to manage your assets yourself.