FAQs about Estate Planning
What Is Estate Planning?
Your estate plan covers the transfer of property at the time of your death. It also covers personal matters and can even include tax planning for your heirs. The central document in your estate plan is your will, but it may also include a trust, a living will, and personal and medical directives. The complexity of your estate plan depends on your specific situation. Our financial advisors will collaborate with your estate attorneys and tax accountants to finalize your estate plan.
What Are the Benefits of Estate Planning?
Your estate plan will give you greater confidence that your affairs are in order should something happen to you. It allows you to provide for your spouse, children, and other family members. An estate plan ensures the transfer of wealth happens smoothly, reducing probate time and avoiding lengthy court battles. Your estate plan can also help your beneficiaries save money on taxes. Without an estate plan, your state laws determine who inherits your assets.
What Should My Estate Plan Include?
Your estate plan may include a will or a trust, depending on your needs. It can also include a living will, medical directives, and legal and medical powers of attorney. If you don’t already have life insurance, the estate planning process may include purchasing a policy to protect your loved ones. Your estate plan will be unique because it must meet your needs and those of your family. Our financial advisors will ensure no detail is forgotten.
How Do Beneficiary Designations Affect My Estate Plan?
Certain assets don’t have to pass through probate court. Instead, your designated beneficiary or beneficiaries will inherit the asset directly. This can include life insurance, bank accounts, and even retirement plans. It’s important to review and update your beneficiary designations regularly, because they may supersede the directions in your will.
What’s the Difference between a Will and a Trust?
With a will, your beneficiaries inherit your assets outright. They will have full ownership of whatever they inherit, and they are free to spend or sell the assets whenever they want. With a trust, the beneficiary only has limited access to their inheritance. Depending on how the trust is set up, they may inherit fully when they come of age or turn 25 or 30, whatever you decide. You can also set up a trust to dispense an income to your dependents without giving them full control over the assets inside the trust fund.
