Category Archives: Beneficiary(ies)
How Do Special Needs Trusts Work?
A trust of any kind is a document that expresses your wishes while you are alive and after you have passed. The need for a dedicated trust for loved ones differs with the situations or issues of the family. Getting this wrong can lead to financial devastation, explains the article “Take special care with… Read More »
What Paperwork Is Needed after Someone Dies?
Tax return issues, family matters, business associates, partners, trustees, bankers, investment advisors and tax collectors from the IRS to state and local taxing authorities all require attention after someone has died. There is a lot of work, and often a grieving family member finds it helpful to enlist the aid of a professional to… Read More »
What are the Stages of Probate?
Probate is a court-supervised process occurring after your death. It takes place in the state where you were a resident at the time of your death and addresses your estate—all of your financial assets, real estate, personal belongings, debts and unpaid taxes. If you have an estate plan, your last will names an executor,… Read More »
Trusts can Work for ‘Regular’ People
A trust fund is an estate planning tool that can be used by anyone who wishes to pass their property to individuals, family members or nonprofits. They are used by wealthy people because they solve a number of wealth transfer problems and are equally applicable to people who aren’t mega-rich, explains this recent article… Read More »
Does a Trust Have to Be Funded to Be Valid?
Thinking you have divided assets equally between children by creating a trust that names all as equal heirs, while placing only one child’s name on other assets is not an equally divided estate plan. Instead, as described in the article “Estate Planning: Fund the trust” from nwi.com, this arrangement is likely to lead to… Read More »
Does a Will Supersede a Beneficiary Form?
It’s a simple question: do you know who your retirement account beneficiaries are? These tax-deferred accounts are complex, with significant tax implications for heirs that become more challenging if key information is missing on beneficiary forms, which is often the case. According to this recent article from The Street, “Secure your IRA—Review Your Beneficiary… Read More »
Your Estate Planning Checklist for 2021
If you reviewed or created your estate plan in 2020, you are ahead of most Americans, but you’re not done yet. If you created a trust, gave gifts of real estate, business interest or other assets, you need to address the loose ends and do the follow up work to ensure that your planning… Read More »
How Can Estate Planning Address the Troubled Child?
Every family has unique challenges when planning for the future, and every family needs to consider its individual beneficiaries in an honest light, even when the view isn’t pretty. Concerns may range from adults with substance abuse problems, an inability to make good decisions, or siblings with worrisome marriages. These situations can be addressed… Read More »
How Much Should We Tell the Children about the Estate Plan?
Congratulations, if you have finished your estate plan. You and your estate planning attorney created a plan that is suited for your family, you have checked on beneficiary designations, signed all of the necessary documents and named an executor to carry out your directions when you pass. However, have you talked about your estate… Read More »
What Happens If You Fail to Submit a Change of Beneficiary Form?
Wealth Advisor’s recent article entitled “I’m being denied an inheritance. Can they do that?” explains the situation where an individual, Peter, was given a CD/IRA by a friend named Paul. Paul told Peter that he wanted him to have it, in case anything happened to him. Paul was married and didn’t tell his wife… Read More »