Estate Planning Is For Everyone
If you have not done so already, you should start thinking about estate planning now. Estate planning is defined as the preparation of a plan for the administration and disposition of your assets and property before and after death. Estate planning involves not only wills and trusts, but various other legal documents to develop a complete estate plan.
Every time you open a bank account, invested in real estate or other investments, you have created an asset in your estate and you should have a plan for its treatment, not only during your lifetime, but also upon your death. At the very least you can designate a pay-on-death (POD) beneficiary or survivorship for the account. Stop now and examine each of your investments. Go to the bank or investment company and review or designate a POD or survivorship beneficiary for each account.
CNN's Money 101 has a comprehensive overview of the top things to know about estate planning.
Some Items To Consider Depending Your Age
All Ages
- No matter what your age, you need to consider a Will with or without a Testamentary Trust, a Living (inter vivos) Trust, a Durable Power of Attorney , a Living Will or Health Care Surrogate
- Avoiding or minimizing Probate
Early Adult
- Whole life insurance policies that build cash value to pay you a lump sum or monthly stipend when you retire. These policies also allow you to borrow for contingencies at no risk to your credit score
- POD beneficiaries on every IRA, savings account, checking account, brokerage account, even your car if your state allows it
Mid Adult
- Term life insurance policies for a cheap, tax free estate
- Prepaid funeral
- Planning for creditors
- Retitling assets to a trust
SeniorsGifting strategies
- Specific bequests
- Pension distributions and beneficiaries
- Gifting strategies
Some Items To Consider By Life Event
Marriage
- Joint accounts versus POD
- The spousal exemption
- Rules for retirement accounts
- Ante Nuptial Agreements
- Entireties and Joint Ownership
- “His-Hers and Ours”
Children (Including Incapacitated)
- Designate a guardian
- Life insurance to provide for dependents
- Age of receipt of inheritance
- Provision for college
- Special Needs Trust
Home or Business
- Titling and disposition of the home or business.
- Ensuring continued smooth operation of a business after the owner's death.
Estate planning can be complicated, requiring the assistance of competent knowledgeable attorneys who specialize in estates. Familiarize yourself with estate planning options by reading articles such as CNN's Money 101 linked above, and then contact an estate planning attorney at a firm such as Baldwin and Morrison in the Orlando, Florida area, to develop your comprehensive estate plan.
The Orlando estate planning lawyers at Baldwin & Morrison provide in-depth, knowledgeable legal guidance in the areas of probate, estate planning, wills and trusts, real estate law and personal injury law to residents of the Fern Park, Orlando, and Winter Park areas.
