The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate by By Sandy Baker

Author:By Sandy Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing
Published: 2013-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Summing Up

Now that we have plowed through all the various ways that you can avoid probate, it is still important for you to realize that any of these mechanisms should be backed up with a basic will. As you will see later on, developing an estate that encompasses all your wishes is a process of finding the right tool to make your wish come true. When you have an idea of what options are out there, you can make a good decision about what to do to make that happen.

Although most of these elements can be done by you alone, it pays to work with your estate planning team. They will ensure that you take the right route for your particular situation.

Case Study: David J. Bernstein

The tax laws are not designed to protect your estate. Instead they are designed to take away from your estate as much as possible in order to raise revenue for the federal and state governments. The estate laws of each state do provide some protection to you, but they are

but they are designed to put the rights of your creditors first and your beneficiaries last. A competent estate planning attorney can design your estate plan to minimize taxes and preserve as much of your estate as possible.

As technology has advanced, the process for estate planning has become easier and simpler. Estate planning professionals typically have your estate plan fully in place in just a few days or weeks. The client’s time can be minimized to just a few hours.

One of the big mistakes that I see in estate plans is to leave a single dollar to someone who you do not want to leave anything. This is not the right way to do this. It may cost thousands of dollars for the administrator to hire an investigator to track down an estranged heir to deliver the single dollar. The best language is to name the person being left out and state that they are intentionally omitted. Stating the reason could lead to a successful challenge if it is not worded properly, so it is better not to state the reason. Disinherited persons may wish to contest not being included but they must prove that you were incompetent, unaware of your family, your environment, your estate, that there was fraud, mistake, or undue influence at the time you signed the estate plan. Without one or more of these elements they have no hope of winning.

For gifts, the right choice to go with is dependant on what the client wants to see happen. I tell my clients that they do not know how much money they will need to live on for the rest of their lives. If they start giving it away before they die, it may not be available in a time of need. Gifting is typically only best for the very wealthy who know that their financial needs will be met no matter what happens.

There is plenty of hope if planning takes place before your incapacity.

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