Estate Planning

We’ve been having a lot of conversations about Charitable Remainder Trusts lately, spurred on by concerns about decreasing estate tax limits and changes in IRA beneficiary pay-outs.

It’s officially spring here, we already had the first tornado of the season.  Just some minor damage on the outskirts of town, but it makes a person think about getting important papers organized and grab-able in an emergency.

There are many types of trusts, and just as many ways to use them.  Most commonly, they are used to control (or allow for someone to control) assets after a person dies. They can also be used to shelter money from estate taxes, avoid probate, segregate money for special uses and needs, and to protect money from creditors, lawsuits and divorce.

How you title an account, asset or business can affect current income and taxes, disposition in a divorce or incapacity, and ultimately directs how and to whom an asset can pass upon your death.  Titling can also affect whether the asset is protected from creditors. 

Most people have some preferences about how they would like their life’s work and accumulations distributed or cared for, but many have avoided facing the sobering task of putting their preferences on paper. Whether you are updating an existing plan or creating a new estate plan, one roadblock to moving forward can be the process of finding an estate attorney. 

As I discuss estate planning with my clients, I inevitably think about my personal estate plan.  My kids will inherit what will seem like a lot of money to them, considering how frugally they were raised (downside of being brought up by a financial planner!).  I want them to manage it well, understand why I made the estate planning decisions I did, and I have some ideas about ways the

Mission Financial Planning helps clients plan ahead, so their heirs avoid the overwhelming and frustrating circumstances of  inheriting an unorganized estate. 

Services include recommending features and strategies to be included in estate plan documents as well as compiling necessary papers and contact information for various accounts and the professionals that you work with.

An important part of financial planning is determining a plan for distributing one’s estate and getting it in writing.  Without a plan in place, an estate is divided based on state law, and every state has different laws for “intestate succession”.  While succession starts with close family members, percentages and priorities are not always what you might have assumed or preferred.

Without estate documents in place, the person in charge of administering and distributing your estate would also be determined by state law, or chosen by the courts.

Most people have some preferences about how they would like their life’s work and accumulations distributed or cared for, but many have avoided facing the sobering task of putting their preferences on paper.