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Estate and Tax Planning

Why do I need an estate plan?

A common misconception is that estate planning is only for the uber-wealthy. It is true that with the recent significant increase in the estate tax exemption, many families will not need to engage in planning for estate tax minimization. However, most families must engage in estate planning for disposition of their assets and to protect a family's unity after a death. Estate planning offers many advantages, including:

  • Simplifying administration of an estate after death (a true gift to your loved ones)
  • Avoiding family and financial problems after your death
  • Providing for your children's care and welfare
  • Providing support and financial stability for your surviving spouse, children, and grandchildren
  • Preserving your wealth for later generations
  • Ensuring your wishes are carried out when you can no longer manage your affairs
  • Minimizing the effects of income taxes and property taxes at death
  • Providing enough cash to meet expenses and prevent the forced sale of assets
  • Proper completion of beneficiary designations for life insurance, retirement accounts, and other assets to coordinate with the overall estate plan
  • Protecting family privacy
  • Supporting a favorite charity or cause with a gift of money, securities, or other property

 

What information will I need to provide to begin an estate plan?

Generally, an attorney will need information about family and assets, including information about the following listed items:

  • Information about your family
  • Your advisors
  • Your current estate plan documents
  • Life insurance
  • Personal property
  • Bank and securities accounts 
  • Employment benefits
  • Stock options
  • Real estate
  • Business interests
  • Savings bonds
  • Promissory notes
  • Annuities
  • Copyrights
  • Patents
  • Mortgages
  • Other debt

 

Why do I need an attorney?

Although the end result of an estate plan is a set of legal estate plan documents, the discussions with clients, the thought, the legal analysis and the legal counsel that goes into crafting the estate plan and drafting those documents is invaluable to the integrity of your estate plan. Estate planning is a legal process and is based on legal precedent and statutes. Costly problems can arise without that counsel. Poorly designed estate plans can come apart at a critical time and require legal action to correct the issues that arise. It is not uncommon for a suriving spouse to have no idea what the estate plan means, and can be blindsided by the problems and cost caused by poor drafting. A good estate planner will make sure the clients know and understand what they are planning and the documents that defne the plan.