Estate Planning

Some individuals create a Revocable Trust, pour-over Will, Property Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Authorization Act and think that those documents alone constitute a complete Estate Plan that will protect their family. While the documents themselves represent a solid beginning, the documents don’t cover every asset or concern. A qualified Estate Planning attorney will consider all and provide advice regarding all the elements necessary for a complete Estate Plan.

With the proliferation of the internet has come a plethora of websites claiming that individuals may take a “Do It Yourself” approach to Estate Planning. While individuals may think that a plan created by one of these companies will meet their needs and save them money, the opposite is true. These plans often fail to contain necessary provisions and usually cost the family more in attorneys’ fees. In addition, a Trusts and Estate practitioner can alert a family to techniques designed to lower the tax burden upon the death of an individual. It’s easy to make costly mistakes if you don’t have an attorney both at the drafting stage and the administration stage of Estate Planning.

Those who take the time to create an Estate Plan usually desire to keep it private and to ensure that no beneficiary can alter the plan after their death. Sometimes, the desire to maintain privacy backfires and produces unanticipated consequences, such as litigation.

When people think about an Estate Plan, they often have tunnel vision and focus on just a few of the many considerations that influence the plan. Most individuals focus on their assets and figuring out to whom they want those assets to pass. While those things matter, thinking about the intended beneficiary and their individual circumstances also matters. Certain types of beneficiaries require additional planning.

Despite knowing that they should have an estate plan, many individuals look for shortcuts to creating an Estate Plan. They rely upon advice from seemingly well-intentioned individuals that if avoiding probate is their main goal and they don’t have a taxable estate, they need not seek out an attorney to create an Estate Plan. While options exist to avoid probate, probate avoidance is just one of many considerations in creating an Estate Plan.

When a famous individual dies, it’s always interesting to see how they set up their estate, if they bothered to undertake estate planning at all. These cases provide great lessons for Estate Planning practitioners both about what to do, as well as about what to avoid. In some cases, even when celebrities take the time to set up a proper estate plan, things go wrong. Paul Newman’s estate represents one such situation. Read on to learn more.

As the population over the age of 65 continues to grow, unique problems arise. For example, many seniors may have never married, or outlived their spouse and lack confidence that someone will help them make financial and health decisions as it becomes more difficult or when they become incapacitated. A qualified Estate Planning practitioner can provide guidance to address the issues unique to the solo senior.

President Biden scored a win on some issues, but a loss on others when he signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The legislation left the estate and gift tax alone and made modest changes to the income tax. The Act will have a significant impact on those on Medicare because of the cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and insulin.