Do You Need An Estate Plan?
The process of estate planning is a commonly neglected portion of many households and their financial planning. It’s very easy to delay answering the uncomfortable questions about your future arrangements. It’s tough to know what to do with your assets if you are the victim of an unfortunate accident or unexpected fatality. With roughly 50% of Americans forgoing any type of estate planning or will, there are a large portion of US citizens that will have their final arrangements decided by the state.
An estate plan can be essential for detailing the distribution of your property, for the care of your children, and establishing your wishes for a legacy. With the proper planning the people that survive you could be facing large taxes and fees, court costs and they could get stuck with the responsibility that you never intended for them. Here are some of the top situations where you should consider making an estate plan.
You’ve Just Had Children
One of the most important major life events to consider an estate plan is when you have children. Drafting a will can ensure that you can place the name of a guardian for your children and plan for the distribution of your assets through a bank or brokerage firm. You decide that your assets will transfer over to your children’s name on death or submit conditional offers that portions of the estate will be released to them each year with the remainder of assets transferred over on their 30th birthday.
You Have a Large Family
The probate process can be extremely drawn out and lead to a loss of privacy of your finances. Relatives and creditors could easily probate your records and challenge your will if you have no wishes or distribution of assets. Probate fees are also quite substantial so it can be wiser to consider the option of tax planning and dissolving your assets according to your wishes to each family member.
You Have a Considerable Estate
Federal estate tax equations are available for many cases of probate across the United States. Each spouse would have an $11.58 million tax exclusion for the transfer of estates. If you plan on transferring your assets to a family member however, it’s important to explore the taxation and transfer process for estate planning.
Keep some of these top reasons and more in mind for planning your estate. Make sure you are speaking to a tax lawyer for any clarification on estate planning.
This article was written by Alla Tenina. Alla is one of the best tax attorneys in Los Angeles California, and the founder of Tenina law. She has experience in bankruptcies, real estate planning, and complex tax matters. Click Here for more information. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; the ABA and its members do not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.