Showing posts with label Legacy Assurance Plan Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legacy Assurance Plan Florida. Show all posts

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Revocable Living Trusts | How a Popular Radio Financial Advisor's Misconceptions Reveal Common Errors People Make

Summary: There are a lot of misconceptions people have regarding living trusts. Sometimes, even experienced (and well-known) financial planners can hold and speak some of these misconceptions. By looking closely at what the law allows you to do with a living trust (or any estate planning tool), you can get a better understanding of how these tools really can work for you and whether or not including them in your plan makes sense for you. Despite what some may say, a properly drafted living trust can allow you to maintain exactly as much control over your assets after you've funded them into your trust as you had before. 


Dave Ramsey is, according to Wikipedia, "an American businessman, author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker," and he is a highly successful one at that. His radio show is heard across 500 stations and his financial advice courses have been attended by countless people. His advice has helped many people overcome financial problems, especially when it comes to overcoming the potentially crushing burden of excessive debt.

Just like all of us, however, Ramsey is not infallible. When it comes to the issue of estate planning and the use of revocable living trusts, his statements reveal some misconceptions that are common among some professionals and lay people alike. By looking at some of his misconceptions, you can get a better picture of the estate planning options that exist and whether or not they could potentially benefit you.

In his book The Legacy Journey, Ramsey writes that "living trusts require you to move your assets from under your own control to a trust before your death. As a result, even basic financial decisions – like adjusting investments, managing bank accounts, giving to charities, and buying or selling real estate – have to go through a trustee because the trust legally owns everything." While Ramsey's statements are not outright falsehoods, they seem to demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of how living trusts can, and many do, work.

His description of how living trusts work is technically accurate in a certain sense, but it is also potentially very misleading. It is true that, if you create, execute and fund a living trust, you as an individual have relinquished control of those assets. That is exactly how trusts help you avoid probate... by moving those assets from legal ownership by you as an individual (which is how your assets are exposed to probate) to legal ownership by your trust (and avoid probate). But here's the thing: setting up such an arrangement does not mean that you have to give up actual control of your assets. 

The law allows you to customize your trust in a great many ways, with lots of options regarding when and to whom you distribute your wealth, as well as who is in charge of your trust. You can, and many people do, set up a living trust where you are the trustee from the time you set up the trust until the day you die or become mentally incapacitated. When Ramsey says that establishing and funding a living trust means moving control of your assets from you to a trustee, he's technically correct, but here's the thing: that trustee who takes over control of your assets --- it's you if you've named yourself as the trustee of your trust. In other words, all you do when set up a living trust like this is move the control of your assets from you as an individual to you as a trustee of your trust. You have no less control that you did before, and you can choose to maintain that level of control right until you die or become mentally incapacitated.
  
Ramsey also described living trusts in his book as "an up sell in the estate planning world" that is, in his words, "expensive" and "unnecessary." While he is correct that, in most cases, an estate plan with a living trusts costs more than one without a trust, a living trust is certainly not in the same class as, say, a fancy sunroof on your new car. 

As most people familiar with estate planning know. your living trust can help you avoid probate. In some states, the simple fact that your estate avoids probate can, by itself, pay for the cost of your living trust many times over. As an example, consider California. Some California estate planning lawyers have estimated that the average probate administration process costs the heirs roughly 5% of the value of the gross estate. So, if you have a $500,000 gross estate, then probate could cost you around $25,000. (And that's just on average!)

Additionally, there are other collateral benefits of living trusts that Ramsey overlooks. One of these is privacy. Certainly, some people may not care about all of the details of their estate becoming public record as part of their probate court case file, but a lot of people might look upon avoiding this outcome as an important goal as it relates to protecting their privacy and the privacy of their loved ones. Living trusts can do that in most locations. In most states, a probate case file, which has to be opened to probate a will, is public record; on the other hand, no such court case file is required to be opened to settle your trust and distribute its assets.   

Furthermore, you can also potentially enjoy greater control over the distribution of your wealth by using a trust. With a will, the entirety of an heir's distribution is given to him or her as soon as the probate process is complete. If you'd like to give your loved ones their distributions in portions spread out over a longer period of time, a trust can help with that, while a plan that relies upon a will cannot.

This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 

This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Location: University Park, FL, USA

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Estate Planning | The National Elections and Their Impact on Your Estate Plan

Summary: There are many things that can influence your estate plan and indicate a need for a change to your plan. That's why estate plan "checkups" are so important; they give you an opportunity to take a closer look at these events and how they impact the plans you've made. Sometimes the influential event is a change in your life; sometimes it's a change in the law. Whenever the country elects a new president, that election's result could impact the laws related to estate planning. That is especially true in 2016, as the outcome of this election could greatly impact the estate tax laws and, for some people, necessitate a significant re-analysis of the plans they've made.  


The two major party candidates appear to have significantly different visions of what the federal estate tax should look like under their leadership. Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton has proposed an increase in the estate tax rate. Under the Clinton plan, an estate that owed estate taxes would pay between 45 and 65 percent, depending on the size of that estate. Additionally, Clinton's plan would make a broader range of estates obligated to pay the tax. Currently, the estate tax exemption is $5.45 million for an individual, or $10.9 million for a couple. Clinton's plan would drop that exemption to $3.5 million for individuals, the lowest the exemption amount has been since 2009.

Republican nominee Donald Trump's plan calls for a complete elimination of the estate tax, but would impose a different tax at death in certain cases. Under Trump's plan, the federal government would impose a capital gains tax at death on assets in an estate that had appreciated in value over time. This would mean that anything from collectible fine art to investment holdings could be taxed at a rate just below 20%. The Trump plan would, however, carve out a $10 million exemption for small businesses and family farms.    

The leading candidate outside the two major party nominees is Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party. Johnson's tax plan calls for a complete elimination of the estate tax, along with all income and payroll taxes. Under Johnson's plan, they would be replaced with a national consumption tax commonly known as the "Fair Tax." 

Each of these candidate's plan would obviously have a dramatically different impact on the planning of one's estate. Were Johnson to become president and enact his plan, there would be no need for any sort of estate planning to eliminate or minimize estate tax obligations, as no potential tax obligation would exist. Were Trump to become president and enact his plan, there might be a substantial need for some people to significantly alter their estate plans. If, for example, the Trump plan only imposed its capital gains tax on assets located inside a deceased person's probate estate, then the establishment of this plan might, for a substantial range of people, greatly expand the benefits of utilizing trusts as part of their estate plans. The Trump plan might also create other new techniques for minimizing or eliminating the death-triggered capital gains tax proposed under his plan.

If, as many pollsters forecast, Clinton becomes president, then many people may want to re-visit their estate plans. Currently, a married couple can potentially pass $10.9 million ($5.45 million each) of wealth at death without paying federal estate tax. Clinton's plan would lower the exemption to $3.5 million, or $7 million for a couple. This means that substantial number of estates that would owe nothing under the current system would be facing an estate tax obligation of between 45 and 65%. This could have dramatic impact on the considerable number of people with estates between $7 and $10.9 million, including small business owners and farmers. For these people, it would become essential to explore avenues for reducing the size of their taxable estates. These techniques can include trust planning options like Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Charitable Trusts and Grantor Retained Trusts. It may also involve establishing limited liability companies (LLCs) and/or Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs). 

Regardless of which candidate becomes president, the election reminds us that laws, including the laws impacting estate planning, can change, sometimes dramatically. Getting a periodic estate plan "checkup" can help you secure the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your plan is best equipped to deal with whatever the changed legal landscape looks like.

This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 

This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Location: Bradenton, FL, USA

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Estate Planning Laws | Enactment of New Law Reminds Us of the Importance of Estate Plan Reviews

Summary: Very little in life is unchanging. The relationships in our lives change through death, birth, marriage and divorce, among other things. The laws change through the passage and enactment of new bills. Whether it is a new law or a life-event change, it can have an impact on your estate plan. With periodic estate plan reviews, you can gain the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that your plan remains optimized to function at its best possible level, even after taking into account all of the changes in the law and your life that have taken place. 

Back in late May 2016, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill into law. The signing probably was not headlines news, even in that state. But, for Minnesota pet owners, it was welcome news. With the governor's signature, Minnesota became the 50th and final state to recognize the legal validity of pet or animal trusts. Pet or animal trusts work similarly to most every other kind of trust. They allow an animal owner, whether the beneficiary is your pampered poodle or a working animal like a horse, to establish the trust agreement with that animal (or animals) as the beneficiary. The trust creator then names a trustee who manages the trust assets and the income from those assets for the benefit of that named beneficiary. With this kind of estate planning, you can ensure, not only that your animal will go to a loving home, but that the animal will have the financial resources he or she needs. 

Transfer on death deeds are a useful tool for some people who may desire to avoid probate but whose circumstances may dictate that a revocable living trust isn't right for them. These deeds work like the death beneficiary designations on your life insurance or other financial accounts. With proof of a valid transfer on death deed, along with evidence that you're the beneficiary and the previous owner has died, you can take immediate ownership of a piece of real property without requiring a probate process. More than half of the 50 states recognize these deeds. Missouri has had them since 1989. California, however, passed a new law and began recognizing them in 2016.

What do these sets of facts have in common? They are both reminders that the laws governing estate planning are not etched in stone. They change with some frequency. Some of the changes may be very minor. Others, like the creation of a new type of trust or new type of real estate deed, can be major. Regardless of whether a change created by a new law is minute or large-scale, any change can have an impact on your plan. 

A few years ago, Indiana law created a legally enforceable "Funeral Planning Directive." If you lived in Indiana and decisions like place of burial or cremation-versus-interment mattered to you, this change would be enormous to you. If, however, you had already created your Indiana estate plan before the new law passed and you thought that your were all finished with your estate planning, you might have had the potential of missing out on the benefits of this change in the law. The same is true if you, as a pet owner, had already created your Minnesota estate plan before May 2016 and ceased doing anything with your plan after you signed it.

A popular modern social media acronym is "FOMO," which is short for "fear of missing out." As someone with an estate plan, you should have FOMO -- fear of missing out on the benefits of potentially helpful changes in the law, or fear of missing out on having an optimized estate plan because you did not update your plan to account for shifts in the law or changes in your personal life. With periodic estate plan reviews, you need not have this fear, however. A routine estate plan review can help you identify life-event changes, such as marriages, divorces, deaths or births, which may indicate a need for an amendment to your plan. Reviews may also allow your estate planning team to notify you that a law has changed, and give you the opportunity to discuss with your estate planning attorney how these changes may impact your plan.

This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 

This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Location: Bradenton, FL, USA

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Revocable Living Trusts | Using a Trust to Ensure You Have a Lasting Legacy



Summary: Including trusts in your estate plan can have many types of benefits. A revocable living trust may help you avoid the potential delays, expenses and stress that can arise from going through the probate administration process It can also be an invaluable tool in planning to protect yourself in the event that you become mentally incapacitated. Furthermore, your trust planning may help you create a more lasting legacy than you might otherwise enjoy with a will, as your trust may allow you control what happens to your wealth even after your initial beneficiaries have died.

If you are familiar with revocable living trusts, you likely know that they can help you avoid some of the potential drawbacks of probate administration. Depending on the laws and rules in your state of residence, probate can be time-consuming, expensive, stressful and largely devoid of privacy. Depending on the specifics of your situation, the benefits of avoiding these potential pitfalls, along with a trust's potential protective advantages when it comes to planning for mental incapacity, can be substantial.

What you may or may not know, however, is how your trust(s) can help you ensure that the legacy you leave behind is as durable and lasting as you'd want. Some celebrity estates from history offer useful examples. Before her death in 1962, Marilyn Monroe created an estate plan. Her will left most of her wealth to hear acting coach, Lee Strasberg. Beyond the business relationship, Monroe had a very close emotional and personal bond with both Strasberg and his second wife, Paula. Monroe's will requested that her acting coach distribute her belongings, "in his sole discretion, among my friends, colleagues and those to whom I am devoted." This, of course, meant that he had full and complete control over the belongings and they were part of his estate.

The acting coach died in 1982, 16 years after his wife, Paula, passed. Several years before his death, Strasberg married his third wife, Anna. Anna, who was 13 years younger than Monroe, never knew the famous actress but, after Anna's husband's death, the entirety of Monroe's possessions belonged to her. Susan Strasberg, who was the daughter of Lee and Paula, and a close personal friend of Monroe, received nothing. 

At this point, perhaps you're saying, "I don't plan to leave my wealth to my acting coach, so I don't really need this type of planning." That may not necessarily be true. Here's an example of how your goals can be thwarted, even if they are fairly straightforward and clearly stated in a will. Imagine a couple, John Doe and Carol Doe, who have three daughters. John and Carol each have wills that say, "100% of my estate to my spouse and, if my spouse has died, then all to my three daughters." John dies unexpectedly. Carol remarries a man named Mike who has three sons but, shortly thereafter, Carol dies. Her will says that her three daughters get 100% of her wealth (which includes the entirety of John's estate.) However, state law gives a surviving spouse the right to "elect against the will," which means that the surviving spouse can choose either the amount listed in the dead spouse's will or an amount spelled out in the state statutes. In some states, that's 50% of the dead spouse's probate estate. In other words, Mike could elect to take his spousal share, collect 50% of Carol's wealth and then transfer those assets to his sons, and it would all be perfectly legal. John would have, however indirectly and unintentionally, ended up leaving his daughters nothing and an inheritance of 50% to three people he did not even know (Mike's sons).

An estate plan with a trust (or trusts) could have created a different outcome for both fictional John and real-life Marilyn. So, how does it work? A trust will  include provisions that direct what will happen to the assets funded into it, in terms of distribution, and when those distributions should take place. You have the option of directing your successor trustee to make a full distribution of your wealth and closing the trust upon your death, or you can create instructions that will allow the trust to continue functioning. You may direct that an initial beneficiary can enjoy the trust's assets during his/her lifetime and then, after he/she dies, you can direct who should receive the wealth after that. In this way, you can minimize the chance of your wealth ending up belonging to complete strangers.

Engaging in this type of planning, as with any variety of planning, can trigger certain legal or tax implications. That's why, as with any type of estate plan, it is important to work an experienced professional who can carefully advise you of the benefits and drawbacks of each option available to you.

This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 

This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Location: Bradenton, FL, USA

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Estate Planning | A Scary Story from California Highlights Some Vital Lessons


Summary: Estate planning is important for a many reasons. By properly engaging in the planning process, you will have appropriate, well-thought out and enforceable legal documents that will direct the carrying out of all of your estate planning goals. Another essential element of proper planning is retaining a reliable team of estate planning professionals, who can aid you in achieving your objectives and in avoiding potentially disastrous mistakes.

News reports from July 2016 told a heartbreaking story regarding a pair of Southern California grandparents and their home of more than a half-century. When Helen and Hank Kawecki moved into their home in Thousand Oaks, California, things were a lot different. The Kaweckis were a young couple in their early 30s. Thousand Oaks, which now boasts nearly 130,000 residents, then had less than 3,000. And the president was named Eisenhower. The couple had hopes of spending the rest of their lives growing old in this house. And for 56 years they did. Now, in 2016, they find themselves on the brink of losing their home as a result of malfeasance by a family member they thought they could trust. While the couple's neighbors have launched an online crowdfunding page to try to help the couple, the Kaweckis' terrible tale serves as an important estate planning lesson for all of us.

The Kaweckis' problems began when they struck a deal with their grandson. The grandson agreed to support his grandparents financially for the rest of their lives. In exchange, the couple agreed to sign over to the grandson the deed to their home. Instead of supporting the grandparents, the grandson took out three loans totaling more than $500,000. After the grandson spent the money and then defaulted on the debt, he sought to sell the house, eventually handing it over to a private lender. The lender sought to take possession of the house. The Kaweckis confronted their grandson, who promptly disappeared. The lender asked a court to evict the couple, and a July date of eviction was set. A judge in late July gave the couple a 60-day reprieve from eviction, but that extension will likely be used just to give the seniors time to find a new place to live. That's because all of the paperwork surrounding the house was probably legal. The Kaweckis voluntarily deeded their house to the grandson, and he validly deeded it to the lender.

No one deserves to be the victims of financial elder abuse, but there are things you can do to protect yourself. The first thing is to get an estate plan in place. This plan will allow you to get your planning goals and decisions put down in writing in in clear, enforceable legal documents. This plan will account, not only for the distribution of your assets after you die, but also the management of your assets while you are alive. 

An integral part of this process is securing, and consistently working with, an estate planning team you can trust. Your estate planning attorney can be an essential help through the process of planning. This includes the decision-making process leading up to the execution of your documents, the process of putting your plan into effect and the element of keeping your plan working through proper plan maintenance. An experienced estate planning attorney could have counseled the Kaweckis on all of their options regarding the transfer of their home, which options would be best-suited for their objectives and why, in almost all situations, simply deeding away the home in which you live to someone else without retaining any type of legal right of possession (like a life estate) is a bad idea.

Having a reliable estate planning team on your side can benefit you in many areas of your life, more than you might even think. Working with the right professionals to get the right plan can give you the peace-of-mind that comes with having your plan in place, along with the benefit of having an invaluable resource always at your side. 


This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan


Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Location: Bradenton, FL, USA

Friday, December 2, 2016

Estate Planning | Using the Right Tools for The Job at Hand


Summary: Classic children's tales can impart important lessons even to adults. The "Three Little Pigs" teaches its audience, regardless of age, about the importance of, not merely planning, but planning properly. Proper estate planning works on a similar principle. To make sure you have a plan that will survive whatever life throws at you, and still achieve your goals, it is important to work with estate planning professionals who can ensure that the tools and materials used in your plan are the ones best suited to address the challenges that may arise in your life.

A popular children's public television show, designed to encourage preschoolers to read, often engages in re-working classic children's tales to impart life lessons. In one episode, the "Three Little Pigs" solved their problem with the Big, Bad Wolf by befriending the wolf and persuading him to stop blowing down houses. While the importance of kindness is a good lesson to teach preschoolers, the actual lesson of the original "Three Little Pigs" teaches something more than that. In the original, the third pig saves the day, not because he convinced the wolf not to destroy his house, but because his house could withstand whatever the wolf tried to do to blow it down.

Proper estate planning works similar to the third pig's plan. Bad things can happen in life and, like the wolf in the original fairy tale, sometimes you cannot stop them from visiting you. But you can stop, or minimize, their destructive force by engaging in proper planning. A lot of times, proper planning involves following the adage that encourages us to "hope for the best, but plan for the worst." The third pig followed this method of planning when he built his house. Houses of sticks and straw were vulnerable to many potential calamities. The third pig's house survived because its material (brick) could withstand the worst onslaught the wolf could bring. It withstood the wolf because the third pig had the right tools (bricks) to accomplish the desired goal (creating a house that could last.)

With estate planning, the law also gives you materials and tools to help you hope for the best and plan for the worst, and create a lasting legacy. With the help of your estate planning attorney, you can create a plan that will withstand the foreseeable harms that may await you. If the "big bad wolf" you desire to plan for is the costs, delays and stresses of probate, the law gives you tools to plan for that. For many people, your proper materials to overcome this problem might include a revocable living trust or titling assets in pay-on-death/transfer-on-death ownership structures. If the wolf that concerns you is the possibility of mental incapacity, you have materials you can use, too. These can include powers of attorney and also living trusts. If you need to protect against the possibility of death taxes, your plan may involve different materials, such as irrevocable trusts. If you have a special needs child in your life, the materials in your plan will likely look different still, utilizing such devices as supplemental needs trusts.

In estate planning, each family's situation is unique; for each family, the "wolf" at your door looks a little different from someone else's. With a proper plan prepared with the assistance of a reliable estate planning attorney, you can be sure your plan will survive whatever "huffing and puffing" life throws at you. 


This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Location: University Park, FL, USA

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Estate Planning | Don't Delay, Plan Today... To Keep Your Estate in Order


Summary: Whether it is your marriage, your health, your car, your home, your boat or your estate plan, all of these have some things in common. One of them is that all of the hard work you put into acquiring and building these things up end up being lost if you allow them to fall into disrepair due to neglect. With regard to your estate plan, one of the best ways to avoid this state of disrepair is through regular maintenance. By resisting the urge to put off periodic estate plan reviews, you be certain that you have a plan best suited to carry out your wishes and your goals, and reflect both the state of personal affairs in your life and the state of the laws where you live. 

When it comes to estate planning, it can be easy to procrastinate. There are dozens of different reasons people put off getting an estate plan in place. For those that clear this hurdle and get a complete plan put together and executed, this is not the end of the process. Many people know that they need to be pro-active in ensuring that their plan remains up-to-date. However, just like making an initial estate plan, maintaining an estate plan can be easy to put off. And just as with initial estate planning, it is imperative not to fall into this procrastination trap. 

Procrastinating the completion of your estate plan maintenance essentially creates a minefield of possible harms that can blow up all the careful planning you've done. One of these mines is a change in your personal situation. Life events that can cause this include divorce, marriage, a birth or a death, among others. A man in Virginia ended up leaving his ex-wife (instead of his current wife) a $124,558 death benefit payout from his life insurance because he did not do proper estate plan maintenance and, specifically, did not update the death beneficiary form on his life insurance after he divorced the previous wife and later married the subsequent one.

Another potential problem possibly awaiting your estate plan is a change in your state's laws. If, for example, you have a former spouse whom (unlike the man in Virginia mentioned above) you do wish to include in your legacy, and you have not updated your plan since before your divorce, your goals could be thwarted. Some (but not all) states have statutes saying that a divorce automatically invalidates any estate plan provision created to benefit the now ex-spouse. If your state didn't have such a law but then decided to create a new statute and adopt such a provision, then this person to whom you made a conscious and intentional decision to leave a distribution could end up getting nothing as a result of your plan not being updated to address this legal change.

Your estate plan "check-up" can serve other goals, too. It can allow you and your team of estate planning professionals to contemplate many questions, like whether a change in your amount of wealth might warrant additional planning steps, such as the additional of additional trust(s)... or whether you still have sufficient resources to pay for your final expenses and the other costs of carrying out your final wishes. 

Whether taking inventory of your assets, taking inventory of the changes in personal life or taking inventory of the changes in the law, your estate plan review can give you the confidence that you have a plan in place that is optimized to deal with circumstances as they exist now, not as they existed when you signed your original set of plan documents. 



This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Location: Bradenton, FL, USA

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Estate Planning for Your Animals: Beyond Just Cats and Dogs - Legacy Assurance Plan

Anyone who has (or has had) animal companions in their lives know the important role these creatures play in the lives of their human companions. In the past, a person might have a cherished animal companion euthanized and buried with him or her. Today, as we have come to recognize such notions to be cruel and inhumane, there is a greater emphasis on ensuring the continued care of your beloved "critters" if they outlive you. This type of planning is especially important if your animals are not just house pets.  



One such scenario where this is true involves horses. Whether your horses are expensive Arabians or just working members of your family farm, ensuring their continued care is important, as re-homing horses is often more difficult than re-homing cats and dogs. As with any type of estate planning, advance thought and communication are key. By engaging in advance planning and discussions with your loved ones, you can identify who is best suited to take over not just your farmland, but also care for your animals on that farm, too.

    

It is extremely vital, if you are in this situation, to make certain you do not procrastinate creating a plan. With no plan, all of your property will transfer according to your state's laws for people with no estate plans ("intestacy laws.") These laws make put your animals in the hands of someone who has no interest in maintaining their care, or alternately may distribute them to someone without the means, the knowledge or otherwise lacking the resources to provide for their care. If you have someone with the desire and the resources to provide for them, it is essential that you create a plan that gets that distribution on paper in a legal document.




Other families may have even more challenging situations, as there may be no trusted loved one with the ability and desire to take your animals. When that happens, you can still plan to provide for your animals' care. Several universities' colleges of veterinary medicine, such as Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Purdue, among others, have programs that offer animals the opportunity to be cared for after you're gone. These programs often require a one-time gift in order to gain entry. Your estate plan can provide for both the transfer of legal ownership of your animals to the schools, but also cover the necessary payment to cover their admission. In addition to some veterinary colleges, some SCPA organizations also have programs. 



Many states recognize special types of trusts to cover the continued care of animals. Even if your state does not have specific "pet trusts," you can still plan for them. By working with an experienced estate planning team, you can be confident that your animals will enjoy the same level of care you've provided for them, even after you're gone.




Summary: Estate planning for your animals is important in any situation, but it is particularly so if you have animals such as horses that are not just house pets. The range of people who have the resources to provide these animals with proper homes is smaller, meaning that you should take care to have a plan in place that will ensure that the home you provide for your animals after your death is one that is up to your standards. 
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,
Location: Bradenton, FL, USA
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)