Planning for your death isn’t just for the wealthy. It’s something everyone should do. It can help you pass your estate to whomever you want to pass it to, be it your children, spouse, or your favorite charity. Due to rising death rates caused by new variants of Covid-19, the demand for estate planning is rising in America. At Kalicki Collier, we help you with your estate planning and create living trusts in Reno, Nevada.
Here are 13 terms to increase your legal literacy on the subject:
Assets
In financial terms, an asset is a resource that has value. It represents a part of your wealth. For example, shares in companies or businesses.
Fiduciary
A fiduciary is required to act in the best interests of another person and must be completely trustworthy.
Trust
Generally speaking, a trust is a fiduciary relationship where a trust maker gives the trustee the right to hold property or assets for a beneficiary. The trust agreement should be written and must outline how the trust assets will be distributed.
Will
A will is a legal document that provides instructions on how your assets should be divided and passed after your death. Following your death, a person appointed or chosen by you in the will, called an executor, has to apply to a probate court. At Kalicki Collier, our probate attorneys can help you with your court proceedings.
Probate
Probate is the name for a legal procedure that determines if a will is valid and authentic. The probate process typically involves a court-supervised administration of the estate of a deceased person.
Heir
When a loved one passes away and leaves behind assets, the beneficiary of this person’s estate is referred to as the heir.
Beneficiary
In the world of finance, a beneficiary refers to an individual eligible to receive distributions from a will, trust, or life insurance policy.
Marital deduction
The marital deduction is a way for the first spouse who dies to leave assets to the other spouse without paying any estate taxes.
Joint tenancy
In the event that one party passes away when you own a property with someone else, the property doesn’t have to be sold and re-bought: the other person just automatically gets full ownership.
Irrevocable vs. Revocable
When you create a trust, you can choose whether it’s Irrevocable or Revocable. An Irrevocable Trust is not easily changed. The beneficiaries must agree before any changes can be made. A Revocable Trust, however, can be changed easily.
Intestate
If you die without making a will, you die intestate. The state will determine how your assets will be distributed, which may not be what you want.
Incapacitated
An incapacitated person is an adult for whom a guardian has been appointed to manage their affairs as they are not mentally capable of managing their affairs.
Distribution
The distribution of assets is the process whereby the owner transfers money or assets to another individual.
At Kalicki Collier, we offer all kinds of litigation services in Reno, Nevada, including estate planning. If you are looking for estate, trust attorney Reno or probate attorneys in Reno, then please call us at 775-204-0600/775-413-2953 or complete this form. If you want to learn more about estate management, then please visit our blog.