It’s painful watching a loved one become incapacitated due to an illness or injury, especially if they have no power of attorney and have to rely on a court-appointed conservator to make vital health and financial decisions for them. Common situations that require conservatorship include dementia, Alzheimer’s, and coma.
If you haven’t yet incorporated an estate plan into your overall financial plan, consider the following reasons on why it is necessary.
Estate planning is the process of managing an individual’s estate or asset base during his/her life and after death. It includes preserving, arranging, and distributing your estate to whom you want to receive them in the event of your incapacitation or death. Estate planning involves the settlement of estate taxes, expenses, and financial obligations to …
What is estate planning and why is it important? Read More »
Before the modern age – before history even – business disputes were regularly settled by sword or stick or stone. They were rather violent affairs, tense and often lethal. Later in history, there were increasing attempts made at reasonable negotiation, compromise and understanding before the violence would ultimately erupt (we should give them credit for …
Trust funds have the reputation of being a financial planning and asset protection strategy that only the super-rich take advantage of. There is a misconception that a trust fund and the protection it ensures is beyond the need and means of the average worker, business owner or investor. This is simply not true. Trust funds …
Unfortunately, there is no shortage of individuals and companies who would love to get their hands on your hard earned assets. The government, too, is not ashamed to tax your property and wealth in sometimes onerous ways, reducing what you can pass down to your loved ones. To protect your hard earned property, wealth and …
Protecting your hard earned assets from ever increasing tax burdens and any unforeseen legal judgments against you is an essential part of a good asset protection strategy. An asset protection strategy includes a number of legal and financial maneuvers designed to keep your assets, family and any other beneficiaries of your estate safe from taxes, …
When you pass on, the last thing you want is for your grieving family to have to deal with the slow, grinding procedures of the law. You would rather the process of inheritance and asset transmission spare your family and friends the headache and frustration that comes with legal proceedings. Unfortunately, that is not always …
When it comes to protecting you, your family and your hard-earned assets, estate planning should be an integral part of your overall financial plan. It may be common knowledge that estate planning 101 includes discussion of guardianship of minor children, transfer of assets or property to heirs, and leaving money to charity. However, estate planning …
As an estate planner, I am always advising my clients about the benefits of using a revocable living trusts. A trust can keep your loved ones out of the probate court when you die, and provides tremendous asset protection for your beneficiaries, and allows you to keep all of your personal family affairs private. But …
