Estate Planning
Make Sure Your Family Transitions Prepare Your Children and Your Family for Financial Freedom.
Estate planning is designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive and to control the distribution of those assets after your death. Estate planning can be as simple as preparing a will or as complex as setting up various trusts. Whatever method works best, it is essential that you are aware of the various techniques available and make a plan according to your wishes.
If you don’t have a full understanding of your legal and financial rights, it is going to end up costing you… or your family… much more in the long run.
By planning now what happens to your estate in the event of your death, you will be left with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you have provided to the best of your ability for your children and your family.
We can help. Our estate planning experts will get to know you and help you plan for the future based on your particular needs and situation.
We are happy to discuss, recommend, and offer useful research tools which will help you get your estate in order so that those that follow you won’t be unduly burdened with taxes, probate courts, government bureaucracy, end-of-life costs and other problems relating to inheritance.
Asset Protection
You’ve spent most of your life accumulating a nest egg of savings, pension, 401k plans, investments, and home ownership so that one day you can retire and live off of it.
Asset protection is a component of financial planning used to protect your assets from creditor claims.
Common techniques include liability Insurance, division of assets between spouses, and moving your assets into some form of trust.
Trust Basics
A trust is a legal entity that holds assets for the benefit of another.
There are numerous trusts available including:
- Living trust
- Irrevocable trust
- Testamentary trust
- Family trust
- Asset protection trust
- Charitable trust
- Special needs trust
- Spendthrift trust
- And so on
Trusts are often used to protect your assets from potential creditors, minimize estate taxes, transferring assets to your beneficiaries, avoiding probate and legacy planning.
Divorce and Family Separation Planning
The unfortunate reality is that more than 50% of all marriages end in divorce. And a divorce is a huge financial decision can be amicable or messy.
You need to think about:
- Do we sell the house?
- Does the spouse continue to live in the house?
- If there are minor children, where will they live?
- How do we divide the family assets?
- Do we both hire attorneys or engage in mediation?
- Is there a prenuptial agreement? Is it enforceable?
This is one area where a do-it-yourself mentality might not be to your greatest benefit. Let us help guide you through the complexities and challenges of estate planning that are unique to each individual case.