Hardly a week goes by without news of a celebrity who died without a will, fracturing families and enriching their attorneys.
Maybe you’re smarter than that. You have a will and have named a power of attorney for finances and health care. But unless you regularly update these documents and beneficiary designations, your heirs could still find themselves in a legal morass after you die or paying more than they had to in taxes (we’ll cover that, too). Worse, some of your assets could end up going to a wrongful heir. The basic components of an estate plan include a will or living trust (or both), a living will, and a power of attorney for finances and health care (also known as a health care proxy).
Will pros and cons
Both wills and trusts have their pros and cons; however, creating a trust in addition to a will may be the best option for those who want:
more control over their assets
greater asset protection and privacy
ability to reduce or eliminate estate taxes
contingencies that specify when and how much an heir can inherit
it’s essential to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to determine which legal tools best fit your needs and can take you and your family into a bright future.
What is a will?
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You should outline your objectives, inventory your assets, estimate your outstanding debts and prepare a list of family members and other beneficiaries. You should then use this information to consider how you want to distribute your assets. Some questions you should ask yourself include the following: is it important to pass my property to my heirs in the most tax-efficient manner? should i establish a trust to provide for my spouse or other beneficiaries? how much money will my grandchild need for college? do i need to provide for a child who has a disability? assets that you do not specifically address in your will may fall into a “catch-all” clause in your will.
Yes, but you need the right attorney. A local attorney who has considerable experience in living trusts and estate planning will be able to give you valuable guidance and peace of mind that your trust is prepared and funded properly.
A revocable living trust is one of the best ways to keep your assets out of probate and make sure they are distributed the way you intended. 1. Avoid conservatorship and guardianship: a revocable living trust allows you to name your spouse, partner, child, or other trusted person to manage your money and property that has been properly transferred to the trust, should you become unable to manage your own affairs. A will only becomes effective when you die, so a will is useless in avoiding conservatorship and guardianship proceedings during your life. 2. Bypass probate: accounts and property in a revocable living trust do not go through probate to be delivered to their intended recipient.
If you live in a community property state, and use community property to fund a living trust, the trust becomes the owner of the property, and it’s no longer considered “community” property. The property should be clearly identified as having been community property, and the trust documents should state that the property will revert to its community character of the trust is revoked. Otherwise, the character of the property might become unclear (which could have divorce and tax implications). Contact us proudly serving the areas around stroudsburg including east stroudsburg, analomink, tannersville, bartonsville, delaware water gap, shawnee on delaware, marshall’s creek, smithfield, mount bethel, bangor, east bangor, saylorsburg, sciota, effort, gilbert, kresgeville, kunkletown, brodheadsville, wind gap, portland, roseto, pen argyl, bushkill and surrounding areas.