Transferring real estate to a trust has become a widely used tool in estate planning. Unfortunately, it’s easy to overlook important aspects of the transfer that lead to unintended consequences. With careful planning, you can avoid these traps. Read on to learn more. … [Read more...] about The Importance of Insuring Real Estate
Estate Planning
How Using Specific Bequests Could Cost Beneficiaries their Inheritance
Parents often decide to leave one child a specific asset and provide an equalizing cash bequest to the other. This article explores how specific bequests may provide unintended results. Read on to learn more. … [Read more...] about How Using Specific Bequests Could Cost Beneficiaries their Inheritance
Choose Your Estate Administrator Wisely
When you plan your estate, you express your final wishes with regard to the way you want your assets to be distributed after you are gone. This can seem like the long and short of it, but there is a human element. Someone has to complete the administration tasks to bring your wishes to fruition, and you should place an emphasis on this part of the equation. The Role of the Executor If you use a will as your asset transfer vehicle, you would name an executor in the document to act as the … [Read more...] about Choose Your Estate Administrator Wisely
Do You Pay Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Appreciated Assets?
The taxation framework that applies to inheritances is favorable to people that receive bequests for the most part, but high net worth individuals have a cause for concern. We will take a look at taxation from an overview here, but first, we will focus on the capital gains tax. Step-Up in Basis “Realizing a gain” is the act of selling an asset after it has appreciated while it was in your possession. If you realize a gain, it is potentially subject to the capital gains tax. Long-term gains are … [Read more...] about Do You Pay Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Appreciated Assets?
What Is a Life Estate?
There are many different ways to facilitate asset transfers, and as a layperson, you are simply not going to be aware of all the possibilities. It’s our job to explain them to you, and to this end, we will look at the life estate in this post. The Probate Process You need to digest some background information about the probate process to understand why people utilize life estates. If you use a will as your asset transfer vehicle, it would be admitted to probate, and the executor that you name … [Read more...] about What Is a Life Estate?
DIY Estate Planning Can Yield Unintended Consequences
There are websites that sell boilerplate legal documents, including devices that are used in the field of estate planning. Most people do not have estate plans in place, and a lot of them are looking for quick solutions, and DIY estate planning is appealing to some. You can put this big responsibility behind you by filling in the blanks on a form that you download, and you are good to go. This is the perception, but in reality, negative consequences can come about when you try to act alone … [Read more...] about DIY Estate Planning Can Yield Unintended Consequences
What Is Probate and Why Do People Try to Avoid It?
You will invariably come across the word “probate” if you are looking for information about estate planning. Everyone should have a basic understanding of this process, and we will provide an overview in this post. Court Supervision If an executor that is named in a will could provide inheritances without any court supervision, creditors may not be given an opportunity seek payment before the assets are distributed. There would be no oversight, and there would be no process for challenging the … [Read more...] about What Is Probate and Why Do People Try to Avoid It?
Why Do You Need an Estate Plan?
Some people do not understand why estate planning is important because they think that it is simply a matter of drawing up a will when you are old and gray. In reality, there are some very good reasons why every responsible adult should put some effort into the process. Efficient and Effective Asset Transfers If you state your final wishes in a will, the people that are named in it as inheritors will play a waiting game. The document would be admitted to probate by the executor, and it can … [Read more...] about Why Do You Need an Estate Plan?
A Casual Discussion With an Estate Planning Lawyer
Let’s say that you start talking to the person sitting next you on a flight, and you learn that they are an estate planning lawyer. They are willing to answer any questions that you have for the next couple of hours. If you had this opportunity, you would come away with a new understanding of the process, so we are going to share a hypothetical version in this post. When does estate planning become important? You should have an estate plan as soon as you are a self-supporting adult. This … [Read more...] about A Casual Discussion With an Estate Planning Lawyer
Can You Revoke a Trust?
A lot of people assume that you cannot revoke a trust after it has been created. If you harbor this misconception, you may not consider the utilization of a trust because you do not want to take such a huge step. In fact, there are two different categories of trusts, and we will provide some clarity in this post. Irrevocable Trusts There are in fact some trusts that cannot be revoked, and they can only be changed under very limited circumstances. The trustee is the trust administrator, and … [Read more...] about Can You Revoke a Trust?
