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Home » Estate Planning Articles » Estate Planning and Happily Ever After

Estate Planning and Happily Ever After

March 31, 2015

Estate Planning and Happily Ever After

Compliments of Our Law Firm,
Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

You may have overheard a former classmate at a high school reunion say, “You haven’t changed a bit!” But if you really want to see how much you’ve changed, just take a look through your high school yearbooks. Odds are, any mention of the future from those who signed your yearbook during that rite of passage were probably made by 18 year olds who, like their classmates, saw only the magic and freedom adulthood brings. No one anticipates the ebbs and flows, losses, heartbreak or disappointments that sometimes pepper the proverbial “happily ever after.” It’s not until we’ve lived through a few of those adult years that we can look back and realize all of the experiences–good and bad–have resulted in a well-lived life. The question then becomes: how do I plan for my final years? No one ever said you had to accurately predict the future, but you can put strong protective mechanisms in place as you plan for the future.

One of the more important decisions to be made is who to trust to make decisions when you are no longer able to do so. For example, a trustee can manage different assets while also ensuring that your wishes are being met. There’s always flexibility in how much discretion this person may be given; ultimately, it should be based on what makes you comfortable. Sophisticated estate planning concepts can be put into place for even more flexibility. A “special co-trustee” or “Trust protector” can be added to your estate plan. A special co-trustee is an unbiased and unrelated person. Keep in mind this is someone other than the normal trustee. He or she is given the authority to exercise powers which might cause a problem if the normal trustee exercised them.

Another benefit of having a special co-trustee is that he or she may be given authority to amend the Trust, should unforeseen circumstances come to light. Most revocable living Trusts for married couples use a “Family Trust” or “Credit Shelter Trust,” which allow for the estate tax exclusion after the first spouse passes away. If there is no estate tax, these tools are usually not necessary. At that time, the special co-trustee has the authority to terminate these dynamics and distribute the proceeds to the surviving spouse.

Many young parents are seeing the advantages of early estate planning, even though they’re unsure of what their family’s future needs may be. The flexibility of having a special co-trustee means adjustments can be made later. For instance, there may be a child with disabilities and with unique needs. Or, one child may find financial success in her career as an adult, and as a result, her siblings may benefit more than her from the financial assets in your estate plan. It can also mean the assets you’ve worked hard to acquire aren’t lost to a child’s spouse during a divorce. It’s a way to level the playing field, so to speak.

Just as the case was when you graduated high school and college, you couldn’t predict the path your life would take. What you can do, however, is define a strong estate plan that can help pave the way to that well-lived life that everyone wants for themselves and their families. Your estate planning attorney is where it all begins.

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We need to update our Living Trust and attended Schomer Law Group’s seminar. Afterwards we made an appointment and were impressed by the attention Scott Schomer and Liran Aliav gave to our case answering all questions and making suggestions how to minimize the estate tax. All the office staff is very friendly and we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

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Mr. Schomer does an amazing job at explaining all the intricacies of establishing a trust. He and his team help you every step of the way so you always know what to expect and what you are preparing for. Best education you can get and the best gift you can give your family.

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We put off getting a trust for years. After attending a seminar with Scott Schomer we realized that the time had come to get a trust. We were given very good reasons for why we should get a trust. No pressure, just the plain facts. We are very relieved and happy to finally get our trust. Scott and Cesar were very knowledgeable, helpful and listened to our ideas of what we had to say. Any questions that we have now and in the future they are available to assist us to solve them. I recommend the Schomer Law Group and I wish we knew about them years ago.

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When you’re presented with an invitation to attend in a mailer, you may have reservations, this was a truly gift!! My wife and I were educated and guided through the process of creating a family trust.
Both of our parents had attorney’s that “worked” with wills/trusts, but came up short. Fortunately, the Schomer Law Group was there! This is a group of attorney’s that only specialize in estate planning, law, and financial advice, so you know you’re getting expert and personalized advice. This is the best money we’ve ever spent!! Thank you!

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We knew we had to update our 10 year old ( 20 page ) trust. After several detailed meetings, Liran and Cesar produced a large ( 300 pages + ) highly detailed trust document that we have used to make sure our family estate is well managed and clearly understood.
They were all very helpful in answering myriad questions and explaining all the various options…

We would strongly recommend the Schomer Law Group to anyone with an estate of even modest means, to assure proper planning…

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We had contemplated updating our will and starting a trust for a number of years. After attending a talk by Scott Schomer we realized we were long overdue and the potential downside of not having our affairs in order was significant. Scott and his excellent team made the process simple and seamless. They were great listeners, addressed all our concerns and even pulled and processed all the paperwork from our financial institutions. If you are looking for assistance with estate planning, wills and trusts, we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

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Mr. Schomer was excellent in getting our family trust and estate affairs in order. My husband and I had put off doing this and Scott really made the process easy! He is very passionate in making sure his clients get all that they need and we really appreciated it. I would highly recommend him and look forward to the many years he will be available to assist our family.

Kim

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