It is now time to take solid steps in establishing an estate plan. It’s also a wise to think about what might happen prior to your passing, should you become unable to manage your own affairs or would simply welcome some assistance from a trusted relative or friend. Create Your Will If you are without…
Death and taxes. Two things in life we find unavoidable. Although there are ways for decreasing your tax deduction, there are no ways from getting away from the tax man. To put it simple, everything we touch is taxed, from our incomes to the profits made on the sale from stocks and real estate, even…
A well-devised estate plan guarantees that an individual’s assets are going to be smoothly passed on to their chosen beneficiaries following that individual passing away. Without an estate plan it can lead to family conflict, high tax burdens, and considerable probate costs. Whereas a straightforward will is a vital element of the estate planning process,…
One major benefit of placing your house in a trust is that it avoids probate following your passing away. Each of your other assets, if you have a will or not, are required to go through the probate process. Probate is a legal process that your estate goes through following your passing away. Throughout this…
A-B trusts are a joint trust created by a married couple for the intent of decreasing estate taxes. Upon the passing of the first spouse, the A-B trust splits into two. It is created with each of the spouses’ putting assets in the trust and designating as the final beneficiary any appropriate individual excluding the…
Special needs trusts are a legal arrangement and trustee relationship enabling a physically and/or mentally debilitated or constantly ailing individual to receive income without decreasing their qualification for the public assistance disability benefits given by Supplemental Security Income, Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare. In trustee relationships, an individual or individuals acts on behalf of another…
Assets that are transferred into the trust turns into trust property. Trust property comprises of any assets that the grantor — the creator of the trust— transferred into the trust throughout their lifetime, or assets in which the trust was a beneficiary upon the grantor’s passing. Trust property could include real estate and personal belongings,…
Revocable trusts and living trusts are individual terms that detail the same thing: a trust in which the conditions can be modified at any time. Irrevocable trusts detail a trust that cannot be altered after its creation without the permission of the beneficiaries. A trust is an individual legal entity an individual creates up to…
You don’t have to be a Musk to require a trust. Trusts can be useful estate-planning tools for lots of individuals. But given the costs related to opening one, it’s most likely not worth it unless you have a certain amount of assets. Say you have a net worth of at a minimum of $120,000…
The whole idea of living trusts has a certain mysteriousness. You may think they’re only for very affluent individuals, or that they’re a lot harder to devise than a straightforward last will and testament. However, they can be an ideal estate-planning instrument for others. A revocable living trust come with equally pros and cons, from…
