WHAT ARE THE "TOP 10 REASONS" FOR DOING YOUR ESTATE PLANNING?
Everyone can benefit from having their estate planning affairs in order. Here are the TOP 10 reasons that clients give us for getting their estate planning done. Check any of the following that may apply to you.
____ #10 My spouse and I are now part of a "blended" family with his children, her children and our children. I want all of our children to be treated "fairly" should something happen to both spouses.
____ #9 Upon my death or if I become incapacitated during my life, I want my family to avoid Probate Court and (a) its high costs and legal fees (up to 6%, or more, of the value of my assets and property), (b) its long delays (losing control/use of my assets and property for typically 9 months to a year, or longer), and (c) its publicity (the Probate Court process is a matter of public record).
____ #8 It has been a long time (maybe 10 years, or more) since I did my original estate planning and I want to be sure that my planning is up-to-date and meets my desires and current law.
____ #7 I want to avoid all of the mistakes that my parents made when they tried to do their "estate planning" by placing their assets in joint tenancy with their children or adding their children as beneficiaries on their life insurance, retirement plans, investments, home, etc. When my parents died, we discovered too late that (a) these types of arrangements could only be used with certain types of assets - which resulted in the balance of their assets still having to go through Probate, (b) when a "trusted" child failed to share assets with his siblings, the "wrong" person ended up receiving all of the assets, (c) assets ended up going to children who were "special needs" and the unrestricted access to the assets ended up causing them to lose their government benefits, and (d) my parents lost certain assets during their lives when they placed certain assets in joint ownership with a child and those assets became subject to the child's debts, bankruptcy, divorce proceedings, lawsuits, tax liens, etc.
____ #6 I am planning a vacation or business trip and I am concerned that I may not return.
____ #5 I have tried various legal forms web sites to do my estate planning and all I got was a lot of paper. My computer-generated "plan" (a) was not personalized for my needs or the needs of my family, (b) was not comprehensive, (c) was not properly implemented, and (d) could not be updated when needed without doing an entirely new plan.
____ #4 I have minor children and I want to determine (a) who will take physical custody of them until they reach age 18 (as opposed to the Probate Court making the decision for me) and (b) at what age they will receive my assets (as opposed to the Probate Court turning all of my assets over to them when they reach age 18).
____ #3 There have been changes in my life and I want the following to be included in my current estate plan: (a) I now have children and/or grandchildren, (b) I am now married, widowed or divorced, (c) I have moved since I did my original planning, and/or (d) I have certain charitable organizations that are important to me and I want to provide for their financial support after my death.
____ #2 I have recently (a) been diagnosed with a life-threatening injury, disease or illness, or (b) experienced the death of a loved one, or (c) placed a loved one in an assisted living or acute care facility -- and I want to be sure that, when my time comes, my family will know my wishes and will carry them out with the least amount of cost and aggravation to everyone.
____ #1 My financial/insurance advisor has warned/urged me that, if I am not properly protected should I become incapacitated during my life and/or if I do not have a plan in place that meets my family's needs upon my death, accumulating assets for my retirement or obtaining life insurance on my life would be a waste of time, effort and money.
If you check just one (1) item, you could benefit from estate planning and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your affairs are in order.
Everyone can benefit from having their estate planning affairs in order. Here are the TOP 10 reasons that clients give us for getting their estate planning done. Check any of the following that may apply to you.
____ #10 My spouse and I are now part of a "blended" family with his children, her children and our children. I want all of our children to be treated "fairly" should something happen to both spouses.
____ #9 Upon my death or if I become incapacitated during my life, I want my family to avoid Probate Court and (a) its high costs and legal fees (up to 6%, or more, of the value of my assets and property), (b) its long delays (losing control/use of my assets and property for typically 9 months to a year, or longer), and (c) its publicity (the Probate Court process is a matter of public record).
____ #8 It has been a long time (maybe 10 years, or more) since I did my original estate planning and I want to be sure that my planning is up-to-date and meets my desires and current law.
____ #7 I want to avoid all of the mistakes that my parents made when they tried to do their "estate planning" by placing their assets in joint tenancy with their children or adding their children as beneficiaries on their life insurance, retirement plans, investments, home, etc. When my parents died, we discovered too late that (a) these types of arrangements could only be used with certain types of assets - which resulted in the balance of their assets still having to go through Probate, (b) when a "trusted" child failed to share assets with his siblings, the "wrong" person ended up receiving all of the assets, (c) assets ended up going to children who were "special needs" and the unrestricted access to the assets ended up causing them to lose their government benefits, and (d) my parents lost certain assets during their lives when they placed certain assets in joint ownership with a child and those assets became subject to the child's debts, bankruptcy, divorce proceedings, lawsuits, tax liens, etc.
____ #6 I am planning a vacation or business trip and I am concerned that I may not return.
____ #5 I have tried various legal forms web sites to do my estate planning and all I got was a lot of paper. My computer-generated "plan" (a) was not personalized for my needs or the needs of my family, (b) was not comprehensive, (c) was not properly implemented, and (d) could not be updated when needed without doing an entirely new plan.
____ #4 I have minor children and I want to determine (a) who will take physical custody of them until they reach age 18 (as opposed to the Probate Court making the decision for me) and (b) at what age they will receive my assets (as opposed to the Probate Court turning all of my assets over to them when they reach age 18).
____ #3 There have been changes in my life and I want the following to be included in my current estate plan: (a) I now have children and/or grandchildren, (b) I am now married, widowed or divorced, (c) I have moved since I did my original planning, and/or (d) I have certain charitable organizations that are important to me and I want to provide for their financial support after my death.
____ #2 I have recently (a) been diagnosed with a life-threatening injury, disease or illness, or (b) experienced the death of a loved one, or (c) placed a loved one in an assisted living or acute care facility -- and I want to be sure that, when my time comes, my family will know my wishes and will carry them out with the least amount of cost and aggravation to everyone.
____ #1 My financial/insurance advisor has warned/urged me that, if I am not properly protected should I become incapacitated during my life and/or if I do not have a plan in place that meets my family's needs upon my death, accumulating assets for my retirement or obtaining life insurance on my life would be a waste of time, effort and money.
If you check just one (1) item, you could benefit from estate planning and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your affairs are in order.