People don’t always make an estate plan, even though they know that it can be helpful. When they pass away, an estate plan can be used to divide their assets between their beneficiaries. Additionally, estate plans can help with things like making future medical...
Estate Planning
What is a Totten trust?
A Totten trust, which is a type of bank account, can be part of estate planning. You can set this up at your financial institution and name a beneficiary for that account. You can choose virtually whomever you want as the beneficiary. Some people choose family...
Do you need a Letter of Intent for your estate plan?
When it comes to estate planning, many individuals focus on wills, trusts and other legal documents. However, one often overlooked but valuable addition to your estate plan is a "Letter of Intent." However, you may wonder if this Letter of Intent is necessary. Does...
3 tips for talking to your children about your estate plan
Estate planning is a sensitive matter. In addition to stating your wishes and following the required legal steps, you may need to talk to your children about your estate plan. But how can you approach this matter? Here are three tips to help you: 1. Determine...
4 estate planning questions to ask
You’re considering making your first estate plan. Estate planning can be greatly rewarding for you and your loved ones. However, estate planning also has a lot of moving parts. You may need to ask yourself several questions before drafting your first estate plan. 1....
Protect your heirs after you are gone
If you are doing your estate planning, you may find that some decisions are more challenging to make than others. For instance, suppose you have a much-loved beneficiary who just never learned how to properly manage their money. They may have filed for at least one...
3 reasons people update their estate plan
Many people make an estate plan only to forget about them. And, some people don’t realize that an estate plan often needs updating. An outdated estate plan can create a lot of issues for families when they find out a will includes missing assets and deceased...
Digital assets may not fit in your estate plan
Making an inventory of your assets is generally one of the first steps people take when they are doing estate planning. They simply need to go over everything that they own, possibly dividing things into categories like financial assets, family heirlooms and other...
Can you ever be too young to plan for ill health?
Many people delay estate planning because they think they are too young to need one. One study found a massive 67% of eligible American adults do not yet have one. That can be a costly mistake both for the person and their loved ones. Remember, estate planning is also...
Why do so many people postpone estate planning?
Estate planning is something that the majority of Americans have not yet done. Studies have found that about two-thirds of people don’t have an estate plan. This can be somewhat surprising, considering that estate planning should, in theory, be very common. Won’t...