Estate Planning

Estate planning does not always have to mean putting money in a trust or writing out your assets in a will to give them away after you die. You may want to gift money to your heirs before you pass away.For one thing, this can help to reduce the tax burden on the...

Estate planning is always wise, and life is unpredictable. About 40,000 people die in car accidents every year, and none of them anticipated that happening at the beginning of the year. The goal of estate planning should always be to get it done in advance so that the...

There are many different types of businesses in the United States, and small businesses -- the most common type -- tend to fall into one of three broad categories. These are owner-dependent, multigenerational or marketable. Let's take a moment to consider the first...

Estate planning is very important, as mistakes can have a negative impact on your family. Unfortunately, people still make some avoidable mistakes, often because they simply don't realize it at the time. To help you avoid this potential pitfall, let's look at one of...

One question that the court may ask when determining the validity of a will is if the person who did the estate planning possessed the testamentary capacity to do so. It's very important to understand what this means and how it can impact an estate plan.Overall,...

Say that you want to set up a trust for a grandchild so that they can pay for their education. It's a wise use of your money, and creating that trust can be part of your estate planning.As you do it, though, remember that you can create a trust that the child can use...

Say you pass away in a car accident, along with your spouse. That's why you're doing your estate planning after all -- to make sure you're ready for the unexpected.If you have minor children, what happens to them in this situation? You can't care for them any longer,...

Most people put off estate planning. In fact, most people don't have a will.If you think about it, you may assume that people without their documents in line are reckless individuals who like to take chances. They know they're going to pass away, after all, and they...

Here's what people assume, based on the traditional model, is going to happen when someone does their estate planning: They'll pay off the mortgage, retire, live in the home without payments until they pass away and then leave the home to their heirs debt-free.This is...

It's easy to think that estate planning is all about you or all about your financial assets. While it does start with these things, it's actually all about your family. It may have a bigger impact on them than you realize.For instance, those who do not have an estate...