At Family Estate Planning Law Group, we focus quite a bit on educating our clients about the importance of aligning their assets with their estate plans. However, equally important is the verification that financial institutions have correctly aligned assets and ongoing tracking of assets to ensure new assets are aligned and old assets are transitioned out correctly. Today, we’ll look at these crucial elements of making sure an estate plan works. [Read more…]
New Year’s Resolution #5: Get Educated about Estate Planning
You’d be surprised at how many people you know don’t have an estate plan in place. Statistics tell us that the majority of Americans don’t have a plan in place. For some, it’s because they think that only wealthy people or those with complex tax issues require estate planning. But that’s not true; if you want to make things simpler for your family after your death, you need an estate plan. [Read more…]
New Year’s Resolution #4: Communicate Your Plan to Heirs
You could have the best of intentions and even the best estate plan possible. But if your heirs haven’t been told what you have in mind, you may create a legacy of bitterness and family discord, according to Forbes in “How to Keep Your Heirs from Fighting Over Your Estate.” [Read more…]
New Year’s Resolution #3: Your Asset Alignment Checklist
Sometimes it’s difficult to get started on a project but it can be helpful if you have a checklist, according to The Business Times which recently published the article “Use this checklist to get started on your estate planning.”
We at Family Estate Planning Law Group reinforce the importance of reviewing asset ownership with our clients frequently. It’s one of the most important parts of an estate plan, but the most overlooked. We took The Business Times’ article and emphasized some of the key points to check to ensure your assets are aligned with your plan. On our modified checklist are: [Read more…]
Resolution #2: Review the Expiration Date on Your Estate Plan
We all know the only constant in life is change. But did you know those changes make your estate plan out-of-date, too? In fact, if you don’t account for changes in the law, family situation or your assets, your estate plan may not work at your death. [Read more…]
New Year’s Resolution #1: Create an Estate Plan
On the surface, it’s not difficult to understand why fewer than half of Americans have created an estate plan. Who wants to pay an attorney to talk about death and taxes? But it’s an important conversation to have. It’s not just about avoiding taxes; estate planning is really about deciding how you want to take care of your family. An article from The Street, “Estate Planning Needs to be on Your Retirement To-Do List” highlights this important way you care for your loved ones. [Read more…]
Set Your 2017 Estate Planning Goals
Many of us start a new year with new resolutions. Few people, however, make estate planning one of their resolutions. Statistics tell us that fewer than half of Americans have even a simple estate plan and unfortunately, that doesn’t just impact individuals. [Read more…]
Last-Minute Shopping? Get a 529 Gift Card
We’ve all given someone a gift card. It’s a popular gift, especially around the holidays. In fact, a recent pollfound that 56% of those interviewed planned to give gift cards this holiday season. But there’s a new development in gift cards: you can now purchase a gift card for a 529 plan. A recent Investopedia article looks at the details. [Read more…]
USAA Providing Cutting Edge Service for Members
Many may be familiar with USAA, the banking and financial services institution whose clients (or “members”) all have military family connections. What you may not know is that USAA had led the pack in keeping abreast of digital services for its members. One new service demonstrates their commitment to delivering cutting-edge services to members: tracking the value of Bitcoin accounts. A recent Think Advisor article explains. [Read more…]
Three Types of Pensions for Veterans
Statistics tell us that most of us will need long term care at some point. For veterans, the Veterans Administration (VA) makes funding available to assist in paying for such care, but it’s easy for these benefits to be overlooked. We’ll look at three of the pension benefits available to veterans. [Read more…]