Arguably one of the most popular events of the Summer Games is women’s gymnastics. Simone Biles, along with several familiar faces are going for gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and it promises excitement. You may be wondering why an estate planning law firm in Lynnfield, MA, is writing about the 2024 Summer Olympics women’s gymnastics team. However, there are numerous parallels between estate planning and gymnastics when we take a closer look.
Have you ever watched the relay race at the Olympics? The runners train for months and years to master a perfect handoff from one runner to the next. One misstep and the transfer of the baton could be in jeopardy, costing the team a chance at victory. Much like athletes prepare with planning and coordination, the transfer of wealth also requires the same. How can you “pass the baton” of your wealth smoothly and efficiently? Just like the perfect handoff in the relay races at the Olympics, we are exploring ways you can do the same with effective estate planning. [Read more…]
Overcoming Obstacles: Navigating Estate Planning Challenges
Athletes face numerous obstacles when preparing for the Summer Olympics, from injuries to the pressure and stress of competing for their country. These challenges test their agility, strategy, and resilience. Similarly, in estate planning, there are many obstacles or “challenges” that must be overcome to ensure a smooth transition of wealth and assets. While some challenges may seem obvious, there are others that our team has the experience to anticipate and address, helping you prepare for the future. [Read more…]
April is Financial Literacy Month. Financial literacy is crucial in the estate planning process, which is why we want to take the time to blog about it! You may be asking yourself, what is financial literacy? Financial literacy is knowing and navigating your personal finances. This includes budgeting, saving, effectively managing money, and planning your future expenses. [Read more…]
This is Part 2 of the Top Ten Mistakes blog series. Click here to catch up on Part 1.
In our last blog, we discussed the first four mistakes you can make: Procrastination, assuming wills or trusts avoid probate, leaving assets to a child or special needs beneficiary (directly), and assuming trusts take away beneficiary control. Today we’ll look at the next three.
Have you organized all your financial records, deeds, tax information, insurance information, and estate planning documents in one secure place or central location? Does your family know where that is? Do they know what medications you take or who your doctors are? How about your lawyers, accountants, or financial planners? These are all things you might want to consider at any time, but they are especially critical now during this pandemic when things can change quickly.
If your financial information and records are not organized before death or disability (by you, the person who knows where everything is), your loved ones can be left with a morbid scavenger hunt trying to find and recreate financial information and records during an emotionally difficult time. This may keep them from being able to make timely, important financial decisions. Your family will not be able to handle your affairs, take care of you, or advocate on your behalf during the pandemic if they can’t find your information or do not have legal authority to do so.
The solution to this mistake is to work with an estate planning attorney who has an ongoing care program. Here at Family Estate Planning Law Group, our initial intake process helps you to identify all your assets as well as the team of professionals that you work with. We then track any changes because it doesn’t matter what you own today; it matters what you own when you die or become incapacitated.
In addition to working with an attorney with a client care program, we also suggest having a Family Care MeetingTM where you invite your caregivers (children) and your professionals (financial planners, CPAs, etc.) to discuss your plan so everyone understands how it will work.
Finally, we love the “Grab and Go” Kit suggested by Healthassist which you can check out here. It’s a list of things you might want to have readily available in case you get suddenly ill and have to go to the hospital during this pandemic. [Read more…]
We’ve been talking a lot recently about the mistakes we see in estate planning because now, more than ever, we are finding that people feel uncertain, and they want to know their loved ones are secure. Despite the best of intentions, sometimes estate plans just don’t work because they were not set up or maintained properly (or you never had one to begin with). While we all want to feel good about our planning, we also want to make sure it is not a false sense of security. The next few blogs will address the mistakes we often see, and how you can make sure that you don’t fall prey to them!
One of the biggest and most common mistakes that we see in estate planning is procrastination. For many, creating an estate plan (or updating the one they did 15 years ago) is something they are always meaning to get to but never actually do. The biggest mistake you can make is not having an estate plan, because the probate court has one for you. And for those who do have a plan, their biggest mistake may be not having looked at it in years. Changes in the law, changes in what you own, family changes, job changes, changing your residence, and changing your wishes can all keep an old plan from being effective if it is not updated. In our experience, most estate plans fail because they do not reflect what you want to have happen now.
The solution to this mistake is simple: create an estate plan or update your existing estate plan. Even if you are not quite sure who you want involved or the exact details you want to be included in your plan, someone who specializes in estate or elder law planning will be able to help you with that. Additionally, if you work with a firm that has an ongoing care program, you can always update your plan if you change your mind or if your situation changes. [Read more…]
During these unique and unprecedented times, we at Family Estate Planning Law Group are still working hard to help our families create estate plans and update their estate plans efficiently while also focusing on keeping everyone safe through social distancing practices. With the new stay at home order extended to May 18th, we have come up with several options to help our clients efficiently and safely review and execute their estate planning documents until it is safe for us to start in-person meetings again. [Read more…]
If you have a business, you have likely thought about what would happen to your business after your death. A well-run, well-managed family business could potentially provide for your loved ones long after you are gone. Unfortunately, according to the Family Business Institute, less than one-third of all businesses survive into the second generation. The reason for this is largely due to a failure to plan for the future on the part of the owner of the business. Business succession planning is like writing an estate plan for your business. Few people are enthusiastic about estate planning, but most adults do recognize the wisdom in doing so.
If you have poured your time and energy into your business, you want to make sure it succeeds you. What you don’t want is your death to cause infighting among family members, and you certainly don’t want your business to collapse or end up in liquidation. In a best-case scenario, you will have planned so thoroughly for your business succession that every family member will know his or her role in the business, and the business will continue, as strong as ever. [Read more…]
In our last post, we busted two of the three most common estate planning myths about only the rich needing estate planning and that you don’t need to plan because your spouse will get everything. If you didn’t catch that post, give it a read to learn why those statements are totally false! Today, let’s bust the third and fourth most common myths.
Many business owners can’t imagine a life without the business they built, so they often postpone planning for their own retirement and the sale or transfer of the business. That doesn’t work out well.
There are steps to take when business owners decide to actively engage in planning for their business to continue to thrive after they step down. This article from Forbes, “Eight Factors to Consider before Retiring from Your Business,” offers some useful tips. [Read more…]
