Estate planning is an important process, where you will be legally documenting your assets and property sharing decisions. Your ‘Will’ will be legally executed by your attorney after your death. Property planning can also be a crucial step to secure your financial future too, as almost all companies have abandoned the pension and retirement plans.
The estate planning can be of any type, such as a will trust, power of attorney, a power of appointment, property ownership and etc. At some point in time, it becomes important to decide what your descendants should get from you, after your death. It helps you resolve your worries regarding your assets, and it gives you the peace of mind in the golden period of your life, after retirement.
Why Estate Planning is Necessary?
There is no individual on this planet who can predict death, as it is something that is not really in our hands. In the first place, it may seem less important for small estate owners. However, it is still important to secure your estate, whether you are a landlord or an intellectual property owner. A proper estate plan may help in reducing the taxes and other acquisition expenses after one passes away.
Estate planning is the process of managing and parceling out an estate to reduce the taxes owed and to transfer assets to beneficiaries after someone dies. The goal is that all of your financial wishes are met upon your death and are not determined by a court.
You plan your estate through legal entities like trusts, wills, powers of attorney, health care surrogacies, etc. These are critical legal tools that will help your spouse and your family after you die and avoid having your estate go into probate and be settled by a judge.
The Right Person to Perform Estate Planning
The firm or individual who is going to plan your estate should be qualified and knowledgeable, and they should have the track record of professional experience in the field. They generally offer their services as financial planners, trust and estate practitioners, chartered financial analysts, estate planners, etc. However, you will need to make sure if they are certified and are licensed for the job.
Tips for Estate Planning
There are several aspects and key elements of planning your estate, which can help you to minimize the worries and maximize the inheritance benefits to the beneficiaries.
- Specific Declarations – Probably it is the most critical aspect of estate planning. The failure in planning may give rise to legal problems, and your actual beneficiary may not be able to acquire the estate. The declaration of property sharing should be clear and specific.
- Deciding the Plan for Spending –If you wish that your assets to be used for any other goodwill, like forming of trusts like colleges, then the allocated trustee is legally bound to make these plans. It means that they must spend the amount specified on the trust.
- Estate Planning Team –Your lack of knowledge on this matter may cause problems to your beneficiaries. So, it is suggested for you to work on it with a team of experts. The financial advisor will help you design appropriate investment plans.
- Minimizing Estate Taxes and Other Income tax – While choosing a financial advisory firm, make sure that they clearly understand your planning needs. They should also have tax professionals in their team, to advise you on the possibilities of minimizing the payable tax amount by your beneficiaries. The taxable estate can be gifted to the beneficiaries when you are alive.
Being Opened:
Estate planning is not a complicated process, but you are planning for things to be done after you are gone. Instead of thinking too much and complicating it, it is always wise to be open-minded and consider how best you can help your family members. You must believe in securing their future.
Also, make sure that you revisit the estate plan periodically, for ensuring if the names of your beneficiaries and their shares are still in line with your current thoughts or not.