The last thing many people would equate to intimacy is estate planning. Just ask anyone who’s ever had to face reality after a terminal illness or devastating accident, they will tell you that things become very personal faster than you can say power of attorney. This week, we shed the logistics and focus on the ties that bind and the intimacy of estate planning. Facing Mortality Most of us realized long before we began preparing our will that we wouldn’t live forever. Whether that brutal fact … [Read more...] about The Intimacy of Estate Planning
Speaking of End of Life Choices
It is incredibly difficult to raise the topic of end of life considerations. At some point, someone will have to broach the subject, even if Mom or Dad have already made all of the necessary arrangements. It’s far different than retirement topics; these conversations have to do with funeral and burial arrangements, do not resuscitate orders, powers of attorney for medical decisions – the really tough topics. If you think about it and the mindset we’re in when we plan for retirement, it’s one … [Read more...] about Speaking of End of Life Choices
Donor Advised Funds Explained
People who would like to include ongoing charitable contributions as a part of their legacy are making an admirable choice, but how do you go about doing that? Who is going to have the time to manage a fund and decide who to donate money to each year? The family foundations of the ultra-wealthy serve this purpose, but they are costly to administer and simply inappropriate for most of us. So what is the solution, how do you arrange to make ongoing charitable contributions without creating your … [Read more...] about Donor Advised Funds Explained
Pay On Death Accounts For Probate Avoidance
You hear a lot of talk about avoiding probate, and people who are first delving into the subject of estate planning invariably wonder what it is and why one would want to avoid it. Simply put, probate is the legal process of estate administration during which any claims against the estate are settled and the wishes of the deceased are carried out if they left a will. If they died intestate or without a will, the probate or surrogate court would oversee distribution of assets in accordance with … [Read more...] about Pay On Death Accounts For Probate Avoidance
Small Business Estate Planning
When you decide that it is time to plan your estate you have a lot of things to consider, but when you own a small business the matter becomes even more complex. Everyone should have an estate plan in place, even at a young age, but business owners really need to think ahead. The primary reason for this is that your long term intentions have a lot to do with how you should structure your business along the way. People who have a professional practice or some other type of owner-dependent … [Read more...] about Small Business Estate Planning
