The article offers personal finance information related to estate planning, as of November 2013. It notes the importance of having a will and discusses the revocable living trust as a tool to carry out certain functions of a will while avoiding probate. It discusses the designation of ...
If you establish a living trust, your estate can bypass probate and its associated costs and hassles, but you probably need one only if your estate is worth more than about $2 million, you own real estate in more than one state or you want to keep the terms of your estate private. Ot...
The fundamentals of climbing this mountain are the same whether you invest in real estate or anything else. To reach the peak of the mountain faster, you simply have toincrease your savings rate. You can then invest those savings into your chosen assets, like real estate. I’ll suggest a ...
Knowing what probate actually involves will help ease your fears about the process, one that isn't always as complex as you might think.
After devising specific property, you can leave the rest of your estate to someone else (called a “remainder beneficiary”). With all your property distributed, you can name someone (called an “executor”) to carry out your will when you pass. If this is all you need to accomplish in...
“What we do typically is we have all the beneficiaries laid out so nothing goes through probate,” says David Demming, a CFP in Aurora, Ohio. “That’s where we have the dialog: Who do you want to have these funds?” Check both primary and contingent beneficiaries to ensure that you...
In a lot of states, there are laws in place that set out a statutory minimum of an estate people are entitled to receive. For example, let's say a parent has two sons. One son receives 100 percent of the estate under that parent's will and the other one receives nothing. The son ...
Businesses in probate Ownership in a business is an asset, which means it may need to pass through probate. However, using an irrevocable trust— such as a grantor retained annuity trust (or a GRAT) or an irrevocable life insurance trust (or an ILIT) — can ease the complexity surrounding...
All assets should be titled appropriately or have beneficiary designations to avoid probate —which is public, costly, and a hassle. Bank accounts should have payable on death (or POD) designations, and cars should have TOD designations. If you have a revocable trust, all tax...
A carefully outlined plan also aids in avoiding an expensive and often lengthy probate process. Tax planning is another crucial part of the estate planning process. If an individual wishes to leave assets to family members or a charity, the tax implications of either gifting or passing them ...