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Building and Conserving Your Estate
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Note: In all cases, when implementing an estate plan, legal advice is a must!
The first step in estate planning is building your estate.
So, you may want to take time now to review your financial plan. How
well is it meeting your current objectives? Will it continue to meet
your future needs? Can you improve your investment program so that
it will better build the estate you desire? The answers to these
questions will help you in your estate planning.
Conserving the assets you’ve built is
another important part of estate planning.
Taxes, inflation, and unanticipated expenses can diminish the
value of your estate. To protect the value of your assets, you
have to plan for unexpected expenses, such as a prolonged
illness, for anticipated but out-of-the-ordinary expenses, such
as retirement or a child’s education, and for ordinary living
expenses, taxes, and inflation. Otherwise, your estate plan may
not accomplish your objectives.
You’ve worked hard to build your estate. You deserve the
right to determine who will receive your assets after your
death. This is where a Will comes in. A Will is a legal
document that allows you to direct how your estate will be
administered and distributed. By exercising your privilege
of making a Will, you can accomplish numerous personal and
financial objectives.
If you
die without a Will, a state court will choose an
administrator for your estate or, if needed, a guardian for
your minor children. The court’s choice may or may not be
individuals whom you would have selected. The
court-appointed administrator will distribute your property
according to the state intestacy laws, regardless of any
desires you may have expressed during life. Your children,
grandchildren, or other heirs who are minors at the time of
your death may automatically receive their shares of your
estate outright when they reach the age of majority, whether
or not they are experienced enough to manage their
inheritances wisely.
A Will
is the cornerstone of estate planning. If you don’t have a
Will, we strongly recommend that you make one. If you do
have a Will, you should review it regularly to make sure it
is still meeting your needs. Once your Will is written, you
may exercise the right to revoke and replace the document at
any time, for any reason.
Through a properly drawn Will, you can:
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Protect your family by making provisions to meet their
present and future financial needs, |
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Minimize taxes that might reduce the size of your estate,
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Name an experienced executor or personal representative who
will ensure that your wishes are carried out,
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Name a guardian for your minor children,
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Establish trusts to manage the inheritances of any
beneficiaries who may be minors or are otherwise
inexperienced in asset management, |
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Make sure your assets will be managed prudently (by
appointing a qualified trustee of a trust created in your
Will, for example), |
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Avoid the delays and the added expense that intestacy
proceedings may involve, and |
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Secure the peace of mind of knowing your family and other
heirs will be well taken care of according to your desires. |
When you write your Will, you’ll need to name an executor or
personal representative. Your executor will administer your estate
and distribute your assets to your beneficiaries, as you’ve directed
in your Will.
You can choose
almost anyone who is an adult and is legally competent to serve as
executor — your spouse, sibling, friend, business associate, or
financial or legal advisor, for example. You can also name a
corporate executor, such as a bank trust department.
People who
have never served as an executor frequently don’t know what they are
getting into when they agree to serve and subsequently find
themselves overwhelmed by the duties required of them. So, although
you have wide latitude in whom you can select, you may want to give
serious consideration to naming a professional as your executor or
naming a professional to serve as co-executor with a family member
or friend.
The terms executor and personal representative are interchangeable
and vary from state to state. The duties and responsibilities,
however, are basically the same. An executor generally:
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Collects and provides safekeeping for the estate’s assets;
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Notifies creditors and pays all valid debts;
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Collects any sums owed the estate;
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Files claims for retirement plan benefits, Social Security
benefits, and veterans’ benefits;
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Manages the estate’s assets;
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Sells assets, as directed by Will or required by state law,
to pay estate expenses or legacies; |
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Keeps detailed records of all estate transactions and
submits records to beneficiaries and/or the probate court;
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Distributes assets to beneficiaries;
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Files the decedent’s final federal income-tax return; |
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Chooses a tax year for the estate;
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Files the estate’s income-tax returns;
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Files state death-tax returns; and
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Completes and files the federal estate-tax return.
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Before
choosing someone to serve as your executor or personal
representative, give serious
consideration
to how well he or she will be able to handle these duties and
responsibilities.
NEXT
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Author’s note:
The intent of this article by termlifeamerica.com is to
inform and motivate the general public into action.
One should consider only a qualified practicing legal individual or
entity, in the state in which you reside, to establish properly
drawn documents of this type.
Related:
SEE
►
Estate Planning Brochure
>>
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