
Wise Strategies to manage an Inheritance
It can be fun to daydream what life would be like if you hit the Powerball for $1.7 billion, but for most people, windfalls aren’t quite as exciting.

It can be fun to daydream what life would be like if you hit the Powerball for $1.7 billion, but for most people, windfalls aren’t quite as exciting.

Estate planning legal matters are already confusing enough, so it certainly does not help to have similar names for related but completely different documents.

You’ve likely heard your friends or family—or even the bank teller, at times—counsel you to add an adult child to your bank account.

Somewhere along the way, homeowners came to believe a non sequitur of sorts, that the “American Dream” includes not only buying a house but also passing that same home on to their children. Financial advisers have largely supported this tactic for passing along generational wealth.

Receiving a financial windfall like an inheritance can be an emotional time — one that might prevent you from seeing the bigger picture.

Inheritance trusts take on critical importance in wealth management, particularly for multi-generational families.

There are important differences between the two types of trusts, including the amount of control you’ll have over your assets.

There are better—and often more creative—ways to plan and divide that can avoid family squabbles over cars, jewelry, furniture and household items.

Sometimes it might take an IDGT, or intentionally defective grantor trust, to preserve generational wealth. But how does that work?

Death is inevitable, but dying without an estate plan is not. Estate planning is a must for property owners, no matter how uncomfortable the subject might make you.