
The Advantages of a Testamentary Trust
This legal document can also be beneficial in other situations, such as if you want to leave an inheritance to someone but aren’t sure they will use the gift wisely.

This legal document can also be beneficial in other situations, such as if you want to leave an inheritance to someone but aren’t sure they will use the gift wisely.

Over the years I get all kinds of questions from people. And boy, have I heard some doozies. But one common one I get is called the ‘lazy (or poor) man’s (or woman’s’) estate planning.’ This type of estate planning has some very negative tax consequences.

The estate tax exemption raised by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will sunset in five years—possibly sooner, as the new Congress gears up for a Biden tax overhaul.

The press has made much of the handwritten will that Larry King executed in the months before he died and in which he purports to change his prior will executed in 2015, to leave his estate equally between his children.

Whether you need a living will vs. living trust as part of your estate plan depends on your overall financial situation and goals. However, it’s helpful to consider the advantages of including one or both in your planning efforts.

If the durable power of attorney can’t be transferred, what needs to be done to establish a new durable power of attorney for my aunt despite her mental incapacity?

Revocable trusts are a very popular and effective estate-planning tool. However, the trust will be ineffective, if you do not actually place your assets in the trust.

The trust is a very useful and flexible tool for estate planning, yet it is probably the most underused estate management technique. A trust is an artificial entity, something like a corporation, created by a document or instrument.

Done right by a lawyer, your heirs can avoid the expense and time of probating your will and may save on estate taxes, while easing the administration of your affairs while alive and after you have gone.

To ensure a lasting legacy, you need to get your documents in order and have a clear plan for how your wealth will transfer, avoiding taxes and inheritor pitfalls along the way.