Want to Leave Your Retirement Account to Your Minor Child?
Your retirement account may be one of the most valuable things you own. Many people consider naming their children as the beneficiaries of these accounts because they think it is a way of easily transferring their wealth if something happens to them. However, there are some factors that make this type of transfer more complicated than you may think, especially if your child is a minor.
Estate Planning For the Newly Married
Now is the perfect time to start working on an estate plan—because, as newlyweds, you may not have a list of your accounts, but you’ve effectively just done a working inventory of your possessions—as you’ve figured out how to consolidate two households into one. Use that all time and energy and work as a leapfrog into planning for your future—so you’ll be that much more prepared for the house, the kids, and the next stages of your new life together.
Red Flags When Hiring a Professional To Be Your Trustee
When you form a trust as part of your estate plan, one of the most important decisions you will make is who will oversee the trust’s management when you are no longer able to manage it. Because a trustee’s work may be time-consuming, complicated, and risk liability, many people who create a trust consider naming a professional fiduciary as their trustee. When looking to hire a professional to serve as your trustee, the following are several red flags you should keep in mind.
Does the Guardian for My Child Have to Be a United States Citizen?
In our globalized and mobile world, it is not uncommon to have close friends and family members who live in a different country. Some of these individuals may be a good choice as a guardian for your minor child, but it raises the question of whether a non-US citizen may legally qualify for guardianship.
Choosing a Gift to Give to a Charity
If you are considering making a donation to a public charity, you are not limited to donating cash. Depending upon your financial situation, giving objectives, and the needs of the charitable organization, certain accounts or pieces of property may be better suited for donation to the charity.
Legal Perils of Gifts and Joint Ownership between Unmarried Couples
When you live with a romantic partner, it may feel as though you share everything. And to some extent, this may be true, legally speaking. While this might make economic sense, especially at a time when household budgets are being stretched, it can also create legal complications.
Gifts that are given purely out of affection can create unintended consequences as well. This includes gift taxes and the relinquishing of control over the gift once it is accepted. Your heart might be in the right place, but without understanding gifts and joint ownership, you could be making a decision that you will come to regret.
Is a Defect a Good Thing? Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts in Estate Planning
The notion that your estate plan contains a defect would not normally be welcomed as good news. But despite the moniker, an intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT) can be an advantageous tool for minimizing estate taxes and maximizing the money and property that are passed on to a spouse, descendants, or other beneficiaries.
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts: What You Should Know
No one wants to pay more taxes than they have to. To carry out this objective, many people search for the perfect estate planning tool that will allow them to control as much of their money and property as possible while reducing the amount they or their loved ones will have to pay the government. If you have looked for the tax-saving estate planning tools, chances are you might have come across the spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT). Here are some important things you should know before you settle on this tool as your estate planning solution.
Batman: The Masked Philanthropist
Carrying on the family legacy means different things to different families. You probably do not want your heirs to follow in the footsteps of Batman—at least when it comes to crime fighting. You might, however, want to inspire them to the philanthropy of Bruce Wayne. If so, your estate plan should be structured in such a way that it gives your loved ones the finances—and the flexibility—to do good on their terms.
The Pros and Cons of Probate
In estate planning circles, the word “probate” often carries a negative connotation. Indeed, for many people—especially those with valuable accounts and property—financial planners recommend trying to keep accounts and property out of probate whenever possible. That being said, the probate system was ultimately established to protect the deceased’s accounts and property as well as their family, and in some cases, it may even work to an advantage. Let us look briefly at the pros and cons of going through probate.
Three Tips for Overwhelmed Executors
While it is an honor to be named as a trusted decision maker, also known as an executor or personal representative, in a person’s will, it can often be a sobering and daunting responsibility. Being an executor requires a high level of organization, foresight, and attention to detail to meet responsibilities and ensure that all beneficiaries receive the accounts and property to which they are entitled. If you are an executor who is feeling overwhelmed, here are some tips to lighten the load.
What Is a Blind Trust?
Trusts are typically set up for the benefit of a trustmaker’s loved ones, a charitable organization, or a third party, with the trust money and property being distributed to the beneficiaries upon the trustmaker’s death. But there are situations in which a person may want to set up a trust to be used during their lifetime for their own benefit to maintain privacy or avoid a potential conflict of interest. In such cases, a blind trust might be appropriate.