For those of us involved as care providers for someone having difficulty handling his/her own affairs, whether it’s a family member or not, requires that we have the legal authority to do what’s in that person’s best interest.
If a loved one asks you to be the executor of their estate, think carefully before you take on this responsibility. While you have the option of declining the request, the person reaching out likely considers you to be responsible and detail oriented. An executor of an estate typically helps file paperwork, close accounts and distribute the assets of the deceased.
Everyone likes money, right? Giving money to family or friends can also be a smart tax planning move.
If you have a parent over the age of, say, 65, thoughts about their future may have started to creep into your mind. But because end-of-life planning can be emotional and overwhelming, it’s tempting to put these conversations off — and even more pleasing to avoid them altogether. If there’s a lesson to be learned from the pandemic, however, it’s that waiting until the last minute to prepare is seldom a good idea.
Given their salaries and the chances of getting sued, physicians should strongly consider estate planning early in their careers.
It’s true that if your child is on your deed as a joint tenant on your home, your home will not have to go through probate if your child survives you. At your death, your surviving child would immediately become the sole owner of your home without probate and with minimal transfer costs.
Trusts are often associated with the rich. However, the uber-wealthy are not the only people who can benefit from using trusts. There is no minimum asset level or net worth required to set up a trust, and you can put any amount of money into a trust.
Children and grandchildren motivate us to think about a will and life insurance. However, it is problematic to name minor children as beneficiaries.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a middle class family raising a child to adulthood will spend over $233,000 on that child between the ages of 0 to 18. That doesn’t even factor in the cost of college education, which can be thousands of dollars more per year once a child reaches adulthood.
As the coronavirus pandemic increased anxiety and upended many lives, it led U.S. millennials to get more serious about end-of-life planning.
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