Life insurance plays an important role in estate planning – it can not only act as an income replacement should the "bread winner" of the family die unexpectedly, but it can be used to help pay the estate administration costs, fund a buy/sell agreement in a partnership or help pay off debt. Life insurance can be complex and full of unfamiliar terms – even the basic types of policies aren’t familiar to the layperson: Whole Life Policies: Whole life insurance combines a term policy with an … [Read more...] about Estate Planning and Life Insurance: Three Drawbacks to Whole Life Policies
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Defining Portability in Estate Taxes
Estate taxes were big news in 2010 and the beginning of 2011, as Congress passed a two year "patch" that unified the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax, as well as increased the exemption to $5 million for 2011 and 2012. An important aspect of this tax act may be lost on those not familiar with estate planning terms, and wasn't as widely reported – that of portability. The new portability rules of the tax act allow spouses to "share" their estate tax exemptions with one … [Read more...] about Defining Portability in Estate Taxes
The FAQs of POAs
A durable power of attorney is a must-have estate planning document. In a Power of Attorney, one person delegates authority to another to make decisions, or take action on their behalf. The person who gives the authority is the principal. The one to whom authority is given is the agent - also called attorney in fact or a proxy. If the Power of Attorney is durable, the agent can make decisions for the principal if the principal becomes incapacitated and is no longer able to act. Some of the most … [Read more...] about The FAQs of POAs
Disagreements Over Final Arrangements
It is fairly common for families to disagree when it comes to a loved one’s final arrangements. One family member may believe that cremation is the best option, while the others want a more traditional funeral and internment. These types of disagreements can cause problems in families for years to come. The law actually dictates who has the right to make decisions concerning your final arrangements. The order in which this usually goes is first the spouse, if you are not married or your spouse … [Read more...] about Disagreements Over Final Arrangements
When Probate is a Benefit
When you think of estate planning, most of the time the first thing that will come to mind is finding methods that will help keep your estate out of probate. It’s true that in many cases this is the best for the family and the estate, but in some cases probate might actually be beneficial. For most small to medium estates, probate can easily be avoided and is also unnecessary in many cases, but with larger estates there may be some benefit to letting the estate go through probate. The main … [Read more...] about When Probate is a Benefit
