My eCourse, 10 Steps to Creating a Good Estate Plan, provides you with the step-by-step process required to get a good estate plan up and running. The purpose of this article is to give you a quick and easy "cheat sheet" for each of the 10 steps.
Knowing how much you're really worth - in other words, your net worth - is the first step to creating a good estate plan. This step is important for two reasons: (1) It's important to know how much you have, how everything is titled, and how much you owe; and (2) It's important to know if your estate will be taxable at the federal and/or state level.More »
There are many reasons why you need an estate, some of which have to do with your current and anticipated future financial situations that you assessed in Step #1, and others which have to do with your current and anticipated future family situations. And for many, avoiding the costs and hassles associated with the court-supervised probate process is the determining factor for creating an estate plan.More »
Once you've figured out why you really need an estate plan, you need to hire the right estate planning attorney who will help you create the perfect estate plan for your own personal situation.More »
While some will find that a Last Will and Testament will be the best foundation for their estate plan, others will find that a Revocable Living Trust will make their lives and the lives of their loved ones much easier during a difficult time.More »
While many think that estate planning is about making a plan for what happens after you die, those in the know understand that it also includes making a plan for what happens if you become incapacitated.More »
In legalese the person or institution you put in charge of carrying out your estate plan is called a "fiduciary." Fiduciaries include the personal representative named in your will, the successor trustee named in your revocable living trust, the attorney in fact you name in your power of attorney, and the agent you name in your health care directive.More »
While many will only need a basic estate plan, others will need to layer in one or more advanced estate planning techniques, including asset protection planning, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Dynasty Trusts, IRA Inheritance Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, and the like.More »
If you've made it this far and you have decided to use a Revocable Living Trust as the foundation of your estate plan, then you will need to fund your assets into the trust and change the beneficiary designations for your life insurance and retirement accounts to coincide with your estate planning goals.More »
Once your estate plan is in place, you can't just stick it in a drawer or on the shelf and forget about it. Day in and day out things will happen - both good and bad - that will have a direct impact on your estate plan. Thus, you will need to review your estate plan on a periodic basis to insure that it will still work the way you expect it work.More »
1. Calculate Your Net Worth
Knowing how much you're really worth - in other words, your net worth - is the first step to creating a good estate plan. This step is important for two reasons: (1) It's important to know how much you have, how everything is titled, and how much you owe; and (2) It's important to know if your estate will be taxable at the federal and/or state level.More »
2. Assess Your Financial and Family Needs for an Estate Plan
There are many reasons why you need an estate, some of which have to do with your current and anticipated future financial situations that you assessed in Step #1, and others which have to do with your current and anticipated future family situations. And for many, avoiding the costs and hassles associated with the court-supervised probate process is the determining factor for creating an estate plan.More »
3. Find and Hire a Qualified Estate Planning Attorney
Once you've figured out why you really need an estate plan, you need to hire the right estate planning attorney who will help you create the perfect estate plan for your own personal situation.More »
4. Determine if You Need a Will or a Revocable Living Trust
While some will find that a Last Will and Testament will be the best foundation for their estate plan, others will find that a Revocable Living Trust will make their lives and the lives of their loved ones much easier during a difficult time.More »
5. Create a Plan for What Happens if You Become Mentally Incapacitated
While many think that estate planning is about making a plan for what happens after you die, those in the know understand that it also includes making a plan for what happens if you become incapacitated.More »
6. Create a Plan for What Happens After You Die
Making a plan for what happens after you die will require you to make many important decisions, including who will get what, when they will get, and who will be in charge of making sure it all happens the way that you have planned it.More »7. Choose Your Fiduciaries Wisely
In legalese the person or institution you put in charge of carrying out your estate plan is called a "fiduciary." Fiduciaries include the personal representative named in your will, the successor trustee named in your revocable living trust, the attorney in fact you name in your power of attorney, and the agent you name in your health care directive.More »
8. Assess Your Need for Advanced Estate Planning
While many will only need a basic estate plan, others will need to layer in one or more advanced estate planning techniques, including asset protection planning, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Dynasty Trusts, IRA Inheritance Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, and the like.More »
9. Fund Your Revocable Living Trust
If you've made it this far and you have decided to use a Revocable Living Trust as the foundation of your estate plan, then you will need to fund your assets into the trust and change the beneficiary designations for your life insurance and retirement accounts to coincide with your estate planning goals.More »
10. Review and Update Your Estate Plan
Once your estate plan is in place, you can't just stick it in a drawer or on the shelf and forget about it. Day in and day out things will happen - both good and bad - that will have a direct impact on your estate plan. Thus, you will need to review your estate plan on a periodic basis to insure that it will still work the way you expect it work.More »