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As described on the Financial Planning page, estate planning is a significant part of financial planning, wealth accumulation and wealth transfer. We realize that for many of you, the word "wealth" feels out of reach or a concept that doesn't apply to you. Well, that just isn't true.

At the present time, the amount exempt from estate tax is increasing annually to an unlimited number just to come back down to $1,000,000 in 2011, when all of the current provisions are expected to "sunset" (aka go away). So, unless you are planning to die before 2011, proper planning is essential to find ways to make sure that your estate is passed on at the highest value possible.

"My estate is not large enough to worry about this." you say. Make sure that you are considering all of your investments - both retirement and non-retirement, your residence(s), and, worst of all, any life insurance in which you are the owner. Assuming you are properly insured, if you have not done the proper planning, getting to $1,000,000 with all of these items is not as difficult as you think.

A substantial opportunity in estate planning is the creation of an irrevocable life insurance trust. Again, you may not think this applies to you but consider whether or not your beneficiaries will have the mental and emotional capability to handle the life insurance proceeds at the time they collect (consider the worst here). A trust can be set up to provide support for a child, grandchild or a relative with special needs.

In addition to trying to minimize the estate tax payable upon either your death or the death of your spouse, there are other estate issues that you may want to address while you are alive. Issues such as:  

These, and many more issues, are exactly the types of issues that are dealt with when working with the proper estate planning attorney. Although we are not attorneys, we have many years of experience working with these types of issues and the decisions you will have to make. As a result we will work with either your own estate planning attorney or, if you are interested, you can work with our alliance partners specializing in estate planning. Regardless of which route you go, please make sure you address the completion of the following essential estate documents for both you and your spouse (if there is a spouse):

 

Essential Estate Documents