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Wealth Estate Planning 101 Checklist
An estate plan can help protect your family and finances during your life and after you die. It is important to review your estate plan after any life-changing event. These events include marriage, divorce, other domestic arrangement changes, a financial windfall, and the birth or adoption of a child.
Estate Planning 101
An estate plan can help protect your family and finances during your life and after you die. It is important to review your estate plan after any life-changing event. These events include marriage, divorce, other domestic arrangement changes, a financial windfall, the birth or adoption of a child.
Estate Planning Tools: Transfer on Death Instrument
The Illinois Real Estate Transfer on Death Instrument Act (755 ILCS 27/1 et seq.) has been in existence for a little over a decade now, and consideration should be given to using a transfer on death instrument (“TODI” in this article) as part of your estate plan. But what is a TODI? And does everyone need one? The goal of this article is to provide a general overview of the TODI and help you determine if your estate plan should include one.
Navigating the Trustee Selection Process
Trusts have been part of the estate planning conversation for over a thousand years and have become the primary estate planning vehicle in use today. The Trustee is charged with certain duties relative to their role. While being nominated may be an honor, serving as a Trustee carries risk and responsibilities.
5 Most Common Beneficiary Designation Mistakes
One aspect of estate planning that can often be overlooked is making sure your beneficiary designations are up to date. Many people think that once you have signed your Last Will and Testament, your estate plan is complete. Not so fast! This may surprise you, but oftentimes a person’s Will governs very few assets at the time of their death. Consider retirement accounts and life insurance: it is not the Will, but rather the beneficiary designation that these assets have that will govern who receives it at the time of death.
Do I Need a Trust?
One of the most common questions we hear from clients is, “Do I need a Trust?”
While I like giving neat-and-tidy answers, this is not one of those questions where that can be done. Every person’s estate is a little bit different, and this requires individual analysis before determining if a trust is right for you. My goal in this article is to help you in this analysis, so that we can answer this question for you.v
Protective Benefits Leaving Assets Trust Fund
When preparing your estate plan, one of the major decisions you will need to make is not only WHO your beneficiaries will be, but also HOW you will your assets to them. Most people assume because they do not have millions of dollars and all their beneficiaries are adults, a trust fund is not the right choice for them. They instead opt to leave the inheritance to their beneficiaries all in one lump sum (what is called an “outright” bequest). If this is you, please take a moment and read this brief article, and see if I can convince you to reconsider your plan in light of all the benefits a trust fund could afford to your beneficiaries.
Inheritance Questions and Considerations
Inheritance is a process that involves passing on material property from one generation to another, usually within the family and traditionally from older parents to their children. As trust officers and wealth advisors, we are often asked, “When is the best time to make a transfer to another generation?”
What to Review and Revise Amidst Divorce
Have you heard the old joke, “What is the number one cause of divorce? Marriage!” Bad humor aside, divorce rates are increasing around the world. The pandemic has presented couples an unprecedented challenge. It may be appropriate to review what actions should be taken by either party if there is a divorce.
Age Electronic Will
Over the past two years, conducting business that requires document signings has been a challenge. If witnesses are required, it’s been even more problematic. No business has been more affected by the effects of social distancing than the estate planning world. However, some states, including Illinois, have taken steps to alleviate these issues when it comes to signing a will. The age of the electronic will has now arrived.
Pet Trusts
Although surveys differ, up to 68% of households in the United States are thought to contain one or more animals considered to be a pet. 1 And an astute observer might notice that many pet owners consider their pets to be more than animals. They are beloved members of the family. And like other loved ones, many Americans want to ensure that their furry, feathery, or scaly friends are cared for should they die while their pet is still living.
Estate Planning Digital Assets
How would you feel about losing over $220,000,000? Stefan Thomas said, “time heals all wounds,” and he is at peace with losing over 220 million dollars’ worth of Bitcoin. Mr. Thomas’s potential loss is the result of forgetting his password to the USB hard drive containing the digital wallet holding 7,002 Bitcoins! He has already failed 11 attempts to access the account and if he reaches 13 failed attempts, the Bitcoins are lost forever.