informationlover

  

Estate Planning

Navigation: Main page

Author: Donald

It is always amazing to me that people overlook one of the two certainties of life. Those two certainties, according to conventional wisdom, are taxes and death. Taxes, people plan for and pay. Death is another matter.

The fact is that everybody is going to die. Get over it. There is nobody alive on this earth that was alive 200 years ago, and you won't be alive 200 years from now, so it is important that you make a plan for what you want to be done with your worldly possessions when you are no longer here. It's called estate planning.

Surprisingly, relatively speaking, few people have wills. Without a will, the state will determine what is to be done with whatever material possessions you leave behind, including your home, your bank accounts, your car, your boat, and your toothbrush, for that matter. The state will have full control. There are laws that the state must abide by. For example, if a spouse dies, the other spouse will be given a portion of the estate; the size of that portion varies from state to state. The children will also be given a portion.

When a person dies, if there is no legal spouse and no legitimate children, the state gives the entire estate to living blood relatives of the deceased — if they can find them. If the state can't find living blood relatives, it just keeps the estate.

See an estate planner. Make a will, and if it is in your best interest or in the best interest of your heirs, set up trusts. Sometimes, it's wise to protect your heirs from themselves. With a trust, you can leave a responsible party in charge of your assets and be assured that they will be used in the best interest of your heirs.









Disclaimer Privacy-Policy Terms-Of-Use