From the category archives:

Estate Planning

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Do You Need a Power of Attorney?

by Jeff Rose on January 10, 2010

in Estate Planning

A Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that delegates an individual’s legal authority to another person. If an individual is incapacitated or mentally incompetent, the POA assigns a trusted party to make decisions on his or her behalf.  It’s hard to argue that anyone does not need a power of attorney.  Here’s what you need to know about putting a power of attorney in place.

THE NEED FOR POWER OF ATTORNEY
Creative Commons License photo credit: The One Eyed Witness

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What is the Purpose of a Trust?

December 8, 2009 Estate Planning
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Using a Trust for Estate Planning
This is the second part of a two part series on estate planning by JoeTaxpayer.   Be sure to check out the first post What is Estate Planning.
Earlier, we talked about designated beneficiaries. It’s important to note that the accounts which use designated beneficiaries avoid probate and are not subject [...]

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What is Estate Planning?

December 7, 2009 Estate Planning
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This is another guest post from JoeTaxpayer.   This is a two part series discussing estate planning.
I am going to die. No, I don’t have a terminal disease, I am going to die because I am human, and dying is part of living. I won’t die any sooner for the fact that I have a [...]

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Your Estate Planning Checklist

October 24, 2009 Estate Planning
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Like most items on your financial planning agenda for 2009, your estate plan is standing on shifting ground. This year, the estate tax exemption jumped from $2 million in 2008 to $3.5 million per person. Under current law, the estate tax is to be repealed entirely in 2010, only to come back with a much [...]

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How To Stretch Out an IRA For Your Beneficiaries

April 20, 2009 Estate Planning

If you don’t expect to deplete the assets in an IRA during retirement, then it’s a good idea to determine the most efficient way of transferring the account balance to your heirs in a manner that preserves the account’s tax-deferred growth potential for as long as possible. For many Americans, transferring wealth with a multi-generational [...]

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Estate Planning Basics- Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy- Get It In Writing

April 6, 2009 Estate Planning

Estate planning is mostly about putting mechanisms in place to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes once you are gone. Yet there is another aspect to the process that centers on appointing others to manage your affairs during your lifetime.

What would happen if you became incapacitated and couldn’t handle your financial [...]

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Reader Question- What To Do With An Inheritance?

March 19, 2009 Estate Planning

A little while ago I was asked by Pete over at Bible Money Matters to answer some questions  of his readers.  This was one of the reader questions in regards to what to do with an inheritance.
Q: I was wondering if it is better to be completely debt free or to have some [...]

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2009 Tax Gifting Rules

February 27, 2009 Estate Planning

Here’s a question I came across regarding the tax rules regarding gifting.  For any individual looking to pass on a portion of their estate without incurring any estate tax, this example should be helpful.
My 79 year old mother has a sizeable amount of various stocks and bonds and other investments.  Now she wants to start [...]

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Understanding Beneficiary Options- What’s Your Legacy Plan?

February 23, 2009 Estate Planning

What’s your legacy plan?  This is a question that I often ask my clients.  I ask this for many reasons, but the main reason is to get them thinking about what happens when they are not here.  Have they taken care care of their wills, life insurance polices, and for this discussion: retirement plan beneficiaries.  [...]

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Who do you Trust?

January 27, 2009 Estate Planning

A common misconception is that trusts are reserved for the wealthy. The truth is, many people can benefit from a trust. Do you think you are one of those?  You may be surprised.  There are many types of trusts that a family can set up.  It all depends on what you want the trust to [...]

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Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way

October 13, 2008 Estate Planning

I’m amazed at the number of meetings I have with clients or soon to be clients that have never had a will drafted. For many, the most common excuses I hear are: “I didn’t get around to it”, “I’ve been too busy, or “I didn’t think I needed it because I don’t have a lot [...]

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It’s 2008: Are Your Beneficiaries Up To Date?

August 18, 2008 Estate Planning

You always think you have everything in order. The will is in place and updated. You just had your trust document reviewed last month. You just verified the stock certificates are in the safety deposit box this week. Wait, did I update my beneficiary on the life insurance policy?
Beneficiary Horror Story
One story that I will [...]

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