Avoid These 4 Mistakes When Naming Life Insurance Beneficiaries

Investing in life insurance is a foundational part of estate planning. However, when naming your policy’s beneficiaries, there are a number of mistakes you can make that could lead to potentially dire consequences for the very people you’re trying to protect and support.

The following four mistakes are among the most common we see clients make when selecting life insurance beneficiaries. If you’ve made any of these errors, contact us right away, so we can amend your policy to ensure its proceeds provide the maximum benefit for those you love most.

4 Tips For Discussing Estate Planning With Your Family This Holiday Season

As we head into the peak of the holiday season, you’re likely spending more time than usual surrounded by your family and friends. It’s one of the rare times of the year when loved ones from across the country gather together to enjoy each other’s company and celebrate the passing of another year.

The holidays offer an opportunity to visit with loved ones you rarely see and get caught up on what’s been happening in everyone’s life. And though it might not seem like it, the holidays can also be a good time to discuss estate planning. In fact, with everyone you love—from the youngest to the oldest—gathered together under one roof, the holidays provide the ideal opportunity to talk about planning.

No Plan Stan: What happens to my property if I die without a plan?

Q & A:

QUESTION:

If I die with no estate plan at all, what happens to my property?

-No Plan Stan

Estate PlanningErica EndykeDecember 9, 2019No Plan Stan, estate planComment

Buyer Beware: The Hidden Dangers of DIY Estate Planning — Part 2

Last week, we shared the first part of this series on the dangers of do-it-yourself estate planning. Here, we’ll look at how online legal documents can even put your minor children at risk.

Given how far web-based technology has evolved, you might think online legal document services like LegalZoom® and WillsandTrusts.com have advanced to the point where they’re a suitable alternative to having your estate plan prepared by a lawyer.

After all, you’ve been able to prepare and file your taxes online for years, so what makes estate planning so much different? Aren’t lawyers using the very same forms you find on these document websites?

Estate Planning, Kids Protection PlanErica EndykeDecember 3, 2019family protection, estate planning, DIY

Buyer Beware: The Hidden Dangers of DIY Estate Planning — Part 1

Do a Google search for “online estate planning documents,” and you’ll find dozens of different websites. From Legal Zoom® and Willing.com to Rocket Lawyer® and Willandtrust.com, these do-it-yourself (DIY) planning services might seem like an enticing bargain.

At first glance, such DIY planning documents might appear to be a quick and inexpensive way to finally cross estate planning off your life’s lengthy to-do list. You know planning for your death and potential incapacity is important, but you just never seem to have time to take care of it.

However, relying on DIY planning documents can actually be worse than having no plan at all—and here’s why:

Estate PlanningErica EndykeNovember 25, 2019Estate Planning, estate plan, DIY

How Will The Coming Wealth Transfer Affect Your Family?

Whether it’s called “The Great Wealth Transfer,” “The Silver Tsunami,” or some other catchy-sounding name, it’s a fact that a tremendous amount of wealth will pass from aging Baby Boomers to younger generations in the next few decades. In fact, it’s said to be the largest transfer of intergenerational wealth in history.

Because no one knows exactly how long Boomers will live or how much money they’ll spend before they pass on, it’s impossible to accurately predict just how much wealth will be transferred. But studies suggest it’s somewhere between $30 and $50 trillion. Yes, that’s “trillion” with a “T.”

Estate Planning, TrustErica EndykeNovember 18, 2019baby boomer, wealth, trust, family, wealth planningComment

Lifetime Asset Protection Trusts: Airtight Asset Protection For Your Child’s Inheritance — Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed a unique planning tool known as a Lifetime Asset Protection Trust. Here we explain the benefits of these trusts in further detail.

If you’re planning to leave your children an inheritance of any amount, you likely want to do everything you can to protect what you leave behind from being lost or squandered.

While most lawyers will advise you to distribute the assets you’re leaving to your kids outright at specific ages and stages, based on when you think they will be mature enough to handle an inheritance, there is a much better choice for safeguarding your family wealth.

Lifetime Asset Protection Trusts: Airtight Asset Protection For Your Child’s Inheritance — Part 1

As a parent, you’re likely hoping to leave your children an inheritance. In fact, doing so may be one of the motivating factors driving your life’s work. But without taking the proper precautions, the wealth you pass on is at serious risk of being accidentally lost or squandered. In some instances, an inheritance can even wind up doing your kids more harm than good.

Creating a will or a revocable living trust offers some protection, but in most cases, you’ll be guided to distribute assets through your will or trust to your children at specific ages and stages, such as one-third at age 25, half the balance at 30, and the rest at 35.

How to Protect Your Real Estate Assets

If you own real estate, chances are you have purchased insurance to protect your assets against damage or loss. But have you taken the necessary steps to protect your assets against lawsuits or probate?

If you own rental properties, there is likely a nagging fear in the back of your mind about being sued by one of your tenants. And if there isn’t, there probably should be. It’s a major risk.

And while it may be heartbreaking to think about, there is always a chance your death could trigger a family feud over your home, vacation home or other real estate investments.

Reasons to Establish a Trust (and Being Rich Isn’t One of Them)

When you hear the words, “trust fund,” do you conjure up images of stately mansions and party yachts? A trust fund — or trust — is actually a great estate planning tool for many people with a wide range of incomes who want to accomplish a specific purpose with their money.

Simply put, a trust is just a vehicle used to transfer assets. According to an article at The Motley Fool, Trust Funds: They're Not Just for the Rich, and You Might Need One, trusts are especially useful for parents of minor children as well as those who wish to spare their beneficiaries the hassle of going to Court in the event of their incapacity or death.

Estate Planning, Family Law, TrustErica EndykeOctober 21, 2019TrustComment

Asset Protection: When a Will Won’t Work

One of the most prevalent misconceptions when it comes to estate planning is that if you have a will, it will take care of everything that needs to happen after you die in terms of your assets. But before you leave everything to just a will, consider these circumstances where a will simply doesn’t work…

Estate PlanningErica EndykeOctober 14, 2019Estate Planning, will, assets, privacy, court

Retirement Planning Reality Check

The National Institute on Retirement Security states that the funds American workers have set aside for retirement are inadequate to the tune of trillions of dollars. Why? Well as the old adage goes: Failing to plan is as good as planning to fail.

One of the first pitfalls in retirement planning is giving up before you ever start. Many people look at projections of what will be needed to retire and conclude it is simply out of reach, so why even try? In conjunction with this defeatist attitude about saving, they may also think Social Security will provide them with a safety net. But the cold hard reality is, Social Security provides nothing more than a meager income at best. It does, however, provide at least a part of what those projections tell you is going to be required.

Estate PlanningErica EndykeOctober 4, 2019retirement, investment, 401k

Three Health Care Documents You Need to Include in Your Estate Plan

Decisions about your health care are some of the most important you will ever make.

Don’t put off making plans until you are unable to assert your wishes. Including health care documents in your estate plan can ensure your decisions are always your choice, even if you cannot speak for yourself.

Health care documents that clearly state your wishes should be included in your comprehensive estate plan. Here are three documents you need to include in your estate plan to ensure your wishes are respected:

Estate PlanningErica EndykeSeptember 16, 2019estate plan, living will, HIPAA

Is Your Family “Too Young” to Need an Estate Plan?

Young families face different estate planning needs and challenges than those who have had a long life behind them. While established families may be concerned about what will happen to their family when they pass on, young, growing families can be more focused on what is happening to their family in the present. And you even may find it hard to justify planning for an “estate” you haven’t yet established!

But here’s the thing … if you have children, or anyone else you care about, you may not have an “estate”, but you do need estate planning, if you want to ensure your loved ones wouldn’t be stuck in court and/or conflict, if anything happens to you.

Estate PlanningErica EndykeSeptember 9, 2019estate plan, Estate Planning, estate planning for families

The Real Cost To Your Family of Failed Estate Planning: Not Updating Your Plan

If you’re like most people, you probably view estate planning as a burdensome necessity—just one more thing to check off of life’s endless “to-do” list.

You may shop around and find a lawyer to create planning documents for you, or you might try creating your own DIY plan using online documents. Then, you’ll put those documents into a drawer, mentally check estate planning off your to-do list, and forget about them.

The problem is, your estate plan is not a one-and-done type of deal.

The Real Cost To Your Family: Having No Estate Plan At All

When it comes to putting off or refusing to create an estate plan, your mind can concoct all sorts of rationalizations: “I won’t care because I’ll be dead,” “I’m too young,” “That won’t happen to me,” or “My family will know what to do.”

But these thoughts all come from a mix of egoic pride, denial, and above all, we imagine, a lack of real education about estate planning and the consequences to your family. Once you understand exactly what planning is designed to prevent and support, you’ll realize there really is no acceptable excuse for not having a plan, provided you are able to plan and truly care about your family’s experience after you die or if you become incapacitated.

Do Your Homework to Ensure Your Kids Are Properly Cared For No Matter What Happens

It’s back-to-school time again, and when it comes to estate planning you may have homework to do. As a parent, your most critical—and often overlooked—task is to select and legally document guardians for your minor children. Guardians are people legally named to care for your children in the event of your death or incapacity.

Estate PlanningErica EndykeAugust 19, 2019Estate Planning, children

When to Update My Estate Plan

Is it time to update your Estate Plan.

There are two major mistakes in Estate Planning. The first is failing to have a plan at all; the second is failing to update it. Since no one has the crystal ball to forecast when your time will come, your plan should always be reflect your current circumstances, wishes and desires. Since life so fluid, these three elements are constantly shifting.

Estate PlanningErica EndykeAugust 12, 2019Estate Planning, update