Tuesday, September 26, 2017

6 Estate Planning Steps to Take Right Now

More than 70% of folks who should have some plan in place do not. No will, power of attorney, HIPAA documents or living will. Numerous sources report this has stayed consistently high for almost 30 years.



Not having any plan is hazardous to you and your family in these ways:

1. No plan = undesired results.

2. No plan = no choice of decision makers.

3. No plan = no protections in place for you, your loved ones and your property.

Everyone seems to agree on the merits of having some plan in place yet an alarming number of folks still have no plan. Here are six simple steps you can take today to protect yourself and family:

1. Think about what is important to you and decide if you want to protect your spouse and children.

2. With the large federal estate and gift tax exemptions planning today is about protecting family members and income tax savings. Gather together your asset information: titles and beneficiary designations.

3. Schedule an estate planning meeting with a qualified estate planning attorney; one who actually specializes in estate planning.

4. Discuss your goals, assets and beneficiary designations with your estate planning attorney.

5. Implement the plan by signing all of the estate planning documents you work out; will, trust, powers of attorney, living will and health care documents.

6. Make sure each asset is titled properly and the beneficiary designations are ALL coordinated with your estate plan.


Estate planning is all about family!

Six simple steps to estate planning success and to get on the road to protecting yourself, your family and your property.