Whatever the time of year, it is always good for members of the military and their loved ones to create or revisit their estate plan. Military families face unique estate planning considerations that others do not, especially when a family member is deployed overseas or receives a temporary duty assignment. In addition,...
Category: Revocable Trusts
Don’t Choose the Wrong Successor Trustee
Many estate plans contain revocable living trusts that will become irrevocable (cannot be easily changed or terminated) when the trustmaker dies. Such trusts may benefit the surviving spouse during their lifetime and may continue for the benefit of several additional generations. Because these trusts can be designed to span multiple decades, it...
Revocable Trust Do NOT Protect Against Lawsuits
Many people believe that once they set up a revocable living trust and change the ownership of their accounts and property from themselves as individuals to their trust, those accounts and property are protected from lawsuits. This is not true.
While trusts commonly protect a beneficiary’s inheritance, few trusts...
Tools for Parents of Minor Children
Approximately three-fourths of Americans do not have a basic will.[1] Many of the same people also have children under the age of 18, which underscores a major misunderstanding about estate plans: They can accomplish much more than just handling financial assets (money, accounts, and property).
One of...
Does Your Revocable Living Trust Reduce Your Federal Estate Tax Bill in Madison, WI?
Many believe that once they set up and fund a revocable living trust, property held in the trust will completely avoid federal estate taxes after they die. In reality, a living trust does not provide any unique estate tax avoidance strategies.
The primary mechanisms for reducing estate taxes—the unlimited...
Choosing the Initial Trustee of Your Trust
When you establish a trust, you nominate someone to be the trustee. If you are creating a revocable living trust, you will likely be the initial trustee. You will also want to name successors or backup trustees to step in and manage the trust’s affairs if you can no longer manage the...
Choosing Your Successor Trustee of Your Trust
If you have a revocable living trust, you probably named yourself as the initial trustee so that you can continue to manage your financial affairs. However, someone else will eventually need to step in to administer your trust when you are no longer able to act due to incapacity (the inability to...
Will My Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate?
If you have established a revocable living trust (which we will refer to simply as a trust), congratulations! You are on the right track in creating a comprehensive estate plan. However, you are only halfway there. Many people believe that because they took the time to create a trust, their estate will...
What Can I Not Do as Trustmaker and Trustee of a Revocable Living Trust?
Wills and living trusts are two of the most fundamental estate planning documents. While both accomplish the same primary objective in an estate plan of directing the distributions of your money and property to your desired beneficiaries after you pass away, a revocable living trust, often referred to simply as a living...
Pensions and Other Retirement Accounts in Estate Planning
The first private pension plan in the United States was established in the late 1800s. Through 1980, nearly 40 percent of Americans were covered by a traditional employer-funded pension. But employer-provided retirement plans have now largely shifted to retirement savings vehicles like 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) that place most...