Incapacity

With our society becoming increasingly mobile and international travel becoming more affordable than ever before, families and family-like relationships have steadily grown far more diverse in terms of citizenship. It is no longer uncommon for spouses from different countries to retain citizenship in their native countries. Many couples split their time between the United States and another country to be near their families and enjoy the many benefits of such a lifestyle. In addition, it is not uncommon for a couple’s children or other loved ones to move away from their country of origin and take up permanent residence abroad, or even renounce their home country citizenship, depending on their choices of careers or domestic partners or other considerations.

Diversity of citizenship among friends and family also creates a fair share of complications.
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You may have heard of a revocable living trust (RLT), which is a commonly used estate planning solution. But what exactly are they, who is affected by them, how can they be changed, and what do they accomplish?

When you sit down to create your estate plan, there are likely dozens of questions running through your mind. Who should get possession of your home? Who should run the family business? Will you create a college fund for your grandkids? What charity should you donate to? The options can be dizzying.

Many believe that estate planning is simply instructions on how to distribute your assets when you pass away, but the reality is that proper estate planning can do much more. While one major benefit of estate planning is to provide for your family and friends when you are gone, there are many benefits for you as well. 

Additional Benefits of Estate Planning

Life can give us surprises, both good and bad. Estate planning can help you be prepared for  some unfortunate surprises in life. This is because proper estate planning includes planning for you and your care in the event you become incapacitated.
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Preparing your company for your incapacity or death is vital to the survival of the enterprise. Otherwise, your business will be disrupted, harming your customers, employees, vendors, and ultimately, your family. For this reason, proactive financial planning -- including your business and your estate plan -- is key. Below are some tips on how to protect your company and keep the business on track and operating day-to-day in your absence.

Preparing for the Unexpected

If you are a small business owner, your focus is likely on keeping the company running on a daily basis.
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Comprehensive estate planning is more than your legacy after death, avoiding probate, and saving on taxes. Good estate planning includes a plan in place to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated during your life and can no longer make decisions for yourself.  

What happens without an incapacity plan?

Without a comprehensive incapacity plan in place, your family will have to go to court to get a judge to appoint a guardian or conservator to take control of your assets and health care decisions. This guardian or conservator will make all personal and medical decisions on your behalf as part of a court-supervised guardianship or conservatorship. Until you regain capacity or die, you and your loved ones will be faced with an expensive and time-consuming guardianship or conservatorship proceeding.
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Media mogul Sumner Redstone – owner of CBS and Viacom, among other holdings – allegedly Read more . . .

Most financially savvy individuals begin planning their estate when they’re in peak mental shape. The idea that this might change at some point in the distant future is an unpleasant one, and they would rather go about their estate planning as if they’ll be as sharp as a tack late into their golden years. Unfortunately, this common approach of ignoring a potential problem and hoping it simply won’t happen can leave a giant hole in your estate plan. Read on to find out that this common hole can be more easily filled than you might think.
    
Expect the best, but plan for the worst
  
The reality is that an individual’s chances of experiencing some form of cognitive impairment rise with age.