The Basics of Estate Planning - Trusts

What is a Trust?

A Trust, generally, is a legal entity that can hold title to property. There are three parties to a Trust agreement: the Trustmaker who creates the Trust, the Beneficiary who receives the benefit of the property held in the Trust, and the Trustee who manages the Trust. The property that is transferred to and held by the Trust becomes the Trust principal. If you create a Trust within your Will, it is called a Testamentary Trust. If you create a Trust while you are alive, it is called an inter vivos or Living Trust.

While you are alive, you usually will receive all the income of the Trust and as much of the principal as you request. Upon your death, the Trust assets are distributed to your Beneficiaries in accordance with your directions contained in the Trust agreement, or it can continue for specified purposes for a period of time.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Trust

The Main Advantages of a Living Trust:

The Real Deal With Estate Plan Trusts

Estate planning is a way of preparing properties and other items for a specific person and the people that are special to them. This involves organization of properties and possessions into a will. A real estate plan would significantly lessen the taxes of the properties that are included in the will. Also, planning a real estate would include preparations that would ensure that everything I the will would be granted.

A good plan would be able to coordinate home, investments, benefits, business and insurance matters for the future. This should be ensured that even if the person passes away or becomes ill. The plan would also be able to set the direction about the health care one would accept especially if they become disabled.

If you plan to go into planning your estate, you have to know first which items fall into the category. An estate comprises all of the properties and possessions that a person owns. It does not matter whether the estate is owned solely or with a partner. You can include real estate properties, cash, stocks, establishments, buildings, collections, jewelry and businesses. You can even include your retirement benefits.

Financial & Estate Planning For the Dual Income Family

In today's world, it is more common than ever to find dual income households. Recent estimates by the Department of Labor find that women comprise around 47 percent of the American workforce. Compare this percentage to 1960 accounts estimating women in the workplace at around 33 percent. Because of the proliferation of working women, special planning is necessary to properly address the issues faced by households where both spouses work.

Life Insurance

Although also true for single income households, the need for life insurance should particularly be evaluated when both spouses work. Life insurance can provide a means to replace a wage earner's salary in the event of an untimely death. The necessity becomes even more evident in the case of a simultaneous death. Life insurance could be the only means of providing income to dependent children for their own care, replacing their parents' incomes.

Why Estate Planning Is a Woman's Issue

In a nation consumed with wealth-building, it's easy to forget that earning money is only half the financial security battle. Equally important is protecting our hard-won financial security with a well-designed estate plan. For women, the importance of planning is paramount, because most often women must cope when loved ones become disabled or die.

A recent study by Penn State University found that wives were three times more likely to have to cope with a mate's illness or injury. The study also revealed that few husbands had prepared the kind of estate planning documents that would have eased their wives' burdens.
For example, a Living Will and a Health Care Power of Attorney give wives the legal clout to act on their husbands' behalf in the event of an emergency.

Without these tools, wives must endure the process of living probate, also known as a guardianship proceeding, in which a husband may be declared incompetent, and a probate judge decides who should be responsible for his personal care and financial affairs. While the wife is often granted this role, there are no guarantees that she will prevail. Judges have wide discretion over whom they may appoint, and the judge may deem that an outsider or professional guardian may be better suited to the task.

Top 5 Estate Planning Mistakes

The following is a brief list of common estate planning mistakes that the client should keep in mind when engaging in any form of estate planning.

1 - Insufficient plan for controlling financial and property matters during incapacity

Far too little time is spent in addressing how most estates will be managed for the benefit of the client while he or she is incapacitated. Most estate plans are focused primarily on how assets will be divided among heirs. A good estate plan should spend an equal amount of time addressing how you should be cared for and how your estate should be managed if you are no longer able to manage it on your own. This aspect of planning can be far more beneficial than the "who gets what" provisions.

2 - Thinking children (minors and adults) don't need inheritance protection