Estate planning includes all the planning that’s involved for setting up a will, a trust and making sure that your assets go to the people or organizations that you want to have them. Estate planning is complex — you should consider taxes when making plans for your assets to go to your heirs. If you don’t do estate planning you risk having your belongings managed by the state where you live, and your state’s laws may not match exactly what you want. Estate planning is especially important in blended families.
Revocable Trust Can Meet Estate Planning Needs
How can you ensure that your investment property gets transferred to the correct heir in the event of your death? Is there a way to meet your estate planning needs and still allow you to enjoy the investment property's income while you're alive? A revocable trust may be able to meet these estate planning needs.
Paying For Long Term Care With Property
A trust can be used to shelter assets and give ownership to the trustees of the property, or other assets. However, if the previous owner goes into nursing home care soon after the trust is set up, it can be undone by the state to pay for the original owner's care. While using cash or other assets to pay for long-term care isn't as appealing as having Medicaid pick up the bill, that's what assets are there for.
Estate Planning: Power Of Attorney And Living Wills
Estate planning such as designating power of attorney is a smart move. A living will, has nothing to do with the financial aspect of estate planning, but allows you to describe the kind of medical treatment you want in certain situations. A durable power of attorney is a good move as far as estate planning, because it lets you select someone to make tough decisions and pay bills for you after you are no longer able to choose.
Estate Planning: Wills And Power Of Attorney
Ready to get your estate in order? Look no further for estate planning advice Here's how to get your estate planning started with living wills, powers of attorney for health care, and powers of attorney for financial matters.
Estate Planning Helps Avoid Excessive Taxes
When you have rental property that you want to bequest to your children you should do some estate planning. You can change the real estate title while you're alive or wait until your passing depending on your estate planning. Depending on how you pass along the property your children may face an increased cost basis when they sell the home, resulting in higher taxes. To reduce taxes on an estate it's helpful to set up a trust as part of estate planning.
Estate Plan Includes Will And Powers Of Attorney
Do you have an estate plan? You do, whether you intended to or not. If you haven't made out a will or a trust, you have a plan--unfortunately, one that is defined by the laws of the state where you reside at your death. Don't let the state decide important matters like who gets guardianship of your children. Put together an estate plan that includes a will, powers of attorney for health care and financial matters and possibly a trust.
Gifting Real Estate With Minimum Gift Taxes
When you're giving property as a gift, do you're homework to minimize the gift taxes. If you want to give real estate as a gift and not pay high taxes to the IRS, you have to take a few important steps, and consulting an attorney will help you take them. Ilyce Glink walks you through the basics of gifting property with minimum gift taxes.
Transfer Deed Of Home To Avoid Student Loan Payments
Can a partner transfer the deed to their home and avoid paying off a student loan bill. There are legal and ethical angles to this proposition, but each person is responsible for his or her own debts and to the extent any of us has assets that can be used to pay these debts, we must use all or some of the assets for that purpose. Creditors have a legal right to pursue your partner for his debts when and if he stops paying his obligations. They do not have a right to pursue you, as long as you are not married to your partner.
Home Loan Limits
Conventional loan limits are changing and that presents an opportunity for those of you who have jumbo loans. Jumbo loans, also called non-conforming loans, are loans that exceed the loan limits set by various housing agencies and typically have higher interest rates. If you have a jumbo loan, take advantage of the new loan limit definitiions and switch to a conventional loan if you can. You'll save a half percent in the interest rate in the process -- that's a substantial savings over the life of your loan.
Homestead Exemptions Within A Living Trust
A living trust is a document that creates a separate entity to hold all of your assets. The trust holds the assets, which are managed by you as the sole trustee until you die. Upon your death, the assets are still in the trust and a new trustee can managet the assets and can even sell them.