If you have never looked into the subject closely, when you think about trusts, you may paint with a broad brush assuming that they all do more or less the same thing. In fact, all trusts are not created equal, and there are some big differences between the different types of trusts. One major distinction between trusts is the right to revoke. The revocable living trust is a widely used estate planning tool. This type of trust can be useful for people who are not necessarily multimillionaires. … [Read more...] about Don’t Be Intimidated By Irrevocable Trusts

Things do not fall into place automatically after you pass away, even if you have a last will. In your will, you would name an executor of a will to handle the estate administration tasks. The executor of a will has many different responsibilities. We will look at some of them here, and it all starts with the probate process. In addition to the heirs that are named in the last will, there can be other interested parties. Creditors have the right to seek satisfaction from the estate before the … [Read more...] about What Does the Executor of a Will Do?

Estate planning is a dynamic, ongoing process that is actually an extension of the financial planning that you have done throughout your life. You make sure that you have sufficient resources to draw from for your own purposes, and you simultaneously have your legacy goals in mind. When you are going to make investments, if you are not a professional, you are probably going to enlist the services of a financial adviser. This makes a lot of sense, and you should apply this logic to your estate … [Read more...] about How to Find the Right Estate Planning Attorney

When you think about estate planning, and you have not looked into it thoroughly, you may reduce the matter to the creation of a last will. You do have to utilize asset transfer methods when you plan your estate, but there is considerably more to think about if you want to be fully prepared. Leaving the people that you love behind will have many effects on those people. Yes, it is important to think about financial matters, but there are also matters of the heart that can enter the … [Read more...] about Estate Planning: The Holistic Approach

Making a will can seem like the responsible thing to do when you have wealth to pass along to your loved ones. However, in reality, making a will can have some serious drawbacks for high net worth individuals because of the wealth protection factor. The concept of wealth protection can seem odd. You have been able to accumulate wealth throughout your life, and you have paid taxes. What exactly are you protecting your wealth from? There is a federal estate tax in the United States, and it … [Read more...] about The Perils of Making a Will as a High Net Worth Individual

People are sometimes confused about death taxes. They look at the terms “estate” and “inheritance” as interchangeable. As a result, they assume that an estate tax is the same thing as an inheritance tax. This is not the case. There is a federal estate tax, but there is no federal inheritance tax. However, there are six states that levy state level inheritance taxes. We have offices in Kentucky, and Kentucky is one of these six states. You can learn about the ramifications in person if you … [Read more...] about The Kentucky Inheritance Tax Can Impact Local Residents

Estate administration is a subject that you may not have considered, but it is a very important piece of the estate planning puzzle. If you create a last will or a trust, you are stating your wishes in writing, and this is clearly necessary. At the same time, there are things that must be done after you pass away to bring these wishes to fruition. Let's look at five things that everyone should know about estate administration. 1.) Executor or Personal Representative If you use a last will to … [Read more...] about Five Things You Need to Know About Estate Administration

A revocable living trust can be a good choice for a wide range of people, but this type of trust does not satisfy every objective that someone may have. Since a revocable living trust can be amended or revoked, you have the ability to dissolve the trust at any time, and you can walk away in direct possession of the property once again. For this reason, you are retaining incidents of ownership. As a result, it will not accomplish objectives that require you to give up ownership. Estate tax … [Read more...] about Does a Living Trust Reduce Estate Taxes?

A revocable trust is an estate planning tool that you should explore if you have always thought that you should use a last will to state your final wishes. In spite of the above, people often brush the prospect of trust creation aside because they harbor misconceptions. In this post, we will provide some sound information so you can make a fully informed decision. Efficient Structure The structure of a revocable living trust is quite efficient. A living trust is administered by a trustee. If … [Read more...] about Dissecting the Anatomy of a Revocable Trust