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If your estate plan includes a revocable living trust, start by examining the provisions for potential You can do this by adding a “credit shelter” or “bypass” provision to revocable trust documents. However, the trust can’t give him or her unlimited access to the funds. As a result, bypass trusts may no longer be needed to avoid federal estate tax. However, there may still be good reasons to keep the bypass trust language, including protecting the

Don’t Panic! An important lesson of the devastating 2007-09 downturn is that even in the worst of times, recoveries can occur in a reasonable period. Since 1945, it has taken about four months to recover from market declines of 10% to 20%. Stay the course. Monitor Your Portfolio. Retirees need an investment horizon long enough to withstand this storm or whatever the market has in store. For a retirement that can last decades, new retirees should have 40% to 60% of their assets in stocks. Stocks are better with inflation—better than bonds and cash over time, so even 90-year-olds should keep at least 20% of their assets in stocks. You should have been cutting back on stocks periodically over the past few years, and it’s a good time to review your investment mix to see if it’s consistent with your tolerance for risk. Diversify. Investors should own a mix of domestic and foreign bonds and U.S. and international stocks. Your stock allocation should have a variety of market sectors, with no one sector having more than 5% to 10% of your holdings. Stick With High-Quality Holdings. This is no time to get risky, so stick with companies with dependable earnings, healthy balance sheets, and substantial dividends, or funds that invest in such companies. Tap Your Cash Bucket. Instead of dumping stocks, use Social Security and any annuities, plus the portion of your portfolio that is in cash and short-term CDs to pay your expenses. If you have planned for the inevitable downturns, you should have enough in cash and cash-like investments to cover two to three years of living expenses. Rethink Your Withdrawal Strategy. The key is to be flexible, and if you don’t have other income to offset lower withdrawals, you should think about deferring gifts and discretionary expenditures until the market stabilizes. Also note that spending changes (and typically declines) in retirement, which may make it easier to cut back. Postpone Retirement. This may sound drastic, but delaying retirement can really improve retirement success. This provides more time to save, including making catch-up contributions to retirement accounts, plus allows money in your accounts to grow. You’ll also have fewer years during which you must rely on savings once you do retire. Working longer can really ease strain on your portfolio. Reference:  Kiplinger’s (March 2016) “How to Retire During a Volatile Stock Market” #AssetProtection #HoustonRetirementPlanning #TaxPlanning

stock can be transferred to the charity by arranging it with the broker or by doing so in a will or trust

In order to protect your loved ones and ensure that your intentions are clear and carried out, you must Consider a living trust. A will may not cover all of your estate-planning needs. You might want to look at a living trust. A trust can give you flexibility in distributing your assets and can help you avoid probate. These include your birth certificate, will, and living trust. Communication.

Let’s first look at the “five year” rule for withdrawing funds tax-free from a Roth IRA. For instance, if you deposit $1,000 in a Roth IRA, you can withdraw that same $1,000 at any time, tax-free However, the laws involving probate, property, trusts and estate taxes are different in each state. Reference: The Wall Street Journal (February 7, 2016) “When the 5-Year Clock Starts on a Roth IRA” #RothIRAs

home avoid probate—without adding someone to the title while they were still alive—was by creating a trust SimpleRevocableTransferonDeathDeed #Probate #ProbateCourt #Inheritance #PowerofAttorney #HoustonEstatePlanningLawyer #Trusts

Review the Will and Trust Documents After probate, you should review the will and any trust documents A Houston trusts lawyer can help you create this document and ensure the assets are protected until they

For instance, a trust cannot be listed as a beneficiary unless it has a current tax ID number. You won’t have such a number if your trust exists within a will. What asset protections are available for my beneficiaries?

Pet trusts and estate plans can be created to help your pets—along with some other legal options. To set aside some money, you can create a fund inside a trust and have that money managed for the pet Talk to an estate planning attorney about pet trusts and estate planning.

A revocable living trust is another important estate planning document because it may allow your estate A trust will prevent the court from controlling your assets and allow for privacy of your estate. Plus, you can change the trust whenever you want.

Trusts Shield Details From The Public While we know what assets Epstein owned at the time of his death Epstein’s will is a classic pour-over will that pours all of his assets into a trust at the time of death of “The 1953 Trust.” Trust documents are not public documents, so unless someone leaks trust documents to the press or comes One of the main reasons people use trusts to do estate planning is because they provide a shield from

Understanding Intestate Succession Laws in Texas In Texas, when a person dies without a valid will or trust How to Protect Your Assets and Ensure Your Loved Ones Are Taken Care of If you don’t have a will in Texas of properly after your passing, it is important to make provisions for them in a will or, better, a trust You can set up trusts or designate beneficiaries in your will to ensure that their needs are met. This includes making a will, setting up trusts , designating beneficiaries for retirement accounts and