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The article “Plan ahead to reduce stress on loved ones” provides a list of things to consider that would , banker, or financial advisor? Do you have a list of your life insurance policies or your retirement plan documents? Is there a list of your heirs and who has financial powers available? Planning to make difficult times easier on the ones you love may be the best gift ever.

Consult with an estate planning attorney to help you submit claims for benefits due as the surviving certificates (from the funeral home or the Vital Statistics office where the death occurred); Estate planning Postal Service; The Department of Motor Vehicles; Insurance companies; Credit bureaus; Financial institutions

These decisions should be made only after you speak to a qualified estate planning attorney. You may factor in any bequests to kids that are planned by the other biological parent. Plain irreparable relationships. Here, the parents may intend to partially or fully cut that child out of their estate plans. There’s no way around it; this is a tough decision that requires thoughtful planning.

Yet 76 percent of young adults believe that they will have a better financial future than their parents Contact the Texas Estate Planning Attorneys at Your Legacy Legal Care By working with a knowledgeable and experienced Texas estate planning attorney, you can better understand the estate planning process and develop a plan to ensure that your wishes for the future will be carried out. Legal Care, we understand the emotions, confusion, and frustration that can come from not having a plan

The Investopedia article, “Estate Planning: Which Assets Are Best to Leave Your Family,” says that there You should consider this when preparing your estate plan. The planned distribution of these types of assets should be discussed long before the person’s passing These estate planning questions are hard to answer for most of us. Capital gains, death and income taxes all come into play when planning for the transfer of wealth from

The County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler said he was ordered by the probate court to pay the heirs in Mary Petroff’s $1.36 million estate. Four dozen family members from Granite City to Bulgaria will receive the money left behind by the 97-year-old woman who died in 2011. Mary and her sister didn’t marry, and in their 90s, they began to suffer from dementia. Each was appointed a legal guardian. When Anne died in 2009, her estate passed on to Mary. Both sisters lived a modest life. After Mary passed away, the state of Illinois discovered she was a millionaire with no known heirs or will. Prenzler said following Mary’s death, her estate was placed with his office for safekeeping in accordance with Illinois law, which stipulates that unclaimed monies are kept in the county for a period of 10 years before being turned over to the state. However, in Mary’s case, there were people who came forward and claimed to be her relatives. The familial relationship was determined last month by a probate judge. Then the County Treasurer’s Office cut checks for 48 relatives. Mary’s heirs will receive anywhere from about $3,000 to $110,000 from her estate. The largest amount of the estate will be headed to Mary’s relatives in Bulgaria. An attorney who was tasked with distributing the checks for his clients—most of whom are from Bulgaria—commented that the laws regarding estates are different in each state. If Mary had lived in Missouri, mostly likely the distribution would have gone to fewer family members. Reference: The (Alton IL) Telegraph (January 25, 2016) “Treasurer distributes Granite City millionaire maiden’s fortune” #Intestacy #HoustonGuardianship #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #HoustonWills #Probate #ProbateCourt #Inheritance

A recent New Jersey 101.5 article, “How to plan for spendthrift children,” recommends the use of a trust Trusts are used in estate planning to restrict the use of assets by the beneficiaries and/or to protect This can be an individual or a financial institution or a combination of both. Whatever you decide to do, be sure you get it done through a qualified estate planning attorney. Reference: New Jersey 101.5 (May 5, 2016) “How to plan for spendthrift children” #Trustee #AssetProtection

knows what they’re doing really helps because they can tailor a strategy that fits with your overall financial plan. It is best to work with an estate planning attorney in your state because state tax laws vary considerably some of your pretax salary for certain expenses, and 529 plan contributions. An estate planning attorney can help you with the details.

Plan Ahead When Possible Obviously, it is not always possible to plan in advance for nursing home care When possible, however, planning ahead is one of the best things you can do to ensure you receive the If you plan earlier, when you are healthy, you can have so much more say in how the situation plays out

If you turned 70½ in 2015, you were required to take your first required minimum distribution from your IRA by April 1, 2016. But do you need to take another RMD by the end of this year? Kiplinger’s article, “RMD Tips for Retirees Taking Their First Required Minimum Distributions,” explains that, generally speaking, you need to take your required minimum distributions by December 31st every year. However, your first RMD may be delayed until April 1 of the year after the year you turn age 70½, but you have to take a second RMD (the one for age 71) in the same year by December 31st. If you have to take two RMDs in one year, as many do, it could cause an individual to experience an unexpectedly large taxable income for the year. This could put you into a higher tax bracket and also impact the amount of your Social Security benefits subject to taxes. Also, note that if your adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest income rises above $85,000 if you are single or $170,000 if married and filing jointly, you’ll pay more for Medicare premiums—$170.50 to $389.80 per person each month for Part B premiums and an extra $12.70 to $72.90 per person each month for Part D. The IRA required minimum distribution you take on April 1st is based on the balance in your traditional IRAs as of December 31, 2014, and the second RMD of the year is based on the balance in your IRAs as of December 31, 2015. Even so, you can decrease the taxable amount for the current year by making a tax-free transfer to charity of up to $100,000 from your IRA anytime during the year, but it’s too late to make a tax-free transfer for your 2015 RMD. That amount will count as your required minimum distribution for the year, but it isn’t included in your adjusted gross income. The law allowing for such transfers has been extended permanently. As a result, you don’t need to wait for Congress to approve it at the end of each year before taking action. Speak with your IRA administrator and the charity for more information about how to make the transfer. Reference: Kiplinger (March 31, 2016) “RMD Tips for Retirees Taking Their First Required Minimum Distributions” #AssetProtection #estateplanning #IRAs

The County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler said he was ordered by the probate court to pay the heirs in Mary Petroff’s $1.36 million estate. Four dozen family members from Granite City to Bulgaria will receive the money left behind by the 97-year-old woman who died in 2011. Mary and her sister didn’t marry, and in their 90s, they began to suffer from dementia. Each was appointed a legal guardian. When Anne died in 2009, her estate passed on to Mary. Both sisters lived a modest life. After Mary passed away, the state of Illinois discovered she was a millionaire with no known heirs or will. Prenzler said following Mary’s death, her estate was placed with his office for safekeeping in accordance with Illinois law, which stipulates that unclaimed monies are kept in the county for a period of 10 years before being turned over to the state. However, in Mary’s case, there were people who came forward and claimed to be her relatives. The familial relationship was determined last month by a probate judge. Then the County Treasurer’s Office cut checks for 48 relatives. Mary’s heirs will receive anywhere from about $3,000 to $110,000 from her estate. The largest amount of the estate will be headed to Mary’s relatives in Bulgaria. An attorney who was tasked with distributing the checks for his clients—most of whom are from Bulgaria—commented that the laws regarding estates are different in each state. If Mary had lived in Missouri, mostly likely the distribution would have gone to fewer family members. Reference: The (Alton IL) Telegraph (January 25, 2016) “Treasurer distributes Granite City millionaire maiden’s fortune” #Intestacy #HoustonGuardianship #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #HoustonWills #Probate #ProbateCourt #Inheritance

What legal tactic will work best to protect your assets depends on what your long-term financial goals Financial issues are the number one reason couples fight, so getting them out into the open relieves your assets and passing them on to the next generation, it is time to talk to an experienced estate planning You can take the law into your own hands by crafting a custom-made asset protection plan that fulfils It is unnecessarily risky to rely on the default legal rules or a cookie-cutter plan you could print