Many people think that estate taxes are the top concern that people have when they are devising estate plans. In fact, clients typically talk about other things when they are explaining their priorities.
In this blog post, we will look at three of the top estate planning priorities that we hear about from our clients.
Control of Assets
When you plan your estate, you position your assets with postmortem distributions in mind. In some cases, this will involve the creation of a trust of some kind. You would establish a trust to create some separation between yourself and the ownership of the assets for one reason or another.
Though there can be good reasons to create separation, many clients are concerned about control of the resources that they would like to pass along to their loved ones in a perfect world. You never know what the future holds, and surrendering control of assets can be disconcerting.
There are ways to satisfy multiple objectives if you take the right steps in advance. Some trusts create income for the grantor, and there are revocable trusts that afford the grantor with absolute control of all of the resources.
If you discuss your unique personal situation with a licensed attorney, you can satisfy your estate planning objectives without losing control of your resources.
Family Unity
Monetary matters are obviously important. However, when you are considering the impact of your mortality on your family, you are naturally going to be concerned about the dynamic that is left behind after you are gone.
Maintaining family unity is very important for many people, because they would like to think that their surviving family members will remain close and be supportive of one another. Sometimes inheritance distributions can create disharmony, and this is something that can be a source of concern.
This is why personalized planning is key. Each family is different, and the right way to proceed will vary on a case-by-case basis. There can be more to it than the slicing of a pie into different sized pieces. When you work with an estate planning attorney to devise a personalized plan, you can take the right steps to prevent family disagreements.
Health Care and Living Assistance
Healthcare and living assistance would also be among the top three priorities. People want to be certain that they will receive quality care when they reach an advanced age, including nursing home care if it is necessary.
Medicaid pays for long-term care, and Medicare does not. With the proper planning, you can qualify for Medicaid to pay for your long-term care, and the care will be quality care. At the same time, you will be preserving assets to pass along to your loved ones.
Learn More at Forbes.com
We have published a more comprehensive article on these priorities over at Forbes.com. If you would like to dig deeper, visit this page: Things That Will Matter To You Most.
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