Estate Plan Updates for the New Year

Since estate planning enables you to create a plan for the unimaginable, provides your family with financial security, and prevents potential warfare over assets, it’s an important task to check off your to-do list. However, estate planning isn’t a one-and-done deal. A solid estate plan is routinely updated. The start of the new year is a great time to take stock of last year’s changes and make updates to your plan as needed. Read on to discover which parts of your estate plan you should review for potential changes.

1. Beneficiaries

The start of the new year is a great time to review the beneficiaries listed on your accounts. If you recently became married or divorced, checking beneficiaries on your accounts is especially important. This is because the person listed as a beneficiary receives the assets in your account when you die. You’d want to remove an ex spouse or add a new spouse. Or, if you’d like the assets in your accounts to go to your children or a charity, it’s important to double check that they’re listed on the account. This is because the person listed as a beneficiary will receive the money in the account even if your will says otherwise.

2. Powers of Attorney

It’s also important to review your durable and healthcare power of attorney documents at the start of the new year. It’s important to review your powers of attorney because the individuals listed there have the power to make financial and medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. If you’d no longer like the individuals listed to make decisions on your behalf or if they are no longer able to, you need to update your documents.

3. Guardians for minor children

Similar to checking your powers of attorney at the start of the new year, you should also check the guardians you’ve listed for minor children. The start of the new year is a great time to check in with your selected guardians to make sure they’re still willing to step in and raise your children if something happens to you.

4. Executor(s)

You also need to check who you have listed as the executor of your will at the start of the new year. If your executor has become ill or has died, you need to update your estate plan to include a new executor.

5. Changes in assets

Any changes in assets over the course of the past year also require estate plan updates. You can change the amount your heirs will receive based on the changes in your assets. Or, if you’ve gained family heirlooms or items with sentimental value, you should update your last will and testament to reflect who you’d like to receive those items when you’re gone. This will help to prevent family warfare later on.

To contact Boyum Law Firm for help with updating your estate plan with the new year, click here. 

 

 

 

 

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How to Use Your Estate Plan to Make Charitable Donations

Whether it’s donating time, food, or gifts to those in need, many people give back to their communities during the holiday season. However, if you’re looking to make a lasting impact, you should consider making a charitable donation through your estate plan. Read on to discover the benefits of using your estate plan for charitable giving and to learn how to set up a plan.

Benefits of using your estate plan for charitable giving

Using your estate plan for charitable giving provides a variety of benefits for you and your community. For example, donating to charity through your estate plan enables you to support a cause that’s important to you, even when you’re gone. Additionally, making charitable donations through your estate plan comes with certain types of tax breaks and retirement benefits depending on how the donations are made. At the same time, the organization you support gets the resources it needs to operate. So, you’re able to help others as well as yourself by giving back through your estate plan.

How to set up your estate plan to make charitable donations

There’s a variety of ways to set up your estate plan to make charitable donations, including:

• • Using your last will and testament: The simplest way to make a donation, according to this CNBC article, is to use your last will and testament. In order to use your last will and testament, all you need to do is list what assets you’d like to go to a specific charity. Then, the charity will receive those assets during the probate process after your death.
  • Listing charities as beneficiaries: This strategy is also fairly simple. You would just need to list a charity as the beneficiary to an account. Then, after you’re gone, the money in the account goes to the charity listed.
  • Creating a split-interest trust: This strategy is more complicated because it enables you to make a donation while still keeping some of the benefits of owning the assets. As explained in this this Schwab article, two types of trusts are commonly used when making charitable donations. The first is a charitable remainder trust. Using this type of trust, you, the donor, receive a fixed payment or percentage from the trust. This payment is made annually for a fixed number of years or until your death.  The second type of split-interest trust is a charitable lead trust. With this type of trust, the charity receives an income for a certain number of years. Once the number of years is up, the remainder of the trust goes back to you or your heirs.

Since there are many ways to use estate planning to donate to charity, you should consult an attorney. This is because an attorney will be able to help you decide what your best option is based on the type of tax and retirement benefits you are looking for. To find out how Boyum Law Firm can help you donate to charity through your estate plan, click here.

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Give the Gift of a Completed Estate Plan This Holiday Season

It’s the holiday season. Snow, gift giving, and time spent with family abound. If you’re struggling to come up with a gift idea for your loved ones, consider completing your estate plan. Not only will this gift create peace of mind, it’ll take the guess work out of your final wishes and create a plan for the unimaginable. Read on to discover the benefits of giving the gift of a completed estate plan this holiday season.

Create Peace of Mind

Completing your estate plan is an excellent gift to give this holiday season because it shows your loved ones you care about their peace of mind and that you’re prepared for the future. This is because sitting down with a lawyer and constructing the legal documents needed to create an estate plan requires thinking through many important decisions. Some of these decisions are stressful because they require you to consider the unimaginable, such as if you become incapacitated. Other decisions are more cheerful, such as deciding how you’d like to pass your legacy down to loved ones. No matter what type of decisions you’re making, sitting down with a lawyer to get your affairs in order shows loved ones you care about their futures and want to give them peace of mind. For this reason, completing your estate plan is a great gift idea.

Take the guess work out of your final wishes

Creating a completed estate plan is a good gift to give your loved ones because it takes the guess work out of your final wishes. Estate planning takes the guess work out of your final wishes by enabling you to decide who gets what in advanced. This is an important step to take for your loved ones. As an estate planning law firm, Boyum Law knows nothing hurts a relationship between family members like fighting over a deceased loved one’s possessions. By having the proper legal documents in place, you can ensure your loved one’s relationships don’t suffer when you’re gone. This is because you will have already decided who gets what. Since a completed estate plan prevents potential family fights and relationship damage, it is a good gift idea.

Create a plan for the unimaginable

Another benefit to giving the gift of a completed estate plan is the ability to plan for the unimaginable. Estate planning enables you to create a plan for the unimaginable through the use of a living will, powers of attorney, and HIPPA release. This is because these documents layout in advanced what type of life sustaining care you’d like to receive, who can make medical and financial decisions on your behalf, and who has access to information about your health in the event you become incapacitated. With these decisions made in advanced, your family will not have to worry about making decisions for you. Instead, they can follow your pre-made plan and not worry if they’re making the right choices. For this reason, you should consider giving the gift of a completed estate plan this holiday season.

If you’d like to give your family the gift of a completed estate plan this holiday season, contact Boyum Law here.

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A Revocable Living Trust Vs. a Will: Which One is Right for You?

When it comes to estate planning, it’s important to make sure your documents are designed to fit your needs. Different legal documents have different purposes, as discussed in an earlier blog post. However, the purposes of some documents do overlap, such as a revocable living trust and a last will and testament. Both of these estate planning documents enable you to pass assets down to heirs. However, both accomplish this task in a different way. Read on to discover the benefits and drawbacks of using each document to pass along assets.

What is a revocable living trust?

A revocable living trust is a type of trust often used in estate planning. It’s made up of three components: a grantor, who creates and places assets into the trust; beneficiaries, who receive the assets; and a trustee, who manages the trust.

Benefits

1. 1. Flexibility: One of the key benefits of using a revocable living trust to pass down assets to heirs is flexibility. A revocable living trust is flexible because the trust’s provisions can be changed at any time. This means that the grantor’s assets are not locked in and remain accessible.
   2. Durability: Another benefit to a revocable living trust is durability. A revocable living trust is durable because assets placed within this type of trust will continue to be managed even if the grantor becomes incapacitated or dies. This means that the assets placed within this type of trust are protected against unforeseeable circumstances.
   3. Privacy: Privacy is perhaps the most well-known benefit of a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust provides the grantor and their heirs with privacy by avoiding probate. Once documents are filed in probate, they become public record. Anyone can access public records, so by avoiding probate, the public is not privy to who gets what in the family.

Drawbacks

Limited Ability: The main drawback of a revocable living trust is its limited ability. A revocable living trust is limited in its abilities because its only use is for passing assets down to heirs.

What is a last will and testament?

A last will and testament is a customized document. It lists instructions for how you’d like your assets distributed among your heirs. You also appoint a personal representative, otherwise known as an executor, in this document. The executor is responsible for distributing your assets.

Benefits

Multi-Functionality: The main benefit of a last will and testament solves the main drawback of a revocable living trust. This is because a last will and testament covers more ground when it comes to estate planning and is multi functional. A last will and testament is multi functional because besides including a place to list instructions for the distribution of your assets, it provides a space to appoint a legal guardian for minors. For this reason, families that include small children should create a last will and testament.

Drawbacks

1. A lack of privacy: One of the main drawbacks to using a last will and testament to pass down assets to heirs is that a last will and testament must be filed in probate court. As previously discussed, once the document is filed in probate court, it becomes public record. This means the inheritance of your heirs is public information, so anyone can access the information in your document.

2. The Unknown: The unknown is a drawback of using a last will and testament to pass down assets to heirs because a last will and testament doesn’t take effect until death. This means that if you become incapacitated, the assets listed in your last will and testament cannot continue to be managed.

Solution? Create both.

The easiest way to get around the drawbacks of both documents is to create both. That way, you have a guardian appointed, but your assets can avoid probate and have an added layer of protection in the event you become incapacitated. To learn how Boyum Law can help you create your own revocable living trust and last will and testament, click here.

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