Midyear Reality Check: 6 Tips for Updating Your Estate Plan

As we near the end of June and sneak up on the Fourth of July, many of us are dreaming of packing the kids off to camp and enjoying a well-deserved vacation of our own. But the halfway mark is also the time to be taking stock. What have we accomplished and what can we do in the next six months to meet our 2017 goals?

Time for creating or updating Living Trusts

  • At DP Legal Solutions, we’re bullish on Living Trusts! Our goals for our clients always include either creating or updating their Living Trusts. It’s easy to procrastinate, but the rewards are great. Creating and funding a Living Trust is one of the most thoughtful gifts you give your family.
  • Unfortunately, many people believe that once they create and fund their Living Trusts, the process is finished. But we caution our clients to review and update their Trusts every few years--this is especially important for those who create their Trusts when their children are still young and they’re building their careers.
  • Living Trusts should be updated with important life events—births, deaths, marriage or divorce, significant investments, purchases of real property, a new job where you’re making more money—these are all signals that it’s time for an update.

We’ve prepared a list of six things you can be doing to stay on top of your overall estate planning.

1. Review your existing Will and Trust.

Over the course of a year your professional life can change dramatically.
  • New tax laws can affect the way in which you allocate your assets and may necessitate changes in the way you distribute your estate.
  • Do you need to change or add beneficiaries? If there have been births, deaths or new additions to your family, you well may need to make changes to your beneficiaries.
  • Are your named Agents and Successor Trustees are still appropriate, as they will be faced with significant responsibility. Health issues and job commitments take their toll, so this is a good time to ensure that those you identified, including those in backup roles, are still able to assume this responsibility.

2. Review your beneficiary designations

Assets that pass by beneficiary designation, such as life insurance and retirement accounts, including 401k’s, fall outside a Will or Trust and should be reviewed along with your Trust. Relationships change; make sure that the people you name as beneficiaries are still appropriate.

3. Financial Power of Attorney

Review the person whom you’ve identified as your Power of Attorney. This is the person who may be asked to pay your bills, prepare your taxes and make financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated, so it must be someone who has a facility with numbers and the time to do this.

4. Review existing insurance coverage (life, homeowners, umbrella, disability, LTC, etc.)

As your assets and liabilities change, so does your liability exposure. It is important to review your current policies and circumstances to determine whether you need an increase in coverage or if it’s time to underwrite new policies. Something to think about: A large percentage of Americans will require nursing care at some time in their lives, and it’s not covered by Medicare. Long-term care insurance (LTCI) is much less expensive if purchased when you’re younger and in excellent health. Life insurance companies are also bundling LTCI with life insurance policies.

5. Review your investments – and your investment advisors

Be a smart—it’s your money; ask yourself some questions:
  • Are you satisfied with the way your accounts are performing?
  • How much did you pay in fees last year?
  • Is your investment advisor held to a fiduciary standard, which keeps your best interests above all else, or to the less-stringent “suitability” standard?

6. Review how your assets are titled

Depending on your circumstances, it may be advisable to retitle assets from one spouse to the other, or from a joint tenancy into a tenancy in common. The way in which title to a Deed is held can make a big difference if something should happen to you.
Do you have questions about creating or updating your Living Trust? We make it easy for our clients by creating the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with DP Legal Solutions today: 510.346.5686.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guardianship Case Study: An Intervention for the Best Interests of the Child

Image
These days, it’s not unusual for grandparents to end up raising their grandchildren. They take on this responsibility for a number of reasons—but in many cases it means that their sons or daughters are, at least temporarily, unable to care for their own children. An intervention: Daughter unable to provide a stable home for child Several months ago one such couple, Joe and Sarah, came in to our office seeking more information about getting a Guardianship for their ten-year old granddaughter, Zoe. As their only grandchild, they’d always been very close to Zoe, and now they were concerned about her wellbeing. Zoe lived with her single mother, Sandra, our clients’ daughter, who had been in and out of rehab facilities but was never able to remain clean and sober or hold a job for an extended period of time. Joe and Sarah were concerned about the lack of stability and consistency for Zoe; they were also concerned about the constant exposure to drugs, alcohol and Sandra’s friends....
Read more

Estate Planning: Choose an Executor with Time and a Wide Range of Skills

Image
When it comes to estate planning, choosing an Executor should be an important part of the process, not an afterthought. Depending on the complexity of the estate, it can be a time-consuming, demanding responsibility, and the person who assumes this role should have a broad range of skills and be comfortable working with lawyers, accountants and investment professionals. The Executor’s role  Executors are responsible for settling estates. Families most often name one of their children to act as Executor, but it can be the family’s attorney or a fiduciary. A financial institution, trust company or bank may also serve as co-Executors with an individual, such as the decedent’s spouse, child, advisor or other person. An Executor performs five basic functions:  Locates, collects and has responsibility for the estate’s assets until they are distributed to the beneficiaries. Determines and raises the cash needs for the estate. Pays the decedent’s funeral expenses, debts ...
Read more

Merit-Based Immigration Visas and the Trump Administration

Image
Family-based immigrant visas could become much more difficult to acquire if the “merit based immigration bill” proposed by Donald Trump and the Republican Party were to become law. Under the proposed merit-based visa category, an alien would accrue points based on age, education, work experience, family ties in the United States and other attributes. Alien applicants with the highest overall points in a year would be given Green Cards. The merit-based system divides applicants evenly between two tiers: Tier 1:  Skilled workers—those who qualify for jobs that require extensive training and education. Tier 2:  Medium to low-skilled workers—those who qualify for jobs that require a medium to low amount of preparation. The new merit-based immigration system is designed for those who can quickly adapt to life in the US, find well-paying jobs to support themselves and their families and pay taxes. It will weed out those who require extensive assistance with housing and la...
Read more