Estate planning consists of much more than drafting a will. Estate planning is the process of developing an advance plan for the management and distribution of your assets after your death. With an estate plan, you can ensure that your final wishes are carried out after your death.
Estate planning also has several other benefits. With an estate plan, you can protect your property from your creditors and the creditors of your heirs. You can also provide income for your heirs during and after your death. You may also reduce or avoid estate and gift taxes through proper estate planning. An estate plan can also provide for unforeseen health-related emergencies and incapacitation.
An estate plan helps individuals and families prepare for life events that could alter their financial, legal, and emotional views. When it comes to estate planning, individuals must consider the best ways to protect their personal interests and family members. Estate plans include many documents such as wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives.
Living trusts are an important tool in estate planning.. A Living Trust is a legal document that allows you to place assets into a trust to be administered by a third party (the "Trustee") on behalf of a beneficiary (the "Beneficiary"). The Trustee is responsible for managing the assets according to the guidelines set out in the trust document. The trust document details the wishes of the creator of the trust, such as how the assets should be distributed, how the trust should be managed, and who will receive the assets after the creator's death. The Trustee is responsible for ensuring that the trust is managed according to the creator's wishes. The assets placed in the Trust can be protected from creditors, lawsuits, and other claims against the Beneficiary, and are not subject to probate. A Living Trust can be a useful tool in Estate Planning and can help ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death.
Power of attorney allows a person to appoint another person to handle their financial and legal matters. A health care directive lets an individual document any health related decision or end-of-life wishes they may have.
Estate planning can help protect an individual's assets and ensure that they are distributed according to their wishes.
Yes, estate planning is important for everyone. Without an estate plan, the court decides who inherits your property and in what amounts. You have no say in what happens to your assets after your death. If you had no spouse and no children, but wanted to leave your assets to your favorite charity, you would need a will or trust.
If you have no living siblings, parents, aunts, or uncles and pass without an estate plan, your assets would pass to your closest living relative, which might end up being a cousin you do not like or barely even know.
Estate planning is also important to avoid a situation in which the state appoints someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Estate planning can keep important financial and health care decisions under your control by allowing you to appoint someone you trust to make financial and health care decisions for you if you cannot do so for yourself.
Yes! Everyone should have an estate plan regardless of their financial status. A comprehensive estate plan protects your property, provides for incapacitation, assists in planning for retirement, and allows you to remain in control of important decisions about your finances and healthcare during and after your lifetime.
Typically, everyone has some assets to probate. If you die without a will, the court will dictate who inherits your property. An estate plan keeps control of these decisions in your hands. Also, if you become incapacitated, a judge decides who can make financial, personal, and medical decisions for you. With the proper legal documents, you maintain control of those decisions.
Another reason for estate planning is to protect your children from a prior relationship or marriage. You need an estate plan to ensure your children inherit your property and to name a person who will act as guardian and conservator for your children if the children’s parent has passed away. Without an estate plan, a judge decides who ends up being their guardian.
If you have no living siblings, parents, aunts, or uncles and pass without an estate plan, your assets would pass to your closest living relative, which might end up being a cousin you do not like or barely even know.
Estate planning is also important to avoid a situation in which the state appoints someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Estate planning can keep important financial and health care decisions under your control by allowing you to appoint someone you trust to make financial and health care decisions for you if you cannot do so for yourself.
If you have no estate plan, the first step is to contact an AmeriEstate Legal Plan for a free consultation.
- Decide who you want to inherit your property and in what proportion. Create an inventory of your assets and list of debts. The initial inventory need not be detailed, but it should cover major assets and who should inherit those assets upon your death.
- Decide who you want to name as guardian and conservator for your children if they are minors at the time of your death. Your attorney can explore several estate planning documents with you that provide income for your children while protecting the corpus of their inheritance.
- If you have a child or other relative with special needs, how do you want to care for this person after your death?
- What are your personal goals and wishes for your final affairs, including your funeral and final interment?
- Do you have a business? If so, who do you want to inherit your business?
Typically, everyone has some assets to probate. If you die without a will, the court will dictate who inherits your property. An estate plan keeps control of these decisions in your hands. Also, if you become incapacitated, a judge decides who can make financial, personal, and medical decisions for you. With the proper legal documents, you maintain control of those decisions.
Another reason for estate planning is to protect your children from a prior relationship or marriage. You need an estate plan to ensure your children inherit your property and to name a person who will act as guardian and conservator for your children if the children’s parent has passed away. Without an estate plan, a judge decides who ends up being their guardian.
If you have no living siblings, parents, aunts, or uncles and pass without an estate plan, your assets would pass to your closest living relative, which might end up being a cousin you do not like or barely even know.
Estate planning is also important to avoid a situation in which the state appoints someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Estate planning can keep important financial and health care decisions under your control by allowing you to appoint someone you trust to make financial and health care decisions for you if you cannot do so for yourself.
Attorney fees typically range between $200-$400 per hour, so the cost for an attorney-guided Living Trust is between $2,000 to $4,000.
AmeriEstate Legal Plan offers a hybrid approach with a flat fee and clear pricing. The difference is that using our team-oriented process blends non-attorney experts as well as a personal attorney saving you 30% to 50% off of the fees another attorney would typically charge you.
Every new client is assigned a team to guide you through the process. Our intake process leaves you better prepared to have a productive consultation with a licensed attorney who can guide you on finalizing the details of your particular plan.
The best time to begin estate-planning right after your eighteenth birthday. Young adults may not believe they need to get started so young; however, estate planning is important at this age.
A young adult may not have a spouse or children or own many assets, but having a Durable Power of Attorney, and Health Care Power of attorney can be very beneficial if the young adult was to become incapacitated. A parent or agent could act on behalf of the young adult to make financial and medical decisions.
The most valuable benefit of an estate plan is that it allows you to be prepared for unexpected events. While some people may know they will pass away soon, accidents and sudden illnesses can take your life or result in incapacitation within a few seconds. If you have no estate plan in place before that time, it is too late, and your family members are the ones left to deal with the aftermath.
You do—whether your estate is large or small. A Living Trust is a revocable trust you create to hold property during your lifetime. You maintain control over the assets within the trust by serving as the trustee.
A Living Trust may be changed or revoked. Upon your death or incapacitation, the trust becomes irrevocable.
Who Needs a Living Trust?
- Married couples or single parents with minor children.
- Anyone who owns real estate.
- Anyone who desires assets be held “In Trust” and distributed to heirs beyond the default age of distribution, or according to special terms.
- Anyone with special needs dependents.
- Married couples in a second marriage who want to protect children of a first marriage.
- Business owners.
- Domestic partners.
If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee continues to manage the trust for your benefit.
Upon your death, the trustee distributes the assets to the beneficiaries or continues to manage the assets for their benefit, depending on the terms of the trust.
A special needs trust allows you to place money or property in a trust to benefit your child. Your child does not have direct access to the trust property, but the trustee can use the money or property within the trust to benefit the beneficiary.
You can serve as the trustee to maintain control over the assets.
Upon your death or incapacitation, a successor trustee assumes the management of the trust to benefit your child. For a child eligible for Medicaid and other government benefits, a special needs trust can help protect eligibility while providing supplemental income and resources for your child.
Your digital assets comprises of everything online, including your social media accounts, musical library, backup accounts, photos & videos, and all other assets in digital form. Include your digital assets in your estate plan.
For social media accounts, you need to research how each account addresses deceased users. For example, can a Personal Representative submit proof of appointment and request deactivation of the account?
Some platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, offer to memorialize the account by locking the account and removing it from public places. Some social media platforms allow you to appoint a legacy account so the person you appoint can update your profile and respond to condolences.
During the estate planning process, list all digital assets and online accounts so you can research the options available for deactivating or memorializing each account after your death. If the account permits a legacy appointment, consider appointing your Personal Representative for that role. You may also want to address how the accounts should be managed or closed in your will and arrange for a list of logins and passwords to be held in a safe place with other estate documents for your Personal Representative to access.
When you pass away, your estate is responsible for paying your final debts. But, your heirs are not personally liable for your debts.
There are ways to protect your property from your creditors. You can purchase insurance to pay mortgages or loans in full upon your death. You may also transfer property to a trust so it does not become part of your estate that is subject to your creditors.
It may not be a subject you want to think about, but before you send your young adult into the world, you need to help your 18- year old obtain basic estate planning documents.
Even though your child may not own substantial assets at this time, your child is a legal adult now.
If your child became incapacitated, even temporarily, you might not have the authority to make medical or financial decisions for your child without court intervention.
A basic estate plan for an 18-year old should include:
- Health Care Directive
- Health Care Power of Attorney
- Durable General Power of Attorney
- HIPAA Authorization
If you have no estate plan, the first step is to contact an AmeriEstate Legal Plan for a free consultation.
- Decide who you want to inherit your property and in what proportion. Create an inventory of your assets and list of debts. The initial inventory need not be detailed, but it should cover major assets and who should inherit those assets upon your death.
- Decide who you want to name as guardian and conservator for your children if they are minors at the time of your death. Your attorney can explore several estate planning documents with you that provide income for your children while protecting the corpus of their inheritance.
- If you have a child or other relative with special needs, how do you want to care for this person after your death?
- What are your personal goals and wishes for your final affairs, including your funeral and final interment?
- Do you have a business? If so, who do you want to inherit your business?
Typically, everyone has some assets to probate. If you die without a will, the court will dictate who inherits your property. An estate plan keeps control of these decisions in your hands. Also, if you become incapacitated, a judge decides who can make financial, personal, and medical decisions for you. With the proper legal documents, you maintain control of those decisions.
Another reason for estate planning is to protect your children from a prior relationship or marriage. You need an estate plan to ensure your children inherit your property and to name a person who will act as guardian and conservator for your children if the children’s parent has passed away. Without an estate plan, a judge decides who ends up being their guardian.
If you have no living siblings, parents, aunts, or uncles and pass without an estate plan, your assets would pass to your closest living relative, which might end up being a cousin you do not like or barely even know.
Estate planning is also important to avoid a situation in which the state appoints someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Estate planning can keep important financial and health care decisions under your control by allowing you to appoint someone you trust to make financial and health care decisions for you if you cannot do so for yourself.
Typically, from initial intake discussion to home delivery of your trust by one of our Notaries, is 4-6 weeks. This depends on the complexity of the trust and how quickly we can get key documents such as your property title changed to the name of the Trust.
The trust is basically a safe. You need to fill it with your important assets. Your most important asset is typically your primary residence as well as any other properties you’d like included in the trust. In addition, financial accounts, business and corporate interests, royalties, intellectual property, digital assets, manufactured homes, and vehicles are among other assets to consider. Your AmeriEstate Advisor will go over all items to consider.
Absolutely. At AmeriEstate we offer your heirs a complimentary consultation to discuss their options and provide proper guidance. We've worked with thousands of families to carry out your wishes. This is something that differentiates AmeriEstate from other trust providers; we are there every step of the journey. We also encourage you to touch base with us annually to review your trust for important changes.
A will comes into effect when you pass away. In the event that your assets are still in your personal name at the time of your death, your will determines what happens to those assets.
Any of your assets involved with a will go through the probate process. There are pluses and minuses to probate, but the well-known minuses include the length of time probate takes, as well as the cost.
There is nothing private about probate. All proceedings are public.
A living trust is a type of document where you place your assets in the name of the trust. This removes them from your direct ownership. The word revocable means that you are in charge of trust administration as long as you are alive and can make changes. A living trust avoids probate.
With a trust, you name yourself as one of the trustees, which gives you control over the assets. You will also identify a “successor trustee,” who will take over the trust at the time of your death. This individual will, upon your death or incapacitation, distribute the assets in the trust, following your wishes.
Probate is a legal process that is used to validate a will, collect and distribute an individual's assets, pay taxes and debts, and resolve any other outstanding issues related to the deceased's estate. During the probate process, a court will appoint an executor or administrator to manage the deceased's estate. The executor or administrator has the responsibility of inventorying the deceased's assets, filing tax returns, paying debts and taxes, and ultimately distributing the estate's remaining assets to the beneficiaries named in the will. Probate may be necessary in order to close out the deceased's financial accounts, transfer titles to property, and prevent fraud.
We have estate planning attorneys in California, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee. At AmeriEstate, all estate plans are under the direct guidance of a licensed attorney. You will absolutely speak to an attorney; it is an integral part of the AmeriEstate trust process.
Costs vary depending on the complexity of your estate, if you are married or single, etc. We do know that AmeriEstate costs are typically 30-50% less than a private attorney. We are happy to provide a free quote. Call us on (800) 235-0963.
The Legal Plan, which is included free for the first year with the delivery of your trust, has three primary benefits to you: trust assistance, support for other legal issues and DocuBank Access. For trust assistance, membership in the Legal Plan offers: assistance to your heirs regarding your trust or estate plan, simple amendments to your AmeriEstate Living Trust, an annual review and update of your AmeriEstate Living Trust and Periodic updates to Powers of Attorney for primary member. If you have other Legal issues, the AmeriEstate Legal Plan provides access to nationwide panel of attorneys, 30-minute complimentary consultation with attorney for any legal matter and a 25% discount on legal fees beyond the initial complimentary consultation.
DocuBank, included as part of the Legal Plan, provides immediate access to Healthcare Directives and Emergency Medical Information — Anywhere, Anytime, 24/7/365. (A great perk for parents of College Students studying away from home.) Find out more here
Ideally, review your estate plan annually or at least once every two to three years to ensure it still reflects your wishes.
For Legal Plan members we offer an annual complimentary “Trust Review” upon your request. However, some life events should automatically trigger a review of your estate plan. Events such as a change in marital status or number of dependent minors may necessitate a review.
Other events that should prompt you to contact your estate planning attorney include:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Death of a spouse
- Birth or death of a child
- Purchase or sale of a business
- Retirement
- Acquisition of a substantial asset
- Sale or transfer of a substantial asset
- Receiving a large inheritance
- Moving to a new state
Our trust has provisions that ensure your child’s benefits will not be impacted as a result of their inheritance. We take careful care in preparing our estate to meet you and your family’s needs.
We take the time to get to know each of our client’s hopes, concerns, and legal goals. It is only after this extensive process, that we recommend an estate plan to accomplish these objectives. This is achieved through an initial conversation with an AmeriEstate Advisor. We then work with you to set up your attorney conversation to go over your specific issues. After the Trust is created, we have one of our professionally trained Notaries come to your home or office to finalize the process and answer any remaining questions. Learn More
We can amend and/or settle your trust provided the trust allows it. If you have a copy of your trust, please call us on (800) 235-0963 we will review it with you at no charge.