BASIC ESTATE PLANNING PRINCIPLES
By Nils P. Johnson, Jr. Estate planning relates to the arrangement of your affairs so that upon your passing your assets will pass to those whom you wish to benefit, while being subjected to the least amount of taxes and transfer costs. Often, too, it speaks of setting things up so that your assets can be professionally managed for the benefit of less sophisticated loved ones when you are gone. Unfortunately, the Congress likes to change the tax laws all too often, so it is necessary to constantly review an estate plan once established to make sure your objectives will be carried out in light of changing law. Trusts in estate planning Living trusts have become the basic estate planning tool for medium to large estates. Trusts allow clients to cope with the six main estate planning problems: - How to plan for disability
- The expense of Probate at death
- The problem of making lasting special financial arrangements for loved ones left behind
- Delay in transferring assets on death
- Privacy concerns
- Death taxes
This article will explain how trusts can be used to deal with each of these concerns.
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