We’re still in the early days of 2019 with opportunities aplenty to address matters neglected in the past year. Many Brevard County residents understand that the time to address estate planning is now.
Not only is thoughtful estate planning affordable, but it can have an enormous impact on the future financial health of your loved ones. It can also help to address and resolve tax liability issues you face today. So let’s take a look at some estate planning tips for this still-young year.
Two years ago, a survey indicated that less than half of us had estate plans in place. While everyone is agreed that end-of-life plans are typically a source of a degree of discomfort, it is just as true that we all should understand that a careful estate plan will save your family money and aggravation one day.
In addition, making an estate plan will help you to be more focused on your own future, as you accumulate more wealth and assets. The first step in estate planning is, for many, a review of your will. Of course, that assumes you have a will.
If you don’t have one, there’s your first step: sitting down with your attorney to create a will. If you’ve got one, the time is ripe to review it. Have the circumstances of your life changed since you wrote the will? In other words, has there been a marriage or divorce in your life, or the birth of a child or grandchild? Have you experienced a significant financial loss or gain? Any of these events are reason to make alterations to your existing will.
If you want to spare your loved ones the expense and hassle of probate, you should talk to your lawyer about the benefits of creating a trust. Another advantage of a trust: its contents are not available to the public, so your estate plans remain private.
Another topic to discuss with your estate planning attorney: the tax benefits now available to people making estate plans.
There are many other topics to cover in that conversation, but those are the basics. Please feel free to contact Cantwell & Goldman, PA, to discuss your many options.