|
In legal terms, probate is the general administration of your estate — with or without a will. Your will should contain the name of your executor. If it doesn’t, then an administrator will need to carry out the probate process instead. This might result in your assets being used to pay the liabilities for your estate before anything remaining can be distributed to your and distribute your assets to beneficiaries.
Are you receiving bill after bill following the death of your loved one? If so, it’s important that you understand the rules of posthumous bills as well as your rights when it comes to paying your deceased relative’s debts.
It is somewhat unusual to highlight 2026 taxes in 2024, but we are in an unusual situation: Many of the provisions in 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acts to extend them. Taxpayers need to be aware of how they will be affected so they can be prepared, especially when it comes to estate and gift taxes.
You don't necessarily create a trust and just forget about it. You may revise a revocable trust whenever your circumstances change. Perhaps you want to add a beneficiary. A trust can be revoked or amended at any time as long as you, its creator, are mentally competent. Having an updated trust will reduce the chances that your property will pass through probate.
How do you ensure that both your new spouse and your children from your first marriage receive an inheritance if you die before your newly married spouse does? Who gets the house — your new spouse or your children? How will your new spouse get by financially if you choose to provide an immediate inheritance for your children?
Many people find it hard to come to terms with their own mortality, which can make transitioning wealth from one generation to the next very difficult. But putting it off, and worse still, not dealing with it, can be one of the worst mistakes we can make.
Payable-on-death accounts are a type of bank account that, at the owner's death, lets the money remaining to pass directly to the beneficiaries named by the account owner. They offer an easy way to keep money out of probate. What's needed? Just properly notify your bank how you want to leave the money in the account — checking, savings, money market or certificate of deposit account. Even U.S. savings bonds can become a POD account. The bank and the beneficiary you name will do the rest. This bypasses probate.
If you find yourself on life support, who will make decisions for you? Unfortunately, it's been estimated that fewer than one in three Americans have what's called a living will or advance health care directive.
You may be thinking of creating a trust to help manage your assets — or maybe you don't even know how a trust could help. Here is a basic overview of trusts:
The right of inheritance applies to all property, including properties with mortgages attached to them. If you inherit a mortgaged property, a number of questions and concerns may pop up, including whether the mortgage can be assumed. You'll probably wonder how to record the deed and take title to the property.
An umbrella insurance policy is very helpful when you are sued and the dollar limit of your original policy has been exhausted. The added coverage provided by liability insurance is most useful to individuals who own a lot of assets or very expensive assets and are at significant risk of being sued.
You may have heard of a living trust that's created while you are still alive. It can be set up as a revocable trust, permitting you to change the terms of the trust or to dissolve it entirely should circumstances change.
Funds in an IRA aren't subject to creditors' claims — it's said they are exempt from inclusion in the bankruptcy estate. This rule is meant to help debtors who go through bankruptcy to get a fresh start. But when an IRA owner dies and the account is inherited and that person files for bankruptcy, does the rule still hold?
Death. Debt. What do heirs have to repay? If a credit card, the agreement was repayment of what you borrowed — alive or dead. The obligation, though, doesn't extend to your family, friends or, in most cases, even your spouse.
Portability is actually a simple concept. It means that if one half of a married couple doesn't use up the entirety of the federal estate tax exemption at death, the surviving spouse can use this leftover portion, plus his or her own exemption. It makes a high federal estate tax bill less likely.
Joint tenancy refers to a type of account that is owned by at least two people who have an equal right to the account's assets. In fact, they have survivorship rights in the event of the death of the other accountholder. So, if you are married and your spouse dies, you receive all the money or property you both own. What are the advantages and disadvantages?
An executor of a will carries out the last wishes of someone close who has died. The executor ensures that the rules that govern the administration of a probate estate are followed.
Here are three key tasks of the executor job: What happens after your death? A last will and testament comes in handy to document the name of the person (executor) who carries out your wishes after you die. If you don't own a lot of property, a simple will is likely all you'll need.
An irrevocable life insurance trust gives you more control over your insurance policies and the money that's paid from them. It also lets you reduce or even eliminate estate taxes so as much of your estate as possible can go to your loved ones.
You may have heard of a living trust that's created while you are still alive. It can be set up as a revocable trust, permitting you to change the terms of the trust or to dissolve it entirely should circumstances change.
Such a trust can take the title to your home and transfer the control of the property to a trustee. When you die, the trust becomes an irrevocable trust, prohibiting future changes to the terms. Few things are more emotionally trying than going through a divorce. Once you arrive at a settlement agreement, you feel some relief that you can move on with your separate lives. But you may not realize that your hard-earned money can end up back with your former spouse if you fail to implement an estate plan that prevents that from happening.
|
Newsletter articles are posted every 2 weeks. If you would like to have our e-newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, please sign up. Your information is confidential; you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe. Categories
All
|
Menu
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly