Ellen and Stu have a proper will in place. We recommend that you let us take a look at the will to ensure that in its current state that it will satisfy all your goals. It is important that your will reflects your wishes and fits best in your current financial situation.
We recommend that John and Beverly draft a will as soon as possible. We will help facilitate the process. It is important now to draft a will since you are expecting another child. We recommend that you begin this process as soon as possible. We understand that it is a difficult subject to think about but we also believe that it will help ease your mind.
Power of Attorney
Ellen and Stu also have the proper documents for a power of attorney in place. We recommend you …show more content…
Having a living will is an important aspect of estate planning. For John and Beverly we recommend that you draft a living will. A living will is a great way to ease the family’s obligations when a loved one gets into a serious accident. For example, a living will can provide a guideline for what decisions should be made in the case of incapacitation. You could appoint someone to make life sustaining decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated. It could also include do not resuscitate orders. These orders would provide guidelines for certain scenarios in which you would like to take the decision to resuscitate off the minds of your loved …show more content…
Without proper titling and naming of beneficiary could cause inclusion in the probate estate, which in turn could prolong the turnover of assets and increase the cost of probate by a great amount. To avoid personal residence’s being included in the probate estate and directly transfer to the surviving spouse, we recommend that each couple title their home owned tenancy by the entirety. Separately; for retirement accounts, checking accounts, and trusts it is important to name a valid beneficiary to make sure that these accounts and trusts avoid having to go through probate to gain titling. Therefore, we want you to make sure valid beneficiaries are named on these items and update them when needed.
ILIT (Irrevocable Life insurance trust)
We recommend Ellen and Stu set up an ILIT, an irrevocable life insurance trust, for the benefit of each spouse. Irrevocable life insurance trust allows a life insurance policy to be held and owned by the trust. The life insurance policy being owned by the trust is important for gross estate purposes. Being held in an ILIT allows the death benefit to be excluded from the gross estate, meaning it will not be subject to estate tax. Since it is excluded from the gross estate, the ILIT is a useful tool to replace money consumed by estate tax, funeral expenses, administration cost, and last medical expenses.
Life Insurance