Creating a living trust is one of the most effective ways to set up the smooth transfer of assets from one generation to another, avoid the time and cost of the probate administration process, and eliminate or reduce certain tax burdens. Setting up a living trust, however, doesn’t avoid the process of trust administration. But what exactly is trust administration? Broadly speaking, it’s the process by which the assets of a trust […]
Read MoreIt’s been six years since Michael Jackson died, but his estate planning strategy still offers valuable lessons. I already talked about one lesson, the need to designate the right executor for your estate, in a previous post (“The Attics of Life”). Today, I want to look at a tool called pour-over will: How are these wills defined? Why are they useful? So back to Michael Jackson. When the King of […]
Read MoreWhen Eric dies, his children learn that the most valuable parts of his estate, meaning a house, a brand new car and his bank account, will have to go through the lengthy and costly process of probate even though Eric had a living trust. Why the hold-up? Negligence. Eric created a trust but failed to fund it correctly. He simply hadn’t realized that he would have to retitle his property […]
Read MoreIf you’ve been following my blog, you recently saw my post about using a transfer on death (TOD) car registration to bypass probate. A similar estate planning tool, the pay on death (POD) designation, exists for bank accounts. POD accounts — checking and savings accounts, money markets, and U.S. savings bonds can be set up this way — come with advantages. But they can also backfire, especially when they involve […]
Read MoreA client recently asked me about transferring a piece of property he had bought into his living trust. “This is actually easier than you might think,” I told him. “Just give me the address, and I’ll get everything rolling.” Whether it’s your principal home or a secondary property, putting real estate into a trust or even purchasing it in the name of the trust from the get-go is always a […]
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