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Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:
Avoid Common Estate Planning Mistakes
by Quentara Costa, POWWOW, LLC
Will your estate be subject to any of these common pitfalls?
- Titling property jointly with your children as a substitute for a will. While a good option in limited circumstances, it certainly doesn’t replace a will. First, this type of transfer is irrevocable, whereas a will gives you the freedom to change your mind on the benefactor. Numbers also become muddy related to calculating basis and capital gains.
- Failing to plan for the possibility of children getting divorced or having problems with creditors. Parents may regret having made outright gifts or share ownership with their children if they subsequently divorce and their ex-spouse is awarded an interest in the property by a court. Such problems can be minimized through proper use of trusts or a business entity, such as a limited liability company (LLC).
Plan for Those You Love
by Michelle Smalenberger, Financial Design Studio, Inc.
Here are two different scenarios that can happen when something happens to you.
In the first instance, if you don’t have a plan people just wait to find things out. They have to find any of your documents. They have to learn if you had any estate planning documents. They will have to find any accounts you had or expenses that needed paid. So they’re left waiting for the mail to come in in order to find out what needs to be taken care of. It’s a waiting game…likely hoping your expenses were less than any assets you owned.
Three Biggest Reasons to Pay Student Loans in Residency
Many medical students pile up student loans through under grad and medical school. A 100k or even 200k balance can seem insurmountable for a resident, but is this way of thinking accurate? I have found that most residents choose not to make payments on their student loans while they are in residency. Why is that? Here are some reasons taken directly from residents.
What Is Probate? Why Should You Avoid It? How To Avoid It?
by Jiyao Xu, X and Y Advisors, Inc.
Merriam-Webster defines “Probate” as the action or process of proving before a competent judicial authority that a document offered for official recognition and registration as the last will and testament of a deceased person is genuine.
In estate planning, Probate usually refers to the whole legal process of administrating and settling a decedent’s estate, including the official approval of a will if there is one, with court supervision.
Here is my simple version of the normal probate process.
Estate Planning Basics: 7 Things Everyone Should Do
by James Conole, Root Financial Partners
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear estate planning?
Old people? Something that is done once you have lots of money? Maybe something that you’ll deal with later, but not today?
I have news for you. You already have an estate plan!
That’s right. Whether you know it or not, you already have a plan in place for what will happen to you upon death or disability.
A Guide to Estate Planning When You are Young
by Chad Rixse, Millennial Wealth, LLC
You may be young and healthy, but that doesn’t mean estate planning should be ignored until you’re old, wealthy and have a family. Being rich is not a requirement to having an estate plan. Even if you’re young with relatively little assets, certain estate documents can ensure the assets you do posses end up where you’d like them to go when you pass away. They can also provide directions as to what sort of medical care and decisions you’d like made on your behalf if you become incapacitated and are no longer able to make decisions on your own. I know dying is probably the last thing on any healthy individuals mind, as our mortality isn’t something we like to think about. Yet, it’s a fact of life.
The Importance of Estate Planning
by Robert Stoll, Honey Lake Advisors LLC
Estate planning is one of the most overlooked concepts of personal finance. There are any number of reasons for this, but I think for most people, the reasons boil down to one of two things: A) people don’t like to talk about what happens when they die, or B) the perception is that estate planning is mainly for wealthy people. For many years I was in Camp B, thinking we didn’t have enough wealth to bother with setting up an estate plan. For whatever reason, any time the topic of estate planning came up I immediately thought of the late 70’s TV show Dallas, with the big houses and big cars, thinking to myself, “Those are the kind of people who need estate planning…Not me!”
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Good Financial Reads: Bonuses and Cash Gifts
Good Financial Reads: Estate Planning (Part 2)
