Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts

Estate planning is a process to ensure assets are distributed at your death according to your wishes. All individuals, regardless of net worth, should have an estate plan. Estate planning involves coordinating ownership and beneficiary designations with a legal document, either a Will or a Trust, to ensure your wishes are met. A Will is a legal document that determines how probate assets are distributed at death. Probate assets include assets individually owned and without a beneficiary designation.

Estate planning ranges from basic to complex and each person’s situation is unique. Goals also change during one’s lifetime as assets are acquired and net worth increases, children age and as tax laws change. For example, parents with minor children need an estate plan to avoid the need for a court supervised conservatorship and to make certain that minor children do not receive a lump sum inheritance at age 18.

Married couples with a combined estate in excess of $1 million, including life insurance proceeds, need a Will or Trust to plan for possible reduction of estate taxes. Same-sex couples may want to ensure that property passes to a partner.

A Revocable Living Trust is a more complex document that may be recommended depending on your personal situation, including real estate owned in different states and your desire to avoid probate. A Trust can avoid probate, but only if assets are properly titled in the Trust.