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Estate Planning

 

Creating a secure and comfortable lifestyle for your family and loved ones can be hard work. It is often important to create and maintain an estate plan that allows you to minimize estate taxes and preserve more of your assets for those you care about.

We provide:

  • Analysis of your current estate plan and concerns – Free consultation with your attorney
  • Assistance in transferring assets to your trusts
  • Guidance in the event of the death of a loved one
  • Review of beneficiary designations and asset titling techniques to reduce your estate taxes
  • Analysis of your insurance needs and concerns

Use this checklist to evaluate where your estate plan currently stands—or as a starting point for discussions with one of our financial advisors.

Part 1: Communicating your wishes



  • Do you have a will?

  • Have you named executor(s) and trustee(s)?

  • Have you considered a living trust to avoid probate?

  • Have you considered a living will or health care proxy in case of catastrophic illness or disability?

Part 2: Protecting your family



  • Does your will name a guardian(s) for minor children?

  • Do you have the right amount and type of life insurance?

  • Have you considered the various trust options (e.g. living, revocable, irrevocable, life insurance)?

  • Part 3: Reducing your taxes



  • If you are married, are you taking full advantage of the unlimited marital estate tax deduction?

  • Are you and your spouse making gifts to family members that take advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion?

  • Have you considered a Roth IRA, which, in some cases, allows you to pass assets to heirs tax free?

  • This article was prepared by Standard & Poor’s and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. Contact us here at Financial Advisors Network, Inc. if you have any questions. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.


    seminar buttonWe continue to educate our clients to empower them with the knowledge we use in our planning strategies. Check our seminar schedule for Estate Planning classes.