Remember Estate Planning

The vast majority of people plan for retirement. Some start planning later than they should, but, still, most people do end up planning for their later years. Unfortunately, however, people do not apply this same basic strategy to estate planning.  

 This may be because they simply don’t like to think about dying or because they find estate planning overwhelming. No matter what the reason, if you’ve put off estate planning, you’re making a big mistake.

You want to know that your loved ones are cared for after you die, and you can only do that by establishing a good estate plan. Feeling scared about all that? Well, the good news is that getting an estate plan “off the ground” isn’t all that hard.

Set Clear Goals
The first thing to think about as you start the process of creating an estate plan is what your goals are for the future. Perhaps you want to make sure your children are taken care of when you die. Or, maybe you have some precious possessions that you want passed on to the right person. Whatever the case may be, know what your goals are for your estate and then share them with a professional estate planner to start crafting a plan for taking care of those goals.

Review and Plan
The hardest part of estate planning is…well…all the planning, but it has to be done. You can start by listing all of your assets and then deciding what you want to do with them after you pass on. Then, you can review your life insurance and disability insurance policies to ensure they are where they need to be if they ultimately have to provide care and relief to your loved ones.

Make Your Plans Known
Once you have established an estate plan, let your friends and family members know about it. This can help to squash any squabbles before they have a chance to start and can also keep your will from being mishandled or misrepresented in some way. Letting people know of your plans protects you and them.


As you can see, estate planning does take some effort on your part, but it will be well worth it in the end when you are able to provide for your loved ones even after your death.

Tips for Estate Planning

Estate planning is one of those things that, more often than not, people put off and put off. Even though it is important, no one likes to think about the fact that they are going to die one day, and estate planning causes people to come face to face with their own mortality, which isn’t easy for anyone. Easy or not, though, estate planning has to be done if you want to take care of your loved ones after death, so, regardless of your feelings on the matter, follow these simple tips to get it done and to get it done right!   

Get Professional Help

First things first, no matter what and no matter what you think you know, don’t try to do estate planning on your own. You absolutely need a lawyer, financial professional, or other expert to walk you through the process and ensure that you do everything correctly. So, start looking around and asking for recommendations until you find the perfect professional to help you with your needs.

Plan Carefully

Once you have found the help that you need, your next step is to start making those “tough decisions,” decisions about who gets what. Ultimately, there are many tough choices to make as you go through this process, but remember to take your time and to not succumb to pressure from anyone else. Consider outside factors, such as how your loved ones treated you in life and who is most in need of help, and use those, as well as guidance from the professional you have hired, to make your own, independent decisions about what to do with your assets after death.

The bottom line is that estate planning is not “fun” or easy for anyone, but if you can follow these tips carefully, then there is no reason that you can’t ultimately have a much easier time with estate planning and achieve the goals that you have set for yourself and your loved ones.

When a Loved One Dies

There is nothing worse than dealing with the loss of a precious loved one. Unfortunately, however, when someone dies, there are still estate matters to be taken care of. If this has happened to you and you are now faced with a left-behind home in your name, you have several different options. Ideally, you should have worked out a plan for what to do with the home ahead of time, but since this isn’t always possible, there are still things you can do to help deal with the matter quickly and correctly during your time of grieving.    

First of all, you’ll want to determine if you are the only owner of the home. A lot of times, homes are left to multiple family members. If this is the case, and you wish to buy the home, you can buy the part of the property you do not own providing the other owners are in agreeance.  If you do decide to go this route, it’s smart to have the home looked at by a professional appraiser so that you can work out and ultimately pay a fair price.

Even if you don’t have all of the money to pay for the remaining parts of the home on your own, you can always try and qualify for a mortgage loan. There are also other ways to borrow the necessary money, such as working out an agreement or a deeded interest with the other party or parties concerned.

Do keep in mind, though, that other parties concerned do have the right to file partition actions, which would make it so that a judge would set a fair price for the house and so that you would have to buy the other owner’s share or agree to sell the home at the court-approved price and split the profits.

Typically, though, it’s usually faster, easier, and just all around better to work something out with the other parties concerned, so keep this in mind as you make arrangements for the home left to you and possibly others.

Estate Planning Tips for Singles

These days, more and more people are choosing to live their lives as unmarried singles. Many even have long-term relationships and children without feeling the need to get married. This is a personal decision, and there are no right or wrong choices. However, you should know that, if you are single without a spouse to care for your estate once you pass, it is very important that you plan your estate carefully, and the sooner you do so, the better. No one likes to think about dying, but the fact of the matter is that everyone will die at some point, and it’s not always expected. Thus, it’s best to be prepared.

Tip #1: Have a Legal Will

To begin with, you absolutely need to sit down with a lawyer or professional estate planner and create a will. If you do not have a will at the time of your passing, then there’s a good chance your money and other assets might not go where you want.

When there isn’t a will in place, a legal process known as “interstate” comes into play. Under interstate laws, the state determines who receives any assets that exist, and that person is usually the closest living relative of the deceased.

Since the state has no way of knowing how close you are with your family, this course of action may or may not be what you would have wanted. A will gives you control over what goes where and who gets what after you die.

Tip #2: Designate Power of Attorney

Another thing you’ll want to do is to be sure and specify in your will who will be granted power of attorney. The person you grant this to will be the person who will be able to make all of your financial decisions and other important decisions concerning your assets, legal matters, and debts after you die.

When someone is married and does not specify power of attorney, it’s no big deal. That role automatically goes to the spouse. In the event that you’re single, you’ll need to choose that person yourself well ahead of time. Choose someone you trust and who has good financial management skills. You could also consider hiring a trust professional to fill the role.

Tip #3: Keep Accounts Documented and Up to Date

Finally, make sure that for all your major accounts, such as savings accounts, insurance accounts, retirement accounts, and IRAs, you have documentation of who you want as the beneficiaries.Your best bet is to make these decisions early on and to update if anything changes.

If you can follow these tips and have a solid estate plan in place, then everything should go according to plan and according to your wishes when you do pass on.

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Estate Planning and Wills

Wills and Intestacy

A will allows the testator (the person creating the will) to specify:  

•    Who receives property at the testator’s death.

•    Whether beneficiaries receive gifts outright or in trust.

•    Who will act as personal representative.

•    Who will be the guardian of minor children.

In the absence of a will, these matters are settled by state law.

Who Needs a Will?

•    Include persons who are not heirs. Wills are needed to provide for a person who is not an heir under state law—unmarried partners, stepchildren, friends, charities, in-laws, etc.

•    Exclude an heir. Heirs are the persons who inherit an estate under state law in the absence of a will. A will is needed to prevent an heir from inheriting probate assets.

•    Minors and disabled adults. Trust provisions can be included in a will to delay receipt of an inheritance or to allow assets to be used on behalf of an adult who is disabled.

•    Estate tax planning. Married couples can include trust provisions to reduce estate tax.

Dying Intestate—Without a Will

State law determines who receives probate property if a decedent dies without a will.

•    Most states provide first for the surviving spouse and children. Children of the decedent always inherit a

Children also receive a share in some states if the surviving spouse has any children who are not also children of the decedent.

•    Intestacy laws generally provide for distribution by representation, also known as per stirpes distribution. The share of any heir who dies before the decedent passes in equal shares to that heir’s children.

•    When there are no descendants, the surviving spouse receives the entire estate in some states but more commonly shares the estate with the decedent’s parents.

•    When there is no spouse and no descendants, parents and siblings share the estate in some states. In others, parents inherit the entire estate, and siblings inherit only if there is no surviving parent.

•    If there are no parents or descendants of parents, grandparents generally inherit next, followed by their descendants.

•    The final beneficiary under intestacy law is the state. Only relations up to a certain degree inherit under each state’s laws. After that point, the decedent’s property “escheats” to the state. State laws vary—a third cousin thrice removed may inherit in one state but a second cousin may be too remotely related to inherit in another.

For all your Naperville estate planning needs, please contact us at Platinum Financial Associates today.

Related articles

• What is "Intestacy"? (reginajeffers.wordpress.com)
• Article on Probate Definition of Family (lawprofessors.typepad.com)