Please visit our new website for the most current content.

The importance of estate planning
You don't have to be rich to think about estate planning. Anything you acquire during your life -- a car, home, savings account, coin collection, whatever -- make up your estate.

Estate planning assures the best possible handling and management of your property after your death. More importantly, it can help ease the financial and emotional burdens on your family.

Because estate planning can be difficult, it's important to have a team of knowledgeable advisors who can help you create a plan that fits your needs. Finding an attorney is a good place to start. In addition, bankers, your insurance agent, and accountants can help you understand.

• Why you need a will
• Your property rights
• How a trust can help you
• The benefits of life insurance

You need to take control, to put the proper controls in place to assure that the distribution of your assets will provide for your family’s financial security. Establish controls to eliminate or reduce the effects of estate taxation.

• All aspects of your estate can be controlled:
• Specific bequests
• Survivor’s access to estate assets
• Degree of involvement of heirs in business activities
• Power of trustees and executors to manage your estate
• The amount and timing of estate taxes

Estate taxes can diminish your estate
Estate taxation is a major concern and can significantly affect your estate. Without proper planning taxes and costs could be greater than the assets transferred to your family.

There are basic techniques for controlling estate taxes:

• The unlimited marital deduction
• The unified credit
• Annual Gifts

There are also complex techniques for controlling estate taxes. Because taxes and costs can drain an estate of more than half its value, estate planning professionals have developed a number of sophisticated techniques to control estate taxes. Because such techniques are risky, complicated and applicable only to certain situations, an attorney should be consulted to evaluate and implement them.

Assets of the estate and heirs may be used to pay estate taxes. When there is insufficient liquidity, assets may have to be sold or exchanged to pay the tax.

Life insurance provides money to pay estate taxes exactly when the funds are needed. The cost of a life insurance policy is a small fraction of its ultimate value.

The key to the use of life insurance to provide funds to pay estate taxes is to prevent the proceeds themselves from being taxed. This is best done though the use of a life insurance trust.

One you have established an estate plan, be sure to do periodic check ups. Your life style, income, responsibilities and expenses can change over time. There are worksheets available which you can use on a regular basis to make sure you are on the right track.

If you've been contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement program and leave your employer, what should you do with the retirement savings you have accumulated there?

One option is to have your company directly transfer the funds to another qualified program. A direct transfer avoids tax consequences. For a transfer vehicle, many people choose an IRA which allows your retirement savings to remain tax-deferred.