Archive for the ‘Estate Planning Basics’ Category
Naming IRA and 401K Beneficiaries
You want your assets to go where you direct them - but making simple mistakes in setting up your IRA or 401K can keep this from happening.
Tax-Deferred Advantages
When a beneficiary receives an inherited IRA or 401K, they can usually roll it into a special IRA account and continue to receive the tax deferral, allowing the [...]
What if there is no will, and no estate plan?
All states have a default will for people who die intestate, which means to die without a will. Assets that have named beneficiaries or are owned jointly are not affected. Normally the default will distributes the assets with the following priority:
spouse and children
parents and siblings
other relatives: grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins
the state if no [...]
Avoiding Probate with a Trust
If you haven’t heard yet - probate is difficult and expensive. Probate can take a year or more to settle with probate fees sometimes charged as a percentage of the assets. The standard estate plan seeks to avoid probate by establishing a living trust. A trust is usually drawn up by a lawyer, and has [...]