“Non-Tax Reasons to Plan Your Estate”

There are many non-tax reasons to plan your estate. The following are a few such reasons:

To provide for an orderly process of settling your estate.
To avoid probate.
To avoid disputes among family members.
To choose who will benefit from your estate, rather than defaulting to the government’s plan to distribute your assets.
To provide long-term care tax deferral of retirement assets.
To provide for children and others with special needs in a way that will protect what you leave from poor management decisions and allow your heirs to continue to qualify for public benefits.
To protect your children and grandchildren in the event of divorce, lawsuit, or premature death – to make sure what you leave stays in the family.
To provide for your own care and well-being and management of your assets in the event of incapacity.
To protect your assets in the event you need long-term care or are sued.
To benefit charities you value, whether through a simple donation or to create a legacy.

As you can see, estate planning is about a lot more than tax planning – and of course, tax planning can still play a major role. Please call us to discuss any of the above.