People who are fortunate enough to enjoy significant financial success are often in a position to create a charitable foundation. When you take this step you can leave behind a profound legacy as your name is associated with philanthropy into perpetuity.
The actor Larry Hagman died at the age of 81 recently, and he will certainly be missed. Though he played a rather unlikable character on the classic television series Dallas, people who knew him say that he was a very nice person who made the world around him a better place.
Individuals who have created artistic works of various kinds leave behind a legacy in the form of their work. Hagman certainly left behind a great deal of his own work, and people will be able to enjoy it for generations to come.
In addition to his legacy as a performing artist Hagman was also an avid philanthropist.
People who start foundations often target causes that are particularly meaningful to them. Hagman greatly valued the creative arts, and indeed, his ability to craft a character before the camera enabled him to enjoy extraordinary financial success.
He gave something back by starting the Larry Hagman Foundation. This foundation assists children in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who have an interest in the creative arts but lack financial support.
Admirers sometimes want to do something in remembrance of a public figure who has passed away. The family of Larry Hagman asks that you make a donation to the Larry Hagman Foundation if you want to pay your respects.
If you are interested in establishing or identifying a foundation that meets your charitable intent, be sure to contact qualified legal counsel to assist you. There are many legal and tax pitfalls that can be avoided with proper advice.
 

Estate planning for high net worth families is extraordinarily important given the realities of the federal estate tax and any damage that could be done via litigation. In addition to these protections you also have the ability to reach out and support nonprofit entities that you believe in while gaining tax advantages in the process.
This may seem self-evident to anyone who has the financial savvy to have accumulated a significant store of wealth. You must, however, be diligent because constant adjustments may be necessary as things change.
There are changes that take place in your own life such as a divorce, getting remarried, and watching family members depart while others join the family. Of course very significant changes in your financial standing are relevant as well.
In addition to these things that can take place in the life of an individual there are also very important changes that reverberate throughout society as a whole. For example, in 2013 the estate tax exclusion is going down to $1 million while the rate rises to as much as 55%. These parameters will also apply to the gift tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax.
The portability of the estate tax exclusion between spouses ends in 2013 as well. Besides the increased exposure to estate taxes, taxes on dividends and capital gains will be going up if the currently existing laws are not changed in the very near future.
To keep wealth intact you must be ready to adjust along the way, so take advantage of an annual review with your estate planning attorney and stay on top of your financial health.

We all leave behind a legacy when we die -- what your legacy is depends on how much time and effort you put into creating it prior to your death. You don’t have to have a vast fortune in order to create a legacy plan; however, the wealthier you are, the more important it is to create a legacy plan that is consistent with your objectives.
A legacy plan is your chance to elaborate on your basic estate plan. Your basic estate plan allows you to determine who will receive your assets when you die. A legacy plan allows you to ensure that those assets are preserved for generations to come and/or allows you to continue contributing to causes that have meant something to you during your lifetime. Without a legacy plan, your wealth may be significantly reduced by various taxes levied on your estate at the time of your death. In addition, you will lose the opportunity to direct how your wealth will be managed after your death.
A legacy plan often incorporates trusts and other estate planning tools that can allow you to direct how your assets will be used for generations to come. A generation skipping trust, for example can provide income for your children and ensure that assets are preserved for your grandchildren. A charitable trust can be created to provide a mechanism for you to continue to support a cause that was important to you during your lifetime long after your death. Start planning now so you can create a legacy of which you can be proud.

The dictionary definition of the word "legacy" will tell you that your legacy involves gifts of property and monetary assets after your passing. This is of course a large part of it, but there could be more to shaping your legacy than simply arranging for the passing of your assets to your family members.
Depending on your resources exactly how you go about this can vary considerably. There are those who will make a donation that is specifically used to finance some type of building project. This may carry your name into perpetuity, which can be quite rewarding for many people.
Some people will leave behind the resources to provide a scholarship or scholarships to worthy students. This too can be an enriching portion of an individual's legacy.
You can also choose to pass along the wisdom that you have acquired throughout your life by committing your experiences to writing. Some people choose to write a full-blown autobiography and leave it behind for future generations to draw from. Others will author an ethical will that passes along their moral and spiritual values. Today, there are many resources to assist in writing an interesting personal history that can be found online or in bookstores.  The same is true of writing an ethical will.
Carefully selecting certain family heirlooms and/or personal possessions and handing them on to particular respective heirs for specific reasons can also be part of a carefully planned legacy.
There are many possibilities to take into account when you are preparing for the latter portion of your life and your eventual death. If you're interested in taking estate planning to a higher level, don't hesitate to get in touch with a Northern Nevada legacy planning attorney to arrange for an informative consultation.

When you consider the subject of estate planning it is useful to recognize the fact that it is an ongoing process. Your initial estate plan is going to be based on a snapshot of your life as it existed at that time. Clearly, things do not stand still and events happen in your life that often times render your existing estate plan obsolete. Things like changes in marital status and additions and subtractions to the family would fit this description.
In addition, there are things that take place that are out of your control that affect your estate planning efforts. Legislative changes that impact the tax code are among them, and with this in mind we would like to take a look at the lay of the land at the present time.
The estate tax and the gift tax are unified, and at the present time there is a $5 million unified exclusion. So if your estate and any gifts that you have given utilizing your unified exclusion do not exceed this amount no estate or gift taxes will be levied. Estates or gifts exceeding the exclusion are taxed at 35%.  Keep in mind that any gift exceeding the annual exclusion amount of $13,000 per person, reduces the estate tax exemption by the amount of the gift.
Those parameters are only in place through the end of next year.  At that time the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 will expire and the rate of the tax will rise to as much as 55% while the unified exclusion is reduced to just $1 million.
So, this presents an interesting situation. The $5 million exclusion becomes a $1 million exclusion when 2013 arrives, so it would be logical to consider giving gifts to your loved ones in 2012 before the exclusion is reduced.
Of course it is possible that changes to the laws could take place at any time, and this is another factor to consider. Clearly, the pending reduction of the exclusion is food for thought and it is something to discuss with your estate planning attorney.

Some view Social Security as their primary retirement plan.  The reality is that this program is a basic safety net that may not provide the financial resources needed for a comfortable retirement.
That said, since most are required to pay into the program it can be viewed as welcome supplement to retirement if nothing more.  There are several commonly asked questions that people who are engaged in retirement planning often ask.
The first question most people have involves the age of eligibility.  Qualified Americans who were born in 1954 and earlier reach full retirement age in a Social Security eligibility context on their 66th birthday.  The age of full eligibility then rises by two months per year through 1959. Anyone born after that becomes eligible to receive their full Social Security benefit when they reach 67.
Another question people often have is whether or not they can work while receiving Social Security. The answer is that once you reach the age of full eligibility you can indeed earn any amount of income and still collect your full benefit.
However, you don't have to wait until you reach your full eligibility age to begin receiving Social Security.  You can start receiving Social Security when you are as young as 62, but you receive a reduced benefit.  If you work before you reach full retirement age while you are receiving this reduced benefit your payout is cut by one dollar for every two dollars that you earn above a certain annual limit.  Right now that limit is $14,160.
The above information is accurate as of this writing but of course it is subject to change.  To review current information visit the following website.

Inheritance planning is really a comprehensive endeavor and it entails more than simply directing the transfer of assets via the execution of documents. There are numerous practical considerations that require communication with family and loved ones. Some feel as though they will always have time to communicate their wishes at some point in the future when they have more time. For many the topic of death is s difficult topic to discuss. Though these concerns are certainly understandable, procrastination can leave your loved ones in a difficult situation. You never know what lies ahead and this is what intelligent and comprehensive advance planning is all about.
It is a good idea to ask yourself what your family members would be faced with if you were to pass away on a purely practical level. Are there keys to vehicles and perhaps real property that they should have or be able to obtain? Do you have a safe deposit box? If so, who has access to it? Documents are another matter to consider. Do your your family members know where to find documents that would be relevant to them if you were to pass away? Who has passwords to accounts and other information on your computer files?
Since we live in the digital age a lot of people have important passwords and usernames that their loved ones would need if they were charged with the responsibility of handling the final affairs of the deceased. This can include social network identities as well as business relationships.
These are just a few specific things to keep in mind. Take time to compile a list of items that you should communicate to your loved ones so they will be prepared to handle the practical matters that they will face when the inevitable ultimately takes place.

We seem to live society that is somewhat obsessed with celebrities lives. Some media reports are instructive with respect to estate planning dos and don'ts. It was recently announced that Frenchwoman Liliane Bettencourt, who is the second richest woman in the world, has been declared mentally incompetent to handle her own affairs. Bettencourt is 88 years old and reportedly suffering from Alzheimer's induced dementia. Her family members have been involved in court struggles contending that she has been making bad financial decisions, including the diversion of some $1.4 billion to French renaissance man, Francois-Marie Banier. Bettencourt reportedly sought assistance to create a new will making Banier the sole beneficiary of her estate. The French court has given Bettencourt's daughter Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers and her two grandsons control over the Bettencourt fortune, which is estimated to be valued at about $23.5 billion. According to Forbes this makes Liliane Bettencourt the 15th richest person in the world.
Situations like these provide a window into the way things can go if you do not engage in appropriate planning when you are in full control of your faculties. Whether or not the heiress was a victim of financial exploitation is in question. It may be safe to say that most people would not choose to give away $1.4 billion to someone who is not a family member and then change their will to disinherit their only child and grandchildren when they are in their 80s when they are of sound mind. Some 40% of people age 85 and up suffer from Alzheimer's disease. So yes, something like this could happen to you, which emphasizes the importance of seeking a qualified estate planner to assist in putting together a sound estate plan.

There are a lot of details to take into consideration when you are planning your legacy, and the best way to address them is with the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney. Rather than being consistently confronted with a series of unanswered questions as you think things through it is much simpler and more efficient to sit down with a legacy planning professional and work through the process from an informed perspective.
Experienced estate planning attorneys know how to proceed under any circumstances and they also understand how to adjust your estate plan on an ongoing basis as changes both within your life and throughout society as a whole take place that impact your existing plan.
One of the intricacies that people often face when they are engaged in inheritance planning involves providing for minor children. There are a number of different ways to proceed, and one of them would be to create a trust and make the child the beneficiary.
You can stipulate whatever you would like to in the trust with regard to what expenditures the trust is empowered to make in behalf of the child while he or she is still a minor. The grantor could then go on to set forth the terms for distribution of assets after the child becomes a legal adult.
Some people allow for the transfer of the total lump sum when the child reaches a particular age, and others arrange for more gradual distributions. You could even choose to include incentives such as allowing for regular distributions while the beneficiary remains in college with a lump sum to follow upon graduation.
Short of creating a trust you could name a property guardian in your will or appoint a custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. At a minimum, parents of minor children must have a will where a guardian of the person of your children can be named.
Providing for minor children is an important part of many estate plans. If you would like to learn more details, simply arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Estate planning involves consideration of the time when you are incapable of making your own decisions or when you are deceased. This requires the choice of representatives to administer your estate. One of those representatives includes your trustee or personal representative. If you have a trust or will then you have selected someone to perform the hands-on tasks involved in administering your estate. This individual should possess a certain measure of business acumen to handle all of the affairs of the estate. Property will be liquidated in most cases, there will be bills to pay, and the executor will have to bring in a probate attorney and in many cases an accountant and an appraiser. It is natural for some people to automatically choose someone close to them to be a personal representative, but it is not merely a ceremonial role. The practical responsibilities that accompany this title is something to take seriously.
There may come a time when you can no longer make sound medical and financial decisions for yourself. To address this issue you should be prepared with a durable power of attorney for health care and a durable financial power of attorney. Again, you should consider your choice of representatives carefully. You don't have to select the same person to serve both roles. In many cases the best financial mind is not going to be the person that you would like to see making your medical decisions.
Choosing the people who will take care of your affairs upon your death or incapacity is an important part of the process of estate planning. Careful consideration should be given to who who would fill these important roles in your estate plan.

There are a number of misconceptions about estate planning that are simply not true. One of them involves the notion that the estate tax only applies to the "rich." First of all, how is the word "rich" being defined in this context? Multi-billionaires may easily fit this description. However, would you consider yourself rich if you and your spouse accumulated say $2 million over the course of your lives, including any inheritances you may have received? Most people would say no, but if you had an estate valued at $2 million and you took no estate planning steps your estate would be subject to approximately $550,000 in estate taxes if you died in 2013 as the laws stand right now.
Another misconception is that legal representation is too expensive to be worth it. In reality, most people are going to save far more money than they pay when they work with an estate planning attorney. This is why wise people retain legal counsel to assist with their estate planning.
Also there are common sources of asset erosion that can be avoided or minimized, such as the estate tax and probate expenses. You also would want to make sure that your wishes aren't challenged. These are only some of the many reasons why you would do well to work with an experienced estate planning attorney.
The last misconception we will address is the idea that you can establish your own estate plan using general template documents. Estate planning even for very modest estates generally involves many complex considerations that simply cannot be provided for by a form. Many estate planning issues are unique and very personal. The nuances of these types of issues can only be properly identified and addressed by an experienced estate planning attorney.
 

You find individuals who are in difficult positions sometimes pointing fingers at others who are enjoying a comfortable retirement or benefiting from an estate plan that was intelligently conceived by their loved ones. They say that these people are "lucky" and decry their own lack of such luck. But in reality, those who have no worries simply benefited from proactive, pragmatic planning. And of course they had the self-discipline to stick to the plan. It is as simple as that.
Our law firm understands this to be true and we try to educate people and encourage them to take action so that they can avoid the pitfalls that invariably accompany a lack of preparation. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of Americans ignore this advice and go through life without making important preparations for the future.
The results of a Harris telephone survey that was released at the end of 2009 shed some light on the subject. A total of 1,022 adults responded, and a mere 35% had composed a last will to elucidate their final wishes. Just 29% of the people who were interviewed said that they had a living will in place.
Merely 24% of people under 35 had executed at least one of the commonly recommended estate planning documents, and of course you would expect younger people to be less prepared. However, a surprisingly high 23% of people surveyed who were over the age of 55 had executed no estate planning documents at all.
Clearly, a lack of appropriate planning has reached epidemic proportions. When you shirk this basic adult responsibility, for the most part it is your family members who are going to suffer after your death or incapacity. This is a serious matter, and if you do not presently have at least a basic estate plan in place, do take action and arrange for a consultation with an estate planning attorney before it's too late.

People often tend to procrastinate before they take action and execute the appropriate estate planning documents. Their reasons vary, but it is human nature to prioritize things based on how immediately relevant they may seem.
The current average life expectancy in the United States is over 78 years. So when you are in your 30s, 40s, and 50s you may simply think that you have plenty of time to plan your estate at some point in the future. You may even think that it is better to wait because of pending or unknown factors concerning your estate. The reality is that if you pass away without an estate plan you are potentially leaving your family members a very difficult situation to deal with.
When some finally take the plunge and work with an estate planning attorney to create a plan they put their documents in a lock box mistakenly believing that they are done. It is likely however that your estate plan will need updates as your life changes. For instance your family may experience additions or subtractions through marriages, births, deaths or divorces. The development of a disability by a beneficiary would also require special planning techniques.
Estate planning is best viewed as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. For this reason it is a good idea to develop a working relationship with a qualified estate planning attorney which will last throughout your life.

If you want to pass a proper legacy and be comprehensively prepared for all the contingencies that you may face during the latter stages of your life, it is wise to think long-term.  You hear people throw around the term "luck" quite a bit, but the wise individual knows that you make your own luck. When you see people who are enjoying a comfortable retirement while being able to leave significant bequests to their loved ones they probably didn't find themselves in this position by accident.
Yes, there are people who win the lottery and there are a few who come from very wealthy families. But for the most part, successful people devise intelligent long-term plans and stick to them. If you stick your head in the sand and simply hope for the best you may find yourself completely unprepared as you near what most people would consider to be the typical retirement age.
In fact, you may be surprised to hear just how unprepared a lot of people are. There was a poll conducted recently by AP-LifeGoesStrong.com that was intended to get an idea of how prepared baby boomers are for retirement. One fourth of the people who responded had no retirement savings at all, and a similar percentage said that they would never retire. Because of the fact that the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age 10,000 people are applying for Social Security every day, and this is supposed to go on for the next 20 years.
So when you combine the facts above you can see that large numbers of people are completely unprepared for retirement. Long-term planning is the key to being able to meet your financial responsibilities when you reach an advanced age while retaining a suitable legacy to pass on to your loved ones. If you do not currently have a solid long-term plan in place, now is the time to get in touch with an experienced legacy planning attorney to arrange for an initial consultation.
 

Life insurance is a very important and useful element that is included in most estate plans. The most common use for life insurance is as an income replacement vehicle, and it is vital for people who have family members relying on their income. Even if you are relatively young, there are no guarantees and the well-being of your family is at risk if you do not have adequate coverage.
In addition to its value as an income replacement vehicle, life insurance is used in estate planning for other purposes as well, and one of these is to balance inheritances. We will explain what this means by way of example.
Assume that you are the owner of a successful small business, and the value of the business is by far your most significant asset. You have two children, a son named Doug and a daughter named Deborah, and you want to leave them equal inheritances. Doug works in the business, loves the job, and has expressed his desire to assume ownership upon your passing. Deborah has never worked in the business and has no particular interest in it.
A solution for scenarios like this would be to utilize life insurance to balance the inheritances. You take out a life insurance policy on your own life in an amount that is equal to the estimated value of the business, and you make your daughter Deborah the beneficiary. When you ultimately pass on, each of your children will receive an inheritance of similar value.
Enabling the balancing of inheritances is just one of the ways that life insurance can play a role in your estate plan beyond serving as a vehicle of income replacement. To learn more about this and comprehensive estate planning in general, simply arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Former American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, has been in the news lately because he announced his intent to have his body cryonically frozen after he dies. Cryonic technology allows for preserving the human body after death by a type of freezing procedure. Individuals who opt for this procedure do so in hopes that technology to revive them will be developed some point in the future.
The current cost for this procedure is substantial. It can cost from $10,000 to have just the head preserved up to about $200,000 for the full body. Companies that provide the service recommend that the cost can be addressed through the purchase of life insurance, which should be affordable if purchased at a relatively young age.
From an estate planning perspective cryonics presents some interesting questions. One such question may involve property rights. How would the law address the property rights of an individual whose estate has already been administered but was later brought back to life?
Cowell has helped bring cryonics and some interesting legal implications into the public consciousness.

There are people who think that things will take care of themselves as the years pass, but the reality is that each of us must take responsibility for our own futures. There is more to planning for the latter stages of your life than simply anticipating your Social Security check and drawing up a last will.
You will eventually have to fund your retirement years if you do in fact expect to retire, and Social Security, even if it still exists in its present form by the time you retire, is probably not going to be enough. So if you want to be truly prepared you must anticipate your expenses and devise a plan that enables you to meet them comfortably.
There's also the possibility of incapacity. Approximately four out of every ten people who reach the age of 85 are suffering from Alzheimer's disease according to the Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's causes dementia, which can make it impossible for its victims to render sound financial, personal, and medical decisions. If you were to become incapacitated without making any advance plans, the court could appoint a guardian of its choosing to act in your behalf and you would become a ward of the state. This is a possibility that can be circumvented through the execution of the appropriate durable powers of attorney.
Of course there is also the matter of your legacy. Do you have specific things in mind that you would like to be able to do for your family members as your final act of giving? Do you perhaps have the desire to give something back to your favorite charitable organizations? If you do, these intentions will have an impact on your budgeting for the period of time that precedes your passing.
Because of all the different matters that must be addressed, it is a wise idea to tap into the expertise of an experienced estate planning attorney who has a thorough understanding of retirement and estate planning. He or she will advise you appropriately so that you can be sure that all of your bases are covered as you enter the latter portion of your life.
 

Estate planning lawyers frequently emphasize the fact that estate planning is something that people of all ages should take seriously. Of course we would all like to live long and healthy lives, and the average lifespan is in fact over 78 years in the United States at the present time. So of course estate planning is going to become more and more relevant as you reach an advanced age, but there are people who pass away before their time.
Catastrophic illnesses sometimes strike, and accidents take the lives of younger people. In fact, younger drivers are more likely to be killed in accidents than older ones for the most part. Being prepared for all eventualities is important, and too many people simply don't take the proper precautions.
We all recently heard the terribly sad news about the death of British singer Amy Winehouse. She enjoyed remarkable success during her relatively brief career, capturing multiple Grammy awards while single-handedly revitalizing the British music scene. Though she appeared to be troubled, her talent was unmistakable and she will surely be missed by her fans and music lovers around the globe.
According to reports that are circulating in the British newspapers, Amy Winehouse did indeed have a solid estate plan in place unlike many other celebrities whose affairs were in disarray after their deaths. The overall value of the Winehouse estate is estimated at approximately $16.4 million, and the heirs to this estate are going to be her parents and her brother.
It was particularly important for her to engage in careful estate planning because she had an ex-spouse named Blake Fielder-Civil who may have been in line to inherit her fortune had the necessary documents not been executed, especially in light of British laws that favor former spouses.
The tragic death of Amy Winehouse underscores the reason why it is important to have a current estate plan in place regardless of your age because you just never know what the future holds.