ESTATE PLANNING: WHAT IS IT?All of us at sometime in our lives have probably heard the phrase, "Set your house in order," or some similar principle. We may have heard the message as children when told to clean our room or as adults in the context of organizing our family or individual lives. This principle is estate planning. Estate planning is the process of organizing your affairs in such a way as to give what you have, to whom you want, when you want, in the way you want, at the lowest possible cost to you and those you love.
Having your affairs in order brings peace and comfort. In fact, doing your estate planning may even make vacations more enjoyable. If you have done your estate planning, the next time you leave on a long awaited trip you will not spend the first hour or more contemplating the question, What would happen to everyone and everything that is important to me if I did not return? Estate planning is arguably the easiest thing to procrastinate in our lives because we have until the very end to keep procrastinating! Although easy to procrastinate, completing the estate planning process brings a sense of accomplishment and great peace of mind.
This is the first of a series of articles related to estate planning. These articles discuss numerous issues related to estate planning. Although not a comprehensive list, here are some topics regarding estate planning:
- Estate planning when minor children are involved.
- Guardianships and conservatorships for incapacitated individuals.
- Ownership of property (for example, Joint vs. Individual Ownership, Community vs. Separate Property) and how it affects estate planning.
- Differences between a will and a trust and the function of each within an estate plan.
- Probate.
- Special rules pertaining to mandatory predeath and postdeath distributions of IRAs and other qualified retirement accounts.
- Living Wills and Medical Powers of Attorney.
- Issues pertaining to Medicaid and long-term care.
- Estate and gift tax matters.
- Use of life insurance to fund the payment of estate taxes without liquidating assets and use of special trusts in connection with life insurance or other assets in order to minimize estate taxes.
- Methods of charitable giving during life and at death to benefit a cause important to you and to maximize tax savings.
- Special estate planning issues for farmers, ranchers and small business owners.
In addition to the above topics, the articles discuss the team nature of estate planning. A good estate planning attorney recognizes that properly serving a client's estate planning needs often includes the assistance of other competent professionals. The attorney does not have the skills nor the expertise for all aspects of estate planning. Depending on the size of the estate and special needs of the individual or family, accountants, financial planners, trust bank officers, or qualified life insurance agents can all be valuable contributors to the estate planning process.
I am excited to share information regarding a topic important to all. I encourage you to review the articles that interest you. If you already have estate planning documents, I recommend that you place the articles with your documents. If you do not already have estate planning documents, I believe the information in this and the other articles can be a useful tool in helping you work with qualified professionals in order to do your estate planning. The knowledge that you acquire will be beneficial to whatever your status is in the estate planning process.
Jeffery J. McKenna
Attorney licensed and servicing
clients in Utah, Nevada and Arizona
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