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Topics
What is Proper Estate Planning?
The Problems with Traditional Estate Planning

• The Pitfalls of Wills
• The Pitfalls of Jointly Owned Property
• The Pitfalls of Planning with a Beneficiary Designation
• The Pitfalls of Bare-Bones Living Trusts

The Solution: Estate Planning

What can Proper Estate Planning do for You?
Creating an Estate Plan is Easy
A Proper Estate Plan Meets Your Goals
A Word of Caution

What is Proper Estate Planning?
Proper estate planning allows you to plan for your future and that of your loved ones without giving up control of your affairs. Your estate plan should allow you to plan for the possibility of your own disability. Your estate plan should save every tax dollar, professional fee, and court cost that is legally possible to save.

The Problems with Traditional Estate Planning
Most of us are familiar with conventional estate planning tools. Each unfortunately has disadvantages that contradict the definition of wise and proper estate planning. Let's review traditional forms of estate planning.

The Pitfalls of Wills

• Wills guarantee probate , which can generate executor and attorney fees and cause time delay before your loved ones receive their inheritance.
• Wills are fully public . They are open to inspection by anyone who wants to know about you and your affairs.
• Wills offer no planning or direction for you or your family in the event of your disability.
• Wills are easily challenged by unhappy relatives and creditors.
• Wills usually don't control life insurance proceeds, retirement benefits, or jointly owned property.
• Wills are often bare-bones form documents written in hard-to-understand language. They don't capture the hopes, fears, dreams, values, and ambitions of their makers.
• Wills may not be effective when their makers move to or own property in another state.

The Pitfalls of Jointly Owned Property

• Your joint tenancy property may pass to unintended heirs.
• Joint tenancy does not avoid probate. It only delays it.
• There may be unintended gift and estate taxes if joint tenancy is used between non-spouses or with children.
• Joint tenancy makes no provisions for estate tax planning.
• Joint tenancy does not allow you to give your property to who you want, the way you want, and when you want.

The Pitfalls of Planning with a Beneficiary Designation
Designating beneficiaries on a standard business form, 'beneficiary designation,' often means losing control of a major portion of your estate. It does not enable you to leave instructions or provide guidance to your loved ones.

• Oftentimes the wrong beneficiary is named in the beneficiary designation.
• A beneficiary designation won't protect your spouse and children from unscrupulous people.
• Equal distributions from a beneficiary designation may cause unequal results that won't meet your family's special needs.
• Beneficiary designations make no provision for federal tax planning.

The Pitfalls of Bare-Bones Living Trusts

• Although living trusts appear to be better than wills, they do not avoid probate unless they are fully funded.
• Most living trusts are sterile legal forms that do not contain instructions for loved ones. They accomplish limited objectives.

The Solution : Estate Planning

The basis of proper estate planning is a revocable living trust that contains your special instructions for your own care and that of your loved ones.

What can Proper Estate Planning do for You?

• Provide instructions for your care and that of your loved ones in the event of your disability.
• Be effective if you move to or own property in another state.
• Avoid probate and its associated legal costs.
• Keep your affairs private and confidential.
• Control all of your property, including pensions and life insurance.
• Allow you to leave explicit instructions for the care of loved ones.
• Create protective trusts for young children, disadvantaged children, adult children and grandchildren.
• Provide federal estate planning.

Creating an Estate Plan is Easy
With the help of your attorney and advisors, you will quickly and comfortably establish a living trust centered estate plan for yourself and your loved ones. Your living trust may be changed or cancelled at any time. As maker, trustee, and primary beneficiary, you control every aspect of your property. You also appoint the trustees, naming as many or as few as you like, with specifications regarding who takes care of what. Of course, a living trust-centered estate plan truly comes to life by adding your loving concern, with the caring efforts of your attorney and other professional advisors.

A Proper Estate Plan Meets Your Goals
It allows you to plan for possible disability and direct the distribution of your property. It saves tax dollars, professional fees and court costs. And, most importantly, it keeps you in control of your own affairs.

A Word of Caution
Proper estate planning revolves around your relationship with a qualified estate planning attorney. Unfortunately, there are many businesses and salespeople masquerading as estate planning professionals. The public is inundated with sales schemes that involve selling wills, living trusts and other estate planning documents without the involvement of attorneys. Proper estate planning requires professional thoroughness by attorneys and other advisors, and respect for the overall well-being of the client and the client's family. We aspire to the highest ethical professional behavior, lending dignity to the client, the planning professionals and the planning process.