Asset protection planning is the process of building barriers around your assets, whether those assets are personal or business, to keep them safe from litigation, creditor claims, seizure and burdensome taxes.
If you die without a will, you die ‘intestate’ and your assets will be distributed according to your state’s law. That could result in a distribution you didn’t intend.
In early 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Americans can expect to inherit $72.6 trillion over the next quarter century—more than twice as much as a decade ago. With so much potential generational wealth on the line, there is always a risk that it will become the subject of a dispute.
As the American population of seniors continues to expand, the need for intentional estate planning becomes more urgent, especially for the children of aging parents.
Creating a list of digital accounts and instructions on how to gain access to them is now akin to having a traditional will or a trust in estate planning.
These are among the things an estate attorney can help you with planning. That’s why it’s essential to ensure you have one by your side, if you’re leaving an inheritance behind.
Unless you spend your winters in Aspen and your summers in the Hamptons, you probably don’t have to worry about paying federal estate taxes on an inheritance. In 2021, the federal estate tax doesn’t kick in, unless an estate exceeds $11.7 million. The Biden administration has proposed lowering the exemption, but even that proposal wouldn’t affect estates valued at less than about $6 million.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy. When inheritances, homes, estates and mortgages are involved, tensions can run high within a family. It is easy to get lost in the paperwork and terms.
The rise in the stock market over the past several years, teamed with the passage of the SECURE Act two years ago and the scheduled 50% reduction in the size of the federal estate tax exemption four years from now, has resulted in a renewed interest in estate planning for IRA and 401k accounts owned by married couples.
Homes are illiquid assets that produce no income and come with ongoing costs for upkeep. Those issues can cause some snags with your trust.