Has your REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST been kept up to date according to your wishes and intentions?
Will your REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST protect your loved ones from losing their inheritance to divorces, lawsuits, creditors and government claims?
Do you own a home or real property? Does your LIVING TRUST hold title to that property?
Does your LIVING TRUST use a special "legacy" provision to build your family's wealth, free of estate taxes, for several generations?
Does your LIVING TRUST (plus other special signed document) permit your surviving spouse to potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital gains taxes?
If you are married, do you have the right kind of "A-B" LIVING TRUST (husband and wife trust) so that your surviving spouse can avoid needless paperwork and fees, and so your IRAs won't cause needless estate taxes?
Are your health care directive documents and your LIVING TRUST (propertly updated for recent laws caled HIPAA and CMIAA), so the person you have named as your successor trustee can act promptly when you are ill or disabled, rather than be forced to go to court?
Do you have a simple and valuable Emergency Card to make sure your Health Care decision making documents will be immediately available if and when you are rushed to the hospital?
Are your company retirement plans and IRAs properly protected by your LIVING TRUST?
According to IRS rules, these IRA accounts may someday represent the largest assets your loved ones will inherit and, even if they are only $100,000, your family could lose millions if these accounts are not planned for properly.
Does your LIVING TRUST have the flexibility to adapt (after you are gone) to new tax laws and the changing needs and circumstances of your beneficiaries (so your trust will continue to work the way you intended?
Do your Trustees and beneficiaries have an Owner's Manual and Trustee Manual they can turn to for guidance when the time comes?
These are important estate planning questions. Trusts and Estate Planning are complicated matters involving legal and income tax matters.
For information and advice, contact a qualified attorney in your state and jurisdiction who is experienced in living trusts and estate planning.
See my prior article ~ CALIFORNIA ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY AND EXPERT - BRIAN CHEW.
For other information and referral about qualified estate planning attorneys in Orange County, California, please contact us. Thank you.
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Harrison K. Long, Explore Group Properties, Coldwell Banker Previews, Irvine, CA.
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