 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
SECURING AN ESTATE PLAN
Don't ever think you are too young to develop an Estate Plan. At any age, you risk losing a large portion of your assets to taxes unless you plan ahead.
And times are different today. More than likely, some of your wealth will be invested in an Internet company, your children are younger and your spouse is more likely to remarry if widowed. Therefore, your future is less 'set in concrete' and you must design your Estate Plan to be more flexible as a result.
To accomodate these new factors, you must plan your estate accordingly. In the past, when planning your estate, it was sufficient to ensure that each spouse has at least $650,000, so when dealing with the Federal Tax Exemption, which is currently $650,000, this money would go to your spouse and then on to your children by default when your spouse was deceased.
But this is no longer guaranteed, since there is a higher chance now that your spouse may remarry and have children with their new mate, in which case your own children may never see this money. One way to ensure that your money properly inherits to your children is to put your assets into an Irrevocable Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust. In this way you can guarantee that your spouse will receive the income from the trust for the remainder of their life, but when he or she passes away, the assets must be divided amongst your own children.
Another method of ensuring that your children will get their rightful inheritances is to give away your assets while you are still alive. By Federal law, every person is allowed to give up to $10,000 per year to anyone, without owing any gift taxes. Between you and your spouse, this is a total of $20,000 per year. These gifts could be placed into irrevocable trusts, long term IRAs, or other wise investment plans.
But, however you choose to go about it, it is very important that you plan your estate now, and be prepared early. This will ensure your family's financial security and protect your assets.
We are currently working on a major update and as a result,
this section is still in development.
Be sure to check back soon to learn more effective methods on how to protect your assets.
Gary Fabian & Associates Incorporated - Gary Fabian & Associates Incorporated offers a complete spectrum of financial products and services, including stocks, bonds, options, futures, mutual funds, financial and retirement planning, tax-advantage investments and much more.
Please feel free to send us an e-mail by clicking on the button below.
Or e-mail us at: Horizons Financial Planning