Estate Planning

We all have an “estate,” and we all have an “estate plan” implemented upon death. You can either make the plan yourself, or the state will make it for you without your input. Many people think only the wealthy have estates that require planning, but individuals of small and modest means must also plan if the goal is to avoid having the state implement its default plan.

Your estate is simply everything you own, including:

• Your home and any other real estate

• Your business or business interests

• Your portion of any joint accounts you hold

• The value of your retirement accounts

• Life insurance policies you own outside of those owned by a life-insurance trust

• Property owned by a trust that you control

Your estate plan is uniquely yours and no two plans are ever the same. Jarvis & Modun is devoted to listening carefully to what your needs and goals are, and to tailoring a plan to meet them at an affordable price.

Making a Will

Wills involve much more than specifying who gets what. A thoughtful, properly drafted will addresses who will raise minor children and names at least one alternate individual if the first choice cannot serve. Additionally, wills often establish trusts so that children or other loved ones do not inherit property all at once. For example, when children are too young to manage money themselves, a trust can establish a trustee to manage the children’s money until they reach a certain age or point of maturity. In other situations such as a second marriage, a person may wish to establish a trust so that a spouse may use property while living, but then ultimately have the property pass to the decedent’s children when the spouse dies.

Wills accomplish a number of other goals as well. They name an executor of the estate who handles the administrative aspects of the will to ensure the testator’s wishes are met. If the will establishes a trust, a trustee is named. A trustee is responsible for following the instructions in the trust.

A will also addresses situations where a named beneficiary is or becomes disabled. When this happens, receiving an inheritance can disrupt government benefits to the disabled individual. This is when a properly drafted will should name an alternate beneficiary or create a Special Needs Trust.

Wills are powerful tools when careful language aligns with a person’s wishes. A comprehensive estate plan not only includes a Last Will and Testament, it also includes a Durable Power of Attorney for property, a Durable Power of Attorney for medical decisions, and a Living Will.

Creating a Trust

Trusts are not only for wealthy individuals. A trust merely forms an arrangement where one party holds property on behalf of another. The creator of the trust allows a trustee to manage assets on behalf of a beneficiary. Many reasons exist for doing this, including:

• To ensure that money for a minor child’s benefit will be used for support, education, medical expenses, and other such needs until the child reaches a certain age and may receive money from the trust.

• To protect a beneficiary’s assets from both themselves and potential creditors by creating a spendthrift trust.

• To allow a person who receives government benefits to inherit property without losing those benefits. This is done by creating a special needs trust.

• To move a person’s life insurance proceeds outside of his or her estate for estate tax purposes by creating an irrevocable life insurance trust.

• To provide and care for a person’s pet companion by creating a pet trust that will manage the funds necessary for a peaceful life.

Jarvis & Modun understands what to listen for and how to translate it into a plan that honors your goals.