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Old 01-01-2015, 10:25 AM
 
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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I am concerned that without it being in a trust that the tax implications would be huge.
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Old 01-01-2015, 11:30 AM
 
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it isn't a tax issue with no trust it is the expense and hassle of probate depending if your state uses quick claim deeds. ours doesn't. probate is expensive and can be long.

power of attorney for the kids is important if you become incapacitated or need them to access accounts
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Old 01-01-2015, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Florida -
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Even though we had all of our wills, trusts, POA's, etc. drawn-up by an estate attorney, things change and updates become necessary.

For example, before updating, we used to tell our adult children (with families) that they would have to 'go live with my wife's sister's family' in another state, if something ever happened to us.
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Old 01-01-2015, 11:43 AM
 
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Go see a well recommended Trust and Estate Lawyer. In one hour you will learn the major issues which you need to address and come away with the basis of a plan to move forward.

Before you go, write down a list of the items you are concerned about and a broad outline of what you would like in your will.

The attorney will have a pretty good idea of the current tax law situation, and if he doesn't know the details relevant to your specific situation (unlikely), he will be able to direct you to the right person, or will get the answers for you.

The attorney will also be able to put into "legaleze" the wishes that you have for your will--which you said already exists, so it might just be a matter of "updating". At the same time he will help to draw up a Power of Attorney and a Living Will--which documents you should have as part of the entire "package" of your end of life planning.

It will cost you....probably at least $1,000, and maybe $2,000 if it is complicated, but in the end you will save yourself and your heirs a huge tax burden if things are done correctly.
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Old 01-01-2015, 12:41 PM
 
6,319 posts, read 7,213,418 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlightAttendant View Post
I recently moved to a new state and my old will is about 10 years old. While my life situation has not really changed much (I have 2 grown kids, no spouse, own a home and no debt). I think I need to do some estate planning in 2015.

I am not retired and I do not expect to retire for about 5 more years. I am wondering if it would be best to put everything into trusts. My goal, of course, is to make everything seamless for my heirs once I am gone. Need less to say, I want to minimize taxation, etc.

I don't even know where to begin to get solid information on how to go about doing this. I do have an attorney who was recommended to me, but I would like to have at least some ideas before I see him the first time. Any books or website recommendations would be most welcomed.

Do any of you have any general advice on how to approach this? Thanks.
I got my will done when I got divorced and they wrote it in such a way that it doesn't MATTER what I do between now and death.

Even if I remarry my kids will get my money.

Even if they pass before me (God forbid) the money goes to their issue, ie, my grandkids.

If no heirs exist it goes to Animal Welfare.

It must be American Litigation Love, the lawyers don't WANT to give you a Lifetime will cos if they do there's no arguments in the future nor revisits to change it all.
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Old 01-01-2015, 01:51 PM
 
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you really do need to update things. we did our origonal stuff before we had grandkids . we totally forget that our wills provided for the fact that if anyone of the children were not around their shares went to the other kids.

now we want that share to go to the grandkids .


we had an old style power of attorney that you needed a doctor to fign off on that you were incapacitated.

we also ran into our own state estate tax limitations so we had to deal with that. we needed 2 disclaimer trusts set up now as assets inceased alot over the years.

we got 2- new wills with 2-disclaimer trust provisions , 2-new power of attorney and 2- living wills and a long term care consultaion for an hour for 4800.00 but we live in nyc. we also use one of the top estate attorneys and well worth it after what we went through with wills.
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Old 01-01-2015, 02:25 PM
 
Location: SoCal desert
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Quote:
Any books or website recommendations would be most welcomed.
Go to your library and request "Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies". It will give you ideas and a starting point.

I'm a big believer in trusts, when it comes to making it easy and private.
(And don't forget the Medical Directive.)
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Old 01-01-2015, 05:43 PM
 
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Don't forget HIPPA for the Medical Directive if you become incapacitated. It allows them to have access to your medical records to make decisions on your behalf and to share the records with those professionals who may need them.
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Old 01-01-2015, 10:57 PM
 
Location: Southwest Washington State
30,585 posts, read 24,968,193 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlightAttendant View Post
I recently moved to a new state and my old will is about 10 years old. While my life situation has not really changed much (I have 2 grown kids, no spouse, own a home and no debt). I think I need to do some estate planning in 2015.

I am not retired and I do not expect to retire for about 5 more years. I am wondering if it would be best to put everything into trusts. My goal, of course, is to make everything seamless for my heirs once I am gone. Need less to say, I want to minimize taxation, etc.

I don't even know where to begin to get solid information on how to go about doing this. I do have an attorney who was recommended to me, but I would like to have at least some ideas before I see him the first time. Any books or website recommendations would be most welcomed.

Do any of you have any general advice on how to approach this? Thanks.
You start with a visit to an elder attorney. We had a trust drawn up for us several years ago in our old state; we had the trust restated and drawn up according to the laws in Washington this past year. It was a bit of a project.

But an attorney can advise you about what the best course would be in your situation.

A revocable trust is totally private; when you pass, nothing appears in public records and your estate would not have to go through probate. So, if your assets are easily found, having a trust should make your heirs lives easier. Laws change, and they are different in each state. It is best, even if you keep a simple will, to make sure your plan, whatever it is, complies with state law.

We had a meeting with the attorney and our heirs all together during the planning. And all our heirs have copies of the trust.

The attorney also did POA and health care directives for us. So, if we need help with managing finances, the mechanism is in place for this to happen. Health care directives are different in every state.

When you meet with an attorney, you should take your will with you, and you should also have a list of your assets. Doing this is the right thing to do, but it will be expensive.
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Old 01-02-2015, 04:03 AM
 
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if you think the price of a good attorney is expensive ,you can't afford free.
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