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estate plan modification

What to do Now That You Have an Estate Plan

If you have finally made the substantial step of creating an estate plan, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are done planning for the future. In reality, you are not finished yet. Instead, there are several important steps that you should take to make sure that your estate plans are properly maintained. Monitor Asset Ownership Your estate plan should consider how you own your assets. In many cases, you will likely want your loved ones to be able to easily access your assets in case something suddenly happens to you. It might be a good idea to create joint ownership with accounts or take other efforts to define who can access details about your accounts. Regardless of what options you choose, it is important to understand that asset management is often one of the most critical issues following a person’s death or incapacity. Monitor Beneficiary Designations Beneficiary designations are important for deciding how assets that are not included in your will pass on to beneficiaries. Some of the most common accounts where beneficiary designations are found include 401(k)s and IRAs. It is a good idea to routinely check beneficiary designations to make sure that     Read More

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Understanding When it is Time to Change Special Needs Plans

One of the greatest mistakes that many people make about special needs plans are thinking that estate planning is a one-and-done process. Even after properly appointing a guardian, trustee, health care proxy, and other necessary agents for a special needs plan, there are still circumstances that can arise and necessitate a change of these documents.    The following will review some important steps to follow to make sure that agent designations on special needs documents are properly updated.   Routinely Review Your Special Needs Plan   It is a wise idea to review your special needs agent appointment on a routine basis. It is also a good idea to stay in constant communication with your special needs agent. This is because changes inevitably occur that will change the appropriateness of your selection. The problem, however, comes in deciding how often you should review your estate planning decisions. Once a year is a reasonable guideline for reviewing these plans.    When to Change Special Need Agents   Even if you routinely review special needs documents, it can be challenging to determine exactly when to replace an agent. You should consider replacing a special needs agent any time after there has been     Read More

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Common Mistakes Made During the Estate Planning Process

None of us is perfect. Many of us are prone to making a mistake here or there. While mistakes in some areas of life can easily be looked past, in estate planning, mistakes have the potential to result in long-lasting consequences for your loved ones.  The following will take a brief look at some of the most common estate planning mistakes. The Most Common Types of Estate Planning Errors One of the most frequent estate planning errors that people make is failing to create any type of estate plan at all. There are a number of reasons why individuals fail to create an estate plan, but one of the most common reasons is that some people believe that estate planning is only for the wealthy or only for those with large families.  In reality, anyone who has certain wishes for how things should proceed after they pass away or become incapacitated can benefit from creating an estate plan. Otherwise, courts will be required to make decisions about how assets should be distributed based on state intestacy law.  Failure to create advance health care directives will also result in your loved ones being forced to make difficult decisions about the level     Read More

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Estate Planning After Divorce

Changes in tax law that were passed at the end of 2017 resulted in a large number of people attempting to finalize their divorces before these laws became effective at the beginning of January, 2019. One substantial change is that under these new tax laws, alimony is no longer deductible by the payor and is no longer taxable for the receiver. These changes have had a substantial impact on both sides of alimony payments following a divorce. There are also, however, a number of other changes that people performing estate planning following a divorce should consider. The following reviews some of the most important changes in the law that will impact your estate planning and your divorce. Updating Health Care Power of Attorney A healthcare power of attorney document allows a person to appoint another person to make healthcare decisions for him or her in case of a coma or other incapacity. If you want to avoid having your former spouse make these types of decisions on your behalf, you need to accurately update your estate planning documents to reflect these changes. You should make sure that you still have a power of attorney document, however. In many cases, people     Read More

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Reviewing Estate Plans at the Beginning of 2019

As 2019 gets started, it is a wise idea to consider whether your estate plan is still sufficient for your various goals. While it might be an uncomfortable thing to think about, none of us will be here forever. Make sure that your estate plan is properly written so that when you do need it, your goals will be met. The following will discuss some important things that you should consider regarding the contents of your estate planning documents. Durable Power of Attorney Durable powers of attorney for things like finance, health care, and property are important. In creating these documents, you will select a trusted individual who can make decisions and take actions on your behalf concerning these issues. Failure to properly write these documents might mean that if a sudden medical emergency happens to you, your surviving family and loved ones will not be able to make important decisions regarding what medical care you receive as well as how your assets are handled. Beneficiary Designations It is critical to constantly update beneficiary designations as various life changes including deaths, changes in the family, and relocation occur. While some people focus on just reviewing beneficiary designations on all of     Read More

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Four Commonly Overlooked Items in Estate Plans

There are certain elements that must be satisfied if a person is interested in estate planning, which include some things that are frequently overlooked. Failure to create an estate plan can lead to a variety of negative consequences. Fortunately, an experienced attorney like Jim A Lyon knows how to best anticipate overlooked elements of estate plans. Incapacity While many estate plans take death into consideration, they often fail to consider how incapacity can influence a person. Unfortunately, a large number of individuals are likely to experience issues related to incapacity during their lifetimes. One of the most common ways that estate plans take incapacity into consideration is with trusts that are created for the management of a person’s assets during incapacity. Management of Assets Some individuals create estate plans for beneficiaries who reach a certain age or goal but fail to create proper management of these assets until these events occur. Details regarding the management of benefits at every step of the process must be included in a reliable estate plan. Divorce Protection Many estate plans are written without consideration for how divorce will influence who should be named as a beneficiary. Even if a person is happily married, there     Read More

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