Do I need a trust?

Julie Landry Laviolette in the Miami Herald tackles the age old question: “Do I need a trust?

”It’s not only heiresses and socialites who can benefit from a trust. Used in the right circumstances, a trust can be a helpful estate planning tool to pass assets to your children, take care of your affairs if you are incapacitated, or dole out your wealth — whatever its size — in a certain way.

Trusts can be part of a simple estate plan that includes a will, power of attorney and living will.

Deciding whether you need a trust or not can be confusing. What is a trust? It is a legal entity that allows you to put conditions on how your assets are distributed after you die. It can help minimize estate taxes and avoid probate. It can also be used to protect an heir’s assets from creditors.
Read the entire article to learn more about trusts can benefit the following people: 

A COUPLE WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

A SINGLE PERSON

A COUPLE WITH GROWN CHILDREN

FAMILIES WITH SECOND MARRIAGES

Make sure your estate plan is doing things for you (not TO you)

Estate planning is more than just having documents. It needs to be tied to long-term intent and aligned with your goals. What works for one person may not work well for the next, and what worked 10 years ago may not work now.

Geoffrey M. Zimmerman, CFP® practitioner, senior client advisor at Mosaic Financial Partners Inc., says many treat their estate plan like a transaction, even though the moving parts may have changed.

“They may have a document that is doing things to them and to their beneficiaries, and not really working well for them,” he says. “That’s why it’s important to review the plan periodically. It might take a visit to your attorney and the cost of several hours of time to update it. But in terms of relieving the headache on a surviving spouse or beneficiaries, those can be dollars well spent.”
Smart Business spoke with Zimmerman about why your estate plan should be continually adjusted. Read the article…

If I can assist you in any way, please call me or contact me by email.  I’ve spent years developing my expertise in these areas of estate management, and I would enjoy applying my expertise to assisting you.