Is it too early to plan?
I am an Estate Planning attorney. Therefore, my standard answer is that it is never too early to plan. The three most influential and prominent cases related to healthcare involve persons
under 45 years old. One of these cases includes Terri Schiavo. Most of us (that are old enough)remember her name, but here are some facts you may not know. Terri died after her feeding tube was removed, when she was 41 years old. She had suffered a heart attack at 26 years old and was on the feeding tube for 15 years. Still think it’s too early to plan?
Living Trusts give you control
In addition to an Advance Healthcare Directive, a Trust is an important document to have in
your estate plan for several reasons. A Revocable Living Trust is like a bucket that you (the
Trustor) create during life (the legal word is Intervivos). As the creator of the Trust, you are free to put items into and take items out of the Living Trust. Creating a Revocable Trust does not mean that you will lose control of your property. Quite the opposite is true. A Trust can help you should you ever become incapacitated from a coma, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. You can designate who holds your “bucket” should you ever lose capacity; this person is called your “successor trustee”. There are many other great reasons to create an Estate Plan, and you can read about them in my various Blog posts here: http://www.myestate-plan.com/blog
How will I know I need a Trust?
Here are some great triggers for creating an Estate Plan:
Buying a home, townhome, condo, etc.
Getting married
Having a child
These are important times to ensure your spouse and child are taken care of. Did you know
that you can fund a Trust with life insurance? If a breadwinner is lost, income must be replaced, short and long terms bills must be paid, and college and other expenses should be contemplated. Using life insurance to fund a Trust can be a very affordable solution, especially for young persons or young couples. For reasons why gifts should be given in Trust instead of just naming a beneficiary and giving the gift outright, please see here: http://www.myestate-plan.com/blog/itemlist/category/44-what-s-better-outright-or-in-trust
Please see my Blog for more discussion of various aspects of Estate Planning.
Feel free to give me call and we can establish your Revocable Living Trust, your Irrevocable
Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), or other Estate Planning goals today. I will create custom solution for your specific objectives.
Thanks for reading my blog.
William Daniel Powell, attorney-at-law
Source: https://myestate-plan.com/
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