This page will provide you with some basic estate planning information.
Did you know that many Living Trusts and Wills fail?
The Problem
-Did you know that many Living Trusts and Wills will not distribute assets as the person creating them intended?
-Did you know that studies have shown that on average the amount a person inherits is all gone within 18 months? It also didn’t matter whether it was $50,000 or $50,000,000 (fifty million). The reasons were poor spending decisions, lawsuits or divorces.
-Did you know that in 2001 more people filed for bankruptcy than graduated from college?
-Did you know that more than 90 million lawsuits are filed in the U.S. each year?
-Did you know that over 50% of your IRA could be wiped out by taxes when you die if your estate is not set up properly?
IRS Tax Man
-Did you know that due to recent IRS rulings there is a way to insure that your heirs receive thousands of dollars more from your IRA when you die?
The Solution
-If you do not currently have a Will or Living Trust or you have one but it has not been reviewed by an attorney within the last 3 years, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to take action now to insure they are taken care of. Most Estate Planning experts and many State Bar Associations recommend your wills and trusts be reviewed or updated at least every 3 years; sooner if there are changes in your life such as a divorce or new children or grandchildren.
-Establishing trusts within your Will or Living Trust for the benefit of your loved ones will insure that their inheritance is not lost to poor spending decisions, bankruptcy, lawsuits or divorcing spouses.
-The IRS recently has allowed the creation of new “IRA inheritance trusts” that can potentially save thousands of dollars (depending on the size of your IRA) in unnecessary taxes and allow you to leave thousands more to your heirs rather than giving it to the IRS. There are special rules that have to be followed for these to work. These trusts have only been available for the past 10 years so any trust created before then will not have the proper language to take advantage of this.
The Next Step
No two estate plans are created equally just as no two people are the same. At Dwornik Law we understand that each situation is unique and therefore do not have a “one size fits all” approach to Estate Planning. This makes us different from many other law firms which choose to only use Wills or only use Trusts for every client. We have found the best approach is to listen to our clients and their wants and needs and then design a plan that fits their unique situation.
The basic part of any Estate Planning is either a Will or a Revocable Living Trust. We refer to this as “foundational” estate planning since it builds a solid foundation upon which future planning can take place if need be.
The next step is for you to call our office and schedule an in-office appointment so that we may go over your situation. There is a charge of $300 for the initial consultation, which lasts one hour. During that time we will go over any questions or concerns you have. You will also be given an idea of what planning we recommend and how much it will cost.