What is estate planning?
In short, estate planning is the transfer of your wealth and wealth in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. The living trust becomes a comprehensive tool for doing this, as no other planning device offers the same level of flexibility, control and management while you are alive and when you are gone.
In 2015, $2.6 billion was lost in probate courts across the country. This is because people did not understand what they had to do to prevent their relatives from being trapped in the system. It only takes about 4 Core™ documents to keep the family safe and out of court.
Good estate planning should be
1). effective cost and
2). Efficient.
Nationwide, 55% of Americans are not planning for the inevitable and are not allowing their families to fight in the Probate Court system while losing money and time.
The 2 most important questions Americans ask are:
1. Do I need a will or do I need a trust?
2. Do I have enough to plan?
The probate or judicial system is where our loved ones end up going to liquidate our assets if we have not planned it. Whether or not we have a will, our estate must be probated in court. If our gross estate (before deductions) is more than $150,000 in assets or more than $50,000 in real estate in some states and much lower in other states, such as $20,000 and above, then the estate must go through Probate. Probate comes from the Latin word “I will try” gold “proof“to prove, probe, prove or prove something and in this case someone is trying to prove the validity of your will or manipulating to get the position of trustee of your estate so they can distribute your property. The average cost for this is $26,000 and up on a small gross estate of $500,000 and if you own more by virtue of your home the cost can easily go over $50,0000 in Probate Court to become the trustee of your estate (in even over family) and the court could prop them up if they validate your debt until your debt is fully satisfied, putting absolute control over assets that are supposed to be distributed to loved ones or to a charity.
There are really 2 wills.
Succession #1
Your first encounter with probate occurs while you are alive and is referred to as the “living probate.” This is when life throws you a curveball like a stroke (800,000 people have one annually and 35% are 45 or younger), heart attack, dementia, or Alzheimer’s. You now have to go to court for a proceeding called a guardianship so that people can sign for you in a legal capacity. The court proceeding averages $20,000 in cost and many exceed that due to the need for the court to see the person visually (they will take you to court in this condition), make sure the person requesting the appointment is trustworthy (many are not and it leads to elder abuse). There is a simple document that is part of a simple estate plan that avoids this scenario entirely and is easy to implement as you select the person to act as your agent today while you are healthy and clean.
Sequence #2
The second encounter with Probate is when he passes away with a will or without a will; it doesn’t matter if they both end up in probate court. This can be expensive, time consuming, and open to the public with merchants using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to access court documents so they can market services. The court will not allow the full distribution of the estate for at least a year in many states so that creditors may have an opportunity to file suit in court. You have to ring the dinner bell on a post that says, “come and get it.” A claim could then be filed with the Probate Court to become the Administrator of the Estate (if there is no Will) or a possible petition to become the Executor (where there is a Will) so they can use leverage to satisfy their debt. Imagine this third party coming to court and asking the court to become controller of your deceased loved one’s estate; it happens every day.
You can eliminate both problems for your loved ones by having a Living Trust and a Durable Power of Attorney to cover any situation that may occur. It is also strongly recommended that you create an Advance Health Care Directive (called a living will in some states) that outlines what you want if you are facing a vegetative state or coma and doctors have not given much hope of recovery to a meaningful way of life. If we don’t let others know what we want, they will fumble while we are incapacitated and we may needlessly be left behind while family members fight in court and medical bills mount, draining the life out of their estate that belongs to our family; after all our life’s work to accumulate it.
In conclusion, there are two plans you can choose from:
A. The Government Plan (Probate generates 2.6 Billion per year), or
B. Your plan that takes more of your wealth to your loved ones or to the charity of your choice.