Effective estate planning organizes your financial affairs, ensuring your heirs do not face a complicated financial process after your passing. A well-thought-out plan can be a gift in and of itself to your heirs because it provides a streamlined process for providing for, retitling assets, and merging accounts in a far less complicated way. during an emotional time. A proper estate plan ensures that your beneficiaries receive what you have set aside for them and minimizes tax liability for everyone involved.
Legacy planning allows you to make a difference through the gifts you leave outside of your estate, typically money gifts that you decide to grant to charities, religious organizations, or people outside of your primary beneficiaries.
You don’t need to be wealthy to interact in legacy planning. Legacy planning is your chance to ensure your vision is carried out
. How, exactly, is legacy planning different from estate planning though? the solution lies in subtle changes to the way during which you create your plan and within the goals you set for your plan.
Basic Estate Planning
The primary goal of most estate plans is to make a roadmap for the distribution of estate assets upon the death of the Testator, or the individual creating the plan. Ideally, a basic estate plan also will include additional components such as:
- Incapacity planning
- Medicaid planning
- Tax and probate avoidance
- Retirement planning
A basic estate plan has the power to guard and grow assets during your lifetime also as make sure that those assets are available to supply for loved ones after your death. Legacy planning takes these basic concepts one step farther.