13 August

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How the Revocable Trust Works for You

in Estate Planning, Revocable Living Trust, Wills & Trusts

The Revocable Living Trust is valuable for many estate planning needs, but one of the most obvious is the avoidance of all the time and expense of probate. I like to think of your Trust as your treasure chest. Your assets, the things you worked and saved hard to have – go into your Trust – into your treasure chest. While you are alive and able, you are taking care of the treasure chest as the trustee. If you can’t take care of your treasure chest anymore, either because of your death or because you are incapacitated, you have named a...

08 July

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Asset Protection for Your Heirs

Posted by Libby Banks

in Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts

The revocable living trust is a great estate planning tool, but it does not protect your assets from your creditors. The assets in your trust are still considered your assets because you continue to have complete control over them. On the other hand, you can use your trust to provide asset protection for your beneficiaries after your death. When you pass your assets on to your beneficiaries, instead of giving them of all the assets outright, where they put it in their own bank account or in their own name, at death, your trust directs the trustee to create an irrevocable...

24 June

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Estate Planning during the pandemic

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, News & Events, Power Of Attorney, Wills & Trusts

The need for Estate planning has become more apparent than ever due to COVID-19. People who have not considered what might happen if they become seriously ill or incapacitated are appreciating the benefits of an estate plan. An estate plan can provide significant peace of mind by ensuring someone can take care of you – and your finances – if you become ill. It also ensures your assets are protected and passed on according to your wishes. Estate planning is often a difficult topic to broach, as it brings the unpleasant topics of illness and death to the forefront of our minds....

04 June

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Estate Planning for Incapacity

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, Power Of Attorney, Revocable Living Trust, Wills & Trusts

When my clients think about estate planning, they tend to think about the end of life, about what’s going to happen to their assets, and who will handle the estate and make distributions to their beneficiaries. Often, they don’t realize that an equally (or maybe more) important aspect of planning is all about who will manage your assets and take care of you and your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. With proper planning, you decide; without proper planning a court may get to make the choice, and at great expense and rarely expeditiously. What do we mean by “incapacitated?” In...

23 May

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Different Trusts Meet Different Needs in Your Estate Plan

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts

There are a number of different types of trusts we may use when doing an estate plan. Here is a bit about a few or the most common. The Revocable Living Trust The primary trust we use in estate planning is the Revocable Living Trust (“RLT”). It is the foundation of most plans and offers many benefits. Not only does it contain instructions for managing the assets in the trust if you become incapacitated, but it will also avoid the need for a probate court proceeding on your death. The person(s) you select will be able to step in quickly to gather,...

06 March

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Benefits of the Revocable Living Trust for Your Estate Planning

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, Revocable Living Trust, Wills & Trusts

There are many benefits to a Revocable Living Trust, but often people think that only the wealthy need a Trust for their estate planning. The truth is, there is no magic net worth number that tells us when a trust provides the best planning for your assets. The two key factors that tell us a trust may be the best option are the family situation and what type of property you own. I like to tell clients that if I know the what we are planning for (your assets) and the who we are planning for (your beneficiaries) I can...

04 November

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Avoiding the Pain of Probate

Posted by Libby Banks

in Avoid Probate, Estate Planning, Revocable Living Trust, Wills & Trusts

Probate is a court proceeding used to settle the estate of someone who has no Will. However, a person that has a Will may also end up in probate court. That’s because a Will doesn’t transfer a person’s assets to his or her heirs automatically – it only states who should receive those assets. Probate is time consuming and expensive for a personal representative (or executor, as it’s named in many states). It can be an agonizing and long drawn out procedure. But it is avoidable – with the right estate planning tools, and specifically with the Revocable Living Trust. Couples often...

15 October

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Avoiding the Pain of Probate

Posted by Libby Banks

in Avoid Probate, Estate Planning, Revocable Living Trust, Wills & Trusts

Avoid Probate by using a Revocable Living Trust as your primary estate planning tool. Many people have big misconceptions of how a Last Will and Testament works. They assume that if they have a Will, their heirs will not have to go to court and file a probate. Instead, for the person who only has a Will, we do have to file a probate with the court at death. That’s because a Will does not transfer a person’s assets to his or her heirs automatically – it only states who should receive those assets. I often tell clients a Will is...

16 September

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Estate Planning for Incapacity

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, Power Of Attorney, Wills & Trusts

In my previous article I have reminded you that estate planning isn’t just about who will get your assets on your death, it’s also about who will manage your assets and take care of you and your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. With proper planning, you decide; without proper planning a court may get to make the choice. What do we mean by “incapacitated?” Generally speaking, we are referring to a situation where you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Incapacity can result from an accident or arise from health issues, such as stroke, heart attack or dementia. If...

15 August

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Educating Your Family About Your Estate Planning

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, Power Of Attorney, Wills & Trusts

It’s back to school time, so I thought I would write this month about educating your family about your estate plan. If you don’t have an estate plan, educate yourself at my seminar at Gentech Support located at 402 E. Greenway Parkway. More information about that at the end of my article! If you have done estate planning or are in the process of putting a plan in place, it’s a good idea to educate the people who you have appointed as trustees or executors and also to your family about what you’ve done. Here are some of the primary items...