10 March

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Estate Planning for the Blended Family

in Estate Planning, Revocable Living Trust, Wills & Trusts

In first marriages, a couple generally have identical goals for their estate planning: take care of the surviving spouse for as long as he or she lives, then distribute what’s left to their children. But second marriages can be different. The blended family – his children, her children and sometimes their children as well – makes for more complicated planning. Each spouse may have separate assets as well as their joint, community assets. Both usually want at least some of their assets to go to their own children after they die. At the same time, they want to make sure the...

01 February

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Valentine’s Day and Planning for Those You Love

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning

Valentine’s Day is February 14. It started long ago as a Roman festival and was later converted to St. Valentine’s Day by Pope Gelasius around the end of the 5th century. Much later, in the 14 th Century, it came to be celebrated as a day of romance. These days, we also give gifts to other family members we love to let them know just how dear they are to us. One way to show our family we love them is to get a Will or Trust in place. A proper estate plan makes it much easier on your loved ones if...

11 December

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Estate Planning Is More Than Writing A Will Video

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts

13 August

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How the Revocable Trust Works for You

Posted by Libby Banks

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...

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...

20 March

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Estate Planning in This Time of Uncertainty

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning, News & Events

I am writing this in mid-March, for publication in April, not knowing what the next thirty days may bring. COVID-19 is an uncertain virus that our scientists are still figuring out. Many of you are sheltering in place, avoiding any public meetings and keeping social distance even from family to protect those who are vulnerable. Many are also thinking about estate planning, but not wanting to proceed because they don’t want to leave home. Because of that, we are offering online meetings through Zoom or via Facetime. This system allows us to talk with you face-to-face to begin an estate plan...

30 January

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The SECURE Act and Planning for Your Retirement Accounts

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning

How you plan for your retirement accounts may have changed due to the passage of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act became effective January 1, 2020. While it has changed several aspects of retirement planning, perhaps the most significant change will affect the beneficiaries of your retirement accounts. Why? Because the SECURE Act requires most designated beneficiaries (other than spouses) to withdraw the entire balance of an inherited retirement account within ten years of inheriting the retirement account. What changed with the SECURE ACT? Under the old law, all beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts could...

30 January

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When to Review And Renew Your Estate Plan

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning

Change is inevitable. With estate planning, you put in place the best plan you can at the time. However, as changes come in your life and in the law, your plan may need some changes too. So when should you review – and possibly renew – your estate plan? Here are some specific times you need to call for a review. Changes in Your Life Have you had any major changes in your life? Has your spouse died? Did you get a divorce? Have you gotten married? All of these require an update in your plan, even if you are keeping your...

19 December

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Who Will Be in Charge of Your Estate?

Posted by Libby Banks

in Estate Planning

Someone is going to step in to take charge of your estate. If you are incapacitated, that person will step in to manage it to care for you (hopefully), and on your death they will be the one to wrap up your estate and distribute it. If you put an estate plan in place, via a Will or Trust, you decide who that person will be. If you don’t, the State of Arizona, via the legislature, has decided who that will be. Will the State’s choice be one you are happy with? When you establish a Revocable Living Trust, the person...

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