There are a lot of good reasons to use a revocable living trust as your primary vehicle of asset transfer instead of a last Will. Perhaps the most compelling motivation would be to arrange for the transfer of assets to your loved ones outside of the process of probate.

Probate comes with a good many pitfalls that you may want to avoid. One of them is the fact that it is a public proceeding and the goings-on are a matter of public record. A lot of people would prefer to keep their final affairs private and confidential for one reason or another.

In addition to the public nature of the proceeding probate is quite time-consuming and the heirs to the estate do not receive their inheritances until the process has run its course. There are also significant costs that go along with the probate process that can shave down the value of your estate considerably as it is being passed along to your loved ones.

If you do choose to use a revocable living trust to direct the transfer of your assets you should still execute what is called a pour-over will. This document will direct any assets that you happen to have personally owned when you passed away into the trust.

There is a lot to take into consideration when you are making plans for the future. The best way to proceed is to sit down and discuss everything with an experienced Estate Planning lawyer.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are some myths that circulate regarding estate planning and it is important to understand fact from fiction when you are making preparations for the future.

First off, let it be said that everyone needs to have an estate plan in place and executing these documents is simply one of the core responsibilities of adulthood. However, if you were to fail to make any preparations and pass away without any estate planning documents, the powers that be would not absorb your assets. This is one of the myths that some people buy into.

Those who die without having executed a last Will or any other documents to direct the transfer of their assets are said to have died “intestate.” If you were to die intestate your property would be distributed to your next of kin according to the laws of intestacy succession that are recognized in the state of Florida.

If you are married, your spouse would be the first person in line and your children would follow. If you weren’t married and had no children, your parents would be considered your next of kin and they would inherit your property.

The problem with the above is that even if you would be okay with your next of kin assuming ownership of your property it would all take a lot of time as the estate went through the probate process. Interested parties would have the opportunity to step forward and make claims against the estate. Probate can also be expensive so essentially you are leaving your family members with a great big mess if you fail to make advance preparations.

The wise course of action is to execute an intelligently conceived estate plan and revise it continually as your life changes. If you are currently unprepared right now would be a good time to pick up the phone and arrange for a consultation with a good Estate Planning lawyer.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A lot of people find that they would like to give something to charity when they are making long-term financial plans. There is no substitute for the positive feeling that you get when you are able to assist worthy causes and as they say, giving is its own reward.

However, in many cases you will indeed get an additional reward in the form of tax benefits. There are a number of different estate planning instruments that can allow you to satisfy your philanthropic urges while simultaneously providing you with tax efficiency. One of these is the CRUT or charitable remainder unitrust.

The way that it works is you fund the trust and name both a charitable and a non-charitable beneficiary. The non-charitable beneficiary receives annuity payments at least annually from the trust that must equal between 5% and 50% of its value. Most people who create such a trust will act as the non-charitable beneficiary.

You can set it up so that these annuity payments are made to you for the rest of your life or for a prescribed term. At the end of the term, at least 10% of the contributions into the trust must remain and these resources will become the property of the charitable beneficiary.

When you create the trust you are removing those benefits from your estate for estate tax purposes. You are also entitled to a charitable deduction based on some complex IRS rules. And, if you act as the beneficiary there are no gift tax implications.

To learn more about charitable remainder unitrusts simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a good estate planning lawyer.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

An overly simplistic way of looking at estate planning would be to assume that every family fits some type of cookie-cutter description. You know what we mean by this. You married your childhood sweetheart and have been together all of your lives. You had three children, and you have six grandchildren. None of your children have been divorced, and you have lost no family members who are younger than you.

The reality is that a lot of people go through a different experience and this is why it is important to work with a good estate planning attorney who will give you personalized attention. Different scenarios are going to call for different courses of action, and your attorney will be able to evaluate your unique situation and make the appropriate recommendations.

Whether we like it or not, divorce is very common during our current era. You will see somewhat different figures when you try to find statistics on the subject but it is safe to say that somewhere in the vicinity of 40% to 50% of marriages end in divorce. Most of these people get remarried, and in the majority of these cases blended families are the result.

Estate planning for people who are members of blended families takes specialized expertise. It is important to make sure that children from previous marriages are provided for while you simultaneously make provisions for your new spouse. Your estate planning lawyer will be sensitive to these types of situations, and he or she will listen as you explain your intentions and offer viable solutions.

If you would like to discuss your future with an expert given the unique nature of your family, right now would be a good time to pick up the phone to arrange for a consultation with a licensed and experienced estate planning lawyer.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you want to live on the razor’s edge and take your chances, that is your option. However, what is really not fair is when people take risks that put their family members in jeopardy. This is exactly what happens when you fail to execute the appropriate estate planning documents.

When you pass away your family members are going to be grieving and as you know if you have ever lost anyone it is an extraordinarily difficult thing to handle emotionally. The last thing that anyone needs is to be engaged in some type of legal battle simultaneous to having to cope with the loss of a loved one.

To provide a high profile example the author of the book The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a Swedish man named Stieg Larsson. The book was made into a movie and he was financially very successful, amassing a fortune that was estimated to be at least $40 million when he passed away in 2004.

Larsson was only 50 years old when he died, a victim of a heart attack. Apparently he felt as though he had plenty of time to plan his estate, but he passed away before he got around to it. His live-in girlfriend and his brother and father fought it all out in court and his blood relatives won out eventually, but we will never know what Larsson himself actually would have wanted.

The bottom line is this: An estate plan is essential for all mature, self-supporting adults. If you’re not currently prepared, right now would be a good time to make an appointment to speak with a licensed and experienced estate planning lawyer.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

While there are some rather complicated estate planning instruments utilized to achieve certain objectives, there are some simple and straightforward ways to transfer assets to your loved ones as well. One of these would be through the utilization of payable on death or transfer on death accounts.

You can set up an account like this at banks or credit unions, and some brokerage will allow for transfer on death options as well. When you set up the account you name a beneficiary who would assume ownership of the resources in the account should you pass away. One of the appeals of this is that the transfer of assets would take place outside of the costly and time-consuming process of probate.

Though the above sounds kind of attractive, there are some pitfalls that go along with payable on death accounts as well. For one, some institutions will allow you to add multiple beneficiaries. However, they may require that you allow for the resources in the account to be split equally among the beneficiaries and this may not be what you want to do.

Another thing to consider is the prospect of incapacitaty. If you were to become incapacitated the funds would not be accessible to the beneficiary and you may prefer to make some other arrangements to provide for your beneficiary in the event of your incapacitation.

Payable on death accounts can seem like a good solution on the surface but when you dig deeper you will find that there may be better alternatives. To explore them, simply sit down and discuss your unique situation with a licensed and experienced estate planning lawyer.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

People are often hesitant to step into uncharted waters, preferring to avoid things that they are not familiar with. This enters into the field of estate planning, and it is something that could wind up costing your heirs a great deal of money.

It is not a good idea to simply assume that you are going to use a last Will to arrange for the transfer of assets to your loved ones without looking into the alternatives. Depending on your exact situation various other options may be preferable.

The above is why it is advisable to work with a good estate planning lawyer from the outset. If you are not an estate planning expert you are certainly among the majority, and there is no reason to feel awkward about seeking out professional guidance and advice.

The thing that many individuals are not aware of is the fact that there are significant sources of asset erosion out there, and people who want to sell you do-it-yourself generic estate planning documents generally are not going to explain them to you.

The estate tax and expenses that go along with the probate process can consume a very significant portion of your assets and impact the financial viability of your family for generations to come. This is why it is so important to work with an experienced legal professional who will evaluate your assets, gain an understanding of the unique nature of your family, and recommend the optimal course of action.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Anyone who is serious about arranging for the transfer of their assets to their loved ones after they pass away is going to have to consider the realities of the federal estate tax. This tax packs a considerable wallop that can radically reduce the inheritances that your loved ones eventually receive.

Right now the top rate of the federal estate tax is 35%, and the estate tax exclusion is $5.12 million. This means that the portion of your estate that exceeds $5.12 million is subject to being shaved down by more than a third as it is being passed along to your heirs.

Digesting the above can be a sobering realization. But, it may get worse before it gets better.

The present estate tax parameters are in effect due to provisions contained within the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. This act is scheduled to sunset or expire at the end of this year.Under currently existing laws, upon the expiration of this tax relief act the estate tax exclusion goes down to $1 million and the rate of the tax rises to 55%.

The above having been stated, it is always possible that there can be some type of legislation passed between now and the expiration of the tax relief act to alter the scheduled parameters. Since this is an election year the matter will undoubtedly be debated as the months go on. Some people clamor for tax relief while others want to see income increased at the expense of those who have greater than average resources.

Because of the uncertainty and the scheduled changes it would be wise to sit down and discuss your existing estate plan with a good estate planning attorney in 2012 and keep in touch as the year starts to come to a close.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you look into the statistics regarding how prepared Americans are for aging and eventual death you find some disheartening numbers. Less than half of Americans have an estate plan in place, and this is not a good thing because exactly 100% of Americans are going to die at some point in time.

And, you never know what the future holds. You may say that you are too young to worry about planning for the future, but guess what? Each and every year tens of thousands of people who are under the age of 35 pass away for one reason or another.

When you are an adult in this age group you may well have a young family including dependent children who are relying on your income to maintain their standard of living. Do you think it is wise to make plans to provide for them should you pass away at a young age? Shouldn’t you ask yourself who would raise your children if both parents were to pass away together in an accident?

Though most people do not have an estate plan, the majority of individuals recognize that they should take action but they fall into a pattern of procrastination. One of the reasons for this is because addressing the reality of death is not the most pleasant prospect in the world. However, avoiding it is not going to make it go away.

The only way to break out of the cycle of procrastination is to seize the day and take action. If you’re not prepared for the future, right now would be a good time to pick up the phone to arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning lawyer

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are numerous different legal instruments that are routinely implemented into modern estate plans. This is one of the reasons why you would do well to seek professional guidance when you’re making preparations for the future.

With this in mind let’s take a look at the QTIP or qualified terminable interest property trust. Let’s say that you get divorced from your first wife and have children from that marriage. You and your former spouse agree on a distribution of community resources and go your separate ways.

So you are holding assets that are yours and yours alone as you embark on life as a single individual, and perhaps your former spouse played a significant role in helping you accumulate your portion of the assets.

Eventually you decide to remarry, but you want the lion’s share of the assets that you are bringing into your marriage to go to your children after your death. You can make this happen through the creation of a qualified terminable interest property trust.

With these trusts you set it up so that your spouse can benefit from trust earnings and perhaps have access to some of the principal if this is what you want while he or she is alive. But your spouse has no say regarding who inherits the trust after his or her death. You name this beneficiary when you are creating the trust, and it would presumably be your children.

If you would like to learn more about the QTIP and other strategies for blended families, don’t hesitate to contact a good Mobile estate planning lawyer to set up an initial informational exchange.

Ryan, Hicks, Cumpton & Cumpton LLP is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.