Stress Free Legacy Planning: Set Your Family Up For Success

Legacy planning or the act of transferring wealth from estate to beneficiary is far from a linear process. Just dealing with the probate process alone can eat up months, even years of precious time. Many legacy or estate plans will rely on trusts to bypass the probate process altogether. 

You can incorporate various desired conditions and needs in your plan by employing different types of trusts. Whatever strategy you use, it’s smart to work with a financial professional to guide you through this process. 

Here are three considerations for a successful and stress-free legacy planning: 

1. Gather information: The first logical step in your legacy planning process is to compile information. You’ll want to gather a comprehensive list of all your financial assets and where they’re kept. Your assets can entail anything from investment accounts to real estate to insurance policies.

2. Answer the tough questions: Your second step is to consider a few vital questions that will need to be addressed in your legacy plan. Whom do you want to bequeath your property and assets to? Are you interested in donating a portion of your savings or assets to charity? Do you have particular preferences regarding your medical care you’d like to record in an advance directive? You don’t need to have the answers right now but having a rough idea of these things will help to streamline the process.

3. Seek out a financial professional: We highly recommend seeking counsel from a financial professional. It’s important to keep in mind that you'll need to remain compliant to specific laws and tax rules depending on where you live, if you’re married or have children and how much wealth you have. Your financial professional will help you to understand the local, state and federal laws pertaining to probate, taxation and more. Keep in mind, financial professionals do not provide specific tax/legal advice and this information should not be considered as such. You should always consult your tax/legal advisor regarding your own specific tax/legal situation.

You’ve worked hard your entire life to build what you have. We encourage you to establish and nurture a legacy that will last for generations to come - and our team can help. Schedule a complimentary introduction call with our team today to begin mapping out your legacy.