We know it’s hard. Thinking about someone else raising your children stops us all in our tracks. It feels crushing and too horrific to consider. But you must. If you don’t, a stranger will determine who raises your children if something happens to you – your child’s guardian could be a relative you despise or even a stranger you’ve never met.
A payable-on-death account, also called a POD account, is a common way to keep bank and investment accounts out of probate, the court-supervised process that oversees distributing a deceased person’s property. Most people want to avoid their estate going through probate because their heirs will receive the inheritance faster, privately, and at lower cost. Is a POD account an appropriate solution
If you’re thinking about giving your children their inheritance early, you’re not alone. Studies suggest that these days, nearly two-thirds of people over the age of 50 would rather pass their assets to the children early than make them wait until the will is read. It can be especially satisfying to fund our children’s dreams while we’re alive to enjoy them,
In 2017, NBA team owner Gail Miller made headlines when she announced that she was effectively no longer the owner of the Utah Jazz or the Vivint Smart Home Arena. These assets, she said, were being placed into a family trust, therefore raising interest in an estate planning tool previously known only to the very wealthy–the dynasty trust. Dynasty Trusts Explained
Preparing your company for your incapacity or death is vital to the survival of the enterprise. Otherwise, your business will be disrupted, harming your customers, employees, vendors, and ultimately, your family. For this reason, proactive financial planning — including your business and your estate plan — is key. Below are some tips on how to protect your company and keep the
When considering how to leave assets to adult children, the first step is to decide how much each one should receive. Most parents want to treat their children fairly, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they should receive equal shares of your estate. For example, it may be desirable to give more to a child who is a teacher than to one
Most parents want to make sure their children are provided for in the event something happens to them while the children are still minors. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and good friends sometimes want to leave gifts to beloved young children too. Unfortunately, good intentions and poor planning often have unintended results. Don’t make these common, expensive mistakes. Instead, here’s how to both
Our clients at Kaiser Law Group have achieved their success in a variety of different ways coming from varied backgrounds. Some of our clients scratched and clawed their way to success from humble beginnings, while others got a leg up from their parents and used those building blocks to achieve even greater success. I’m a passionate student and observer of ideas
My “Millionaire Next Door” clients and their advisors would probably get a kick out of the story of Ronald Read – a former JC Penny janitor and service station worker who passed away earlier this year with $8 million. None of his friends and family knew of his wealth, which he left primarily to a local hospital and library in Vermont
According to a recent study conducted by The Williams Group on over 3,250 families, “70% of intergenerational wealth transfers fail.” Their report defined “failure” to be situations wherein the heirs squandered the inherited wealth and assets. The majority of these failures stemmed from families whose heirs were not properly prepared for the responsibilities that came with their inheritance. The absence of