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Whether you have considerable assets earned over a lifetime of work and investments, are just beginning your career, or if you have children or not, everyone should have an estate plan in place. In Westport, Massachusetts, Patricia Bloom-McDonald has been handling Westport estate planning for her clients, regardless of their age or amount of their assets or family condition.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning provides the legal steps for how you want your estate, or your assets, distributed after you pass away. Simply having a will is enough for many people, but if you possess real estate, a business, a special needs child, or wish to do whatever you can to avoid probate and lessen the tax implications after your passing, then you should seriously consider a well-constructed estate plan drafted by an experienced and knowledgeable estate planning lawyer.
10 Estate Planning Must-Haves
When considering an estate plan, here are 10 estate planning items or topics that are essential:
- Make a list of your assets . This includes real estate, life insurance, business assets, retirement plans, annuities, stocks, bonds or other investments. Get a handle on their value and decide to whom you want to leave these assets.
- Draft a will . Many estate planning lawyers will a Will at a very reasonable price and will ensure that it is done according to laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and make sure that the document includes provisions regarding your administrators, burial considerations, guardians for your children, and distribution of personal and real property to whomever you designate.
- Make a trust . A trust is a legal instrument where your property goes and is owned by the trust rather than yourself and is maintained by a trustee, who could be you. When you pass, the trust’s assets automatically go to whomever you named as beneficiary without probate. You can set up a trust for a special needs child as well to avoid any adverse consequences to his or her receipt of public benefits at the time your child receives the trust’s assets.
- Consider life insurance. If you are young enough, life insurance is relatively cheap and can provide considerable funds for your children if you die during the term of the policy. Term insurance is cheaper than permanent insurance, which is more of an investment. Talk to your estate planning attorney regarding which kind is best for you and how the funds are to be administered if your children are still minors when you pass away.
- Payable on death accounts. Did you know you can avoid probate for certain accounts, including your bank accounts, by changing it to a POD or payable on death account? Talk to the banking institution about how to arrange this simple method whereby you name a beneficiary of the account who receives the funds upon your passing. You may want to revise your will, however, since any child who is the named beneficiary will get all your accounts’ funds and may end up with a larger share of your estate than any of your other children.
- Make a durable power of attorney . This is for your finances and gives a trusted individual the power to make your financial decisions should be you become mentally or physically incapacitated.
- Health care proxy . In Massachusetts, you can obtain a health care proxy wherein you name someone to make medical decisions for you, such as whether life support should be continued or not. You can restrict your agent by listing the medical care you do not want or will accept.
- Knowing estate and gift tax laws . Federal law exempts estates of up to $5,340,000.00 in 2014 and $5,430,000.00 in 2015 from estate taxes but Massachusetts only exempts property up to $1,000,000.00. If your property is subject to taxes, avoid paying anything by making a gift to someone that puts you under the taxable amount. You can make such a gift at any time before you pass away. CAUTION: Any gift will be considered a disqualifying transfer within five years of apply for MassHealth/Medicaid Long Term Care medical benefits.
- Your final arrangements . Establish a POD account and name someone as beneficiary and have it used solely to pay for your funeral expenses. If you want your organs donated or you wish to be cremated, state this in a separate affidavit not a Will because a Will is typically read AFTER the funeral has been made, so be sure loved ones know of your wishes ahead of time.
- Keep your documents safely stored . Store your documents such as your will and trust instruments, insurance policies, stock certificates, other investment documents and property deeds in a safe location protected from Fire, theft, and water damage and advise loved ones where they can obtain access to them when and if you pass or become incapacitated.
These are some suggestions that many estate law legal practitioners recommend that you consider at any point in your life to give you the satisfaction and peace of mind that your loved ones will be cared for in the event of your passing.
If you live in the Westport, Massachusetts area, a small town of about 15,000 that sits on the Westport River and is the westernmost point of the original Massachusetts Bay Colony and is idyllic and quiet, and is home for boaters and fishermen you should contact elder law attorney Patricia Bloom-McDonald for all your Westport estate planning needs.