Estate Planning as a Career

We have all heard the horror stories of probate. In fact, most infamously, the estate of the late Elvis Presley was significantly reduced in value to probate taxation. Just because the King himself didn’t follow the proper estate planning procedures doesn’t mean you should too. For good reason, it’s a good idea to avoid estate probate whenever possible. The good news is that it’s not a difficult or complicated thing to avoid probate.

When it comes to clearing out your estate, the probate process can be both time-consuming and costly. Even if you have a will set up, your estate must still go through the probate process. There are a few ways to avoid this, most commonly setting up a living trust. A living trust can be a great way to pass along assets without the long delays that are so commonly associated with the probate process. There are a few more ways to avoid probate like life insurance, for example, but establishing a living trust covers your entire estate.

Establishing a living trust used to be a big ordeal. You have to find an attorney well versed in estate planning issues that could draft you up a suitable living trust based on your situation. For obvious reasons, things could get pretty expensive, pretty quickly. In the past, it was just easier to draw up a simple will. But, it no longer has to be that way. He advances of the Internet have had a rather large impact on our lives. These advances have made it much easier to research living trust issues. In fact, you can do everything online now, from the research to setting up your custom living trust. And the beauty of all this is that you don’t have to pay an expensive attorney to just fill out forms on your behalf. If you’re like most of us that like to do things themselves, filling out simple forms is a great way to reduce the costs associated with setting up a living trust. Tak (more…)

How can you keep your assets secure and tax-free?

Keeping your assets safe from creditors and the government has become progressively more difficult since 9/11. Under the pretext of countering terrorism, governments and their tax authorities have aggressively targeted offshore havens and made an effort to link offshore banks with money-laundering and serious criminal activity. The OECD published an offshore blacklist of countries that they consider ‘un-cooperative’ in the collection of taxes and is planning to issue a new report sometime in 2009. Many jurisdictions no longer offer the same protection they once did, and some have gone as far as to say that it is no longer possible to benefit from offshore structures.

While you should certainly exercise caution, there are still methods of practicing legal tax avoidance while keeping maximum privacy. Offshore does not necessarily have to mean a ‘tax-haven’, and some of the best structures are to be found are in traditionally high-tax countries. One of the best ways of maintaining your privacy while still having control over your money is by placing it in an offshore trust.

Here we take a look at why and how offshore trusts are used.

Why put your money in an offshore trust?

1. Asset Protection. If you truly want make sure that no one can get to your nest-egg it’s always good to distance yourself from your assets. Offshore trusts do exactly that by removing the burden of legal ownership, while keeping you in a position of control.

2. Privacy. Trusts are good alternatives to wills because the terms of a trust are private. Not everyone wants their financial status to be public knowledge. Privacy also goes hand in hand with asset protection and keeping your taxes to a minimum.

3. Estate Planning. Offshore trusts are often used for estate p (more…)

When it comes to estate planning, Seattle and its surrounding communities offer a number of support networks that are either free or specifically for seniors and retired individuals. To find out more about each, keep reading.

Senior Rights Assistance of Seattle

The Senior Rights Assistance of Seattle (SRAS) has a great program where they match seniors with retired estate planners, accountants, lawyers and financial advisors to help them with their estate planning and financial goals. To participate in the program, you must first set up an appointment. You can do so by calling 206-448-5720.

Their offices are open Monday to Thursday (9:30 am to 3:30 pm). In addition to providing the services mentioned above, they can also help link up seniors with senior-friendly and recommended attorneys, estate planning companies and accountants.

The EPC (Estate Planning Council) of Seattle

The Estate Planning Council (EPC) is a national trade association with an active Seattle branch. Their membership is comprised of estate planners, attorneys, financial advisors, trust officers, chartered accountants, funeral directors and insurance brokers. Each of their members is focused on providing sound advice and services related to estate planning, advance directives, wills and more.

You can visit the Estate Planning Council of Seattle website online at epcseattle.org. From there, you can access a full list of their membership alongside piles of free information resources.

Understanding Social Security

Though Social Security benefits are a federal prerogative, it’s still a critical part of planning your estate. You should have a full understanding not only of your own Social Security benefits, but also those of your spouse and what will happen to your benefits when you pass.

For help with your Social Security benefits, t (more…)