Estate Planning
David Postic
Top 7 Reasons People Delay Making An Estate Plan

According to a survey conducted earlier in 2019, only 40% of American adults have a Will or Trust. That percentage drops dramatically for younger age groups. For example, only 19% of people ages 18-34 have a Will or Trust.

So what’s the big deal?

As Baby Boomers pass away, experts predict that over $68 trillion (with a ‘trill’) in wealth will be transferred over the next 25 years. And the estate planning of those Boomers will control where all that wealth goes.

Despite the hugeness of those numbers and the importance of estate planning, it is easy to procrastinate when it comes to actually setting your affairs in order. Here are the top 7 reasons (in no particular order) people give us to explain why they delay estate planning:

1. “I’m too young.”

First of all, you are never too young to have an estate plan. I wrote a series of articles specifically geared toward estate planning for Millennials. (Or you can substitute “Millennials” for “Gen Z” or whatever weird thing we are on now.)

Whenever young people say “I don’t have enough assets for an estate plan” or “I’m going to wait until I have a family,” what they are really saying is, “I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.” Because young people don’t die, they live forever.

Top 7 Reasons People Delay Making An Estate Plan
Estate Planning, Taxes
David Postic
Everything You Wanted To Know About Estate ...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that the estate and gift tax exemption is increasing in 2024 to $13.61 million per person, up from $12.92 million in 2023.

The IRS also confirmed that the annual gift exclusion amount is increasing from $17,000 per person in 2023 to $18,000 per person in 2024.

Read more: IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-34

Okay great, you might be saying to yourself. But what does that mean, and why does it matter?

Great questions.

There are a lot of misconceptions about estate taxes and gift taxes — often referred to as “death taxes.” What they are, who has to pay them, how to avoid them.

This article is my attempt to demystify the topic for you and to help you figure out how these tax changes could affect your estate plan.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Estate & Gift Taxes
Estate Planning
David Postic
8 Questions to Prepare Your Estate Plan for 2024

2023 is almost over.

The end of the year is a time for people to gather together with family and friends, to look back on the past 365 days, and to look forward to better, happier things.

People usually don’t want to think about things like—oh, I don’t know—their mortality. Death. Stuff like that.

However, it is crucial to regularly review and, if needed, update your estate plan. The end of the year is the perfect time to do that.

So before you completely wipe 2023 from your memory, ask yourself these 8 questions to make sure your estate plan is ready for whatever 2024 throws at you.

1. Will the right people get my “stuff”?

First, make sure your will or trust correctly states who will inherit your assets.

You should then review your pay-on-death (POD) beneficiaries on insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other assets.

Do they match the beneficiaries in your will or trust?

Related post: 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming Beneficiaries

Many people incorrectly believe that a legal document such as a will or a trust controls what happens to all of their assets.

However, beneficiary designations can override those documents.

For example: Your trust may say that your son John will receive your entire estate and that you are disinheriting your other son, David.

But if your insurance policy lists David as beneficiary, he will still get part of your estate.

You should therefore coordinate your beneficiary designations with your will or trust to make sure all of your assets are distributed the way you want.

8 Questions to Prepare Your Estate Plan for 2024
Estate Planning
David Postic
What's the Difference Between a Will and a ...

Lawyers love to be confusing.

We use insane-sounding words from Latin and Greek and some other languages that I’m pretty sure are completely made up.

Words such as testator, force majeure, per stirpes, and inter vivos.

Our words are so weird, we have to italicize them.

So I’m not surprised when someone asks me whether a Last Will and Testament and a Living Will are the same thing.

After all, both documents have “Will” in their names, right? It would only be reasonable to think that they are similar.

But they are not similar. They are very, very different.

So I’m going to cut through the legal jargon and explain the differences between Wills and Living Wills — and help you decide which one might be best for you.

Last Will and Testament vs. Living Will

Before diving into specifics, it’s first helpful to know how to define estate planning:

An estate plan ensures (1) that the right people are able to care for your SELF in the event you become incapacitated and (2) that the right people are able to get your STUFF in the event of your death.

Every estate planning tool fits into one of those two categories, and a good estate plan should address both areas of focus.

And as luck would have it, I will be discussing both categories in this post.

What's the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will?
Estate Planning
David Postic
3 Magic Ingredients in a Great Letter of ...

So you’ve got some nifty estate planning documents?

You are awesome.

Formal estate planning document can ensure your family is cared for after your death, avoid court, and minimize the burden your loved ones will face when you are gone.

But legal documents are only one part of the equation.

Your estate plan is not complete just because you signed some fancy papers.

Because while formal estate planning documents can avoid legal obstacles after your death, they do not eliminate the myriad other tasks necessary to settle your affairs.

Think of it this way:

If you died today, would your family know what to do?

If they couldn’t remember anything you told them about your estate, would they be able to easily find all the information they need?

Read more: Why You Need to Have an Estate Planning Fire Drill

If you answered “no” to either of those questions, then your estate plan is not complete.

To make things easier on your loved ones after your death, the best thing you can do is create an estate planning letter of instruction.

3 Magic Ingredients in a Great Letter of Instruction

probate

Estate Planning Basics You Need to Know

Estate Planning Basics You Need to Know

Most people have been told that they need an estate plan, that it’s a smart thing to have.

But what exactly is estate planning?

Why is it important to have an estate plan?

Those are great questions, Dear Reader. And I could talk about them for hours… But not in this post. In this post, I want to give you the short-and-sweet answers.

How Do You Define Estate Planning?

Estate planning is an immensely broad topic.

It includes everything from probate avoidance to asset protection, from tax planning to insurance policies, and from family law to business formation.

But estate planning can be boiled down to a simple definition:

An estate plan ensures that the right people are able to care for your SELF in the event you become incapacitated and that the right people are able to get your STUFF in the event of your death.

That’s it.

An estate plan is concerned with answering two main questions: (1) Who do you want to make decisions for you if you can’t make them for yourself? and (2) Who do you want to get your assets when you die?

Can I Write My Own Will?

Can I Write My Own Will?

Most people know the phrase "Do It Yourself" or “DIY.”

For me, “Do It Yourself” calls to mind weekend trips to Home Depot and learning how to do something new instead of paying someone else to do it.

Also Pinterest. It calls to mind Pinterest.

That’s part of what makes DIY projects so great: Who doesn’t love saving money and feeling proud of something they did themselves?

But there is a limit to what you can do yourself, right?

I can do some home improvement stuff myself, like painting walls or breaking the nice faucet on the kitchen sink.

However, things would get really dicey if I tried to act as my own plumber, excavator, or electrician without proper training and experience.

Doing those tasks incorrectly could have disastrous consequences.

The same is true of "Do It Yourself" estate planning:

A poorly designed estate plan can lead to massive probate expenses, family infighting (and ruined relationships), having your legal documents rejected, and much, much more.

The Dangers of “Do It Yourself” Estate Planning

If you aren’t familiar with “Do It Yourself” estate planning, here’s how the process usually goes:

Estate Planning: the Perfect Christmas Gift

Estate Planning: the Perfect Christmas Gift

This post is for parents.

It’s for kids.

It’s for grandkids.

It’s for anyone who wants to give or receive a present for Christmas or any other holiday you celebrate.

In short, this post is for everyone. Because everyone gives and/or receives presents and everyone can benefit by having (or by your parents and/or grandparents having) an estate plan.

So if you have been frantically searching for a Christmas present or racking your brain to come up with your own wish list, you can stop now. Your search is over. I have found the perfect Christmas gift.

Kids: Ask Your Parents For An Estate Plan

One of the funny things about getting older is that I have a lot more appreciation for stuff that I used to think was boring. Take socks, for example. If I get a good pair of socks for Christmas and nothing else, I would be content. And socks are so important and sensible, if I tell my parents I want socks for Christmas, they feel like they can’t say no.

Because what kind of parent would say no to giving their kid some socks?

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How Do I Transfer Real Estate into My Trust?

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How Do I Transfer Real Estate into My Trust?

Have you ever solved a Rubik’s Cube?

Of course not. They are scientifically impossible. Just a way to keep kids quiet on long road trips.

But you’ve definitely seen a Rubik’s Cube at some point. And although the concept seems simple enough—get the same colors on the same side of the cube—all the moving parts and three-dimensional reactions make your brain hurt.

Estate planning sometimes seems like a Rubik’s Cube.

You have all of these lengthy legal documents with strange words that do all sorts of different things that an attorney explained to you once but which you have now mostly forgotten.

Take trusts, for instance. You generally get a trust to avoid probate. But by itself, a trust is just some paper. It may be fancy paper—and it’s likely expensive paper—but it’s still just some paper. And paper alone usually does not avoid probate.

Funding Your Trust With Real Property

Real property (which I will use interchangeably with “real estate”) is often the most valuable type of asset a client owns. That makes it all the more important for those assets to avoid probate.

How do you do that? By funding your trust.

7 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming Beneficiaries

7 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming Beneficiaries

“Probate” is a dirty word to most people.

Sure, sometimes it can be helpful. But you generally want to avoid it.

Think of it like the raw broccoli that for some reason is included on every party platter everywhere, but without the dip. No dip, just raw broccoli. Avoid. It.

One of the ways to avoid probate is by naming beneficiaries on your financial accounts and contractual policies.

In estate planning, a beneficiary is a person or entity who receives part of your estate after your death. You can name a beneficiary through your estate planning documents OR through a contract such as a life insurance policy, IRA, or agreement with your bank.

If you designate a beneficiary on an account or policy, then the assets or proceeds of that account or policy will pass directly to the named beneficiary, probate-free, after your death.

Sounds cool, right?

Right. It is very cool.

However, sometimes beneficiary designations can have unintended (and undesirable) consequences. Here are some mistakes to avoid when naming beneficiaries:

1. Not naming a beneficiary

This one seems obvious, but it’s worth mentioning because it is so easy to avoid.

If you do not name a beneficiary (or take other steps to avoid probate), you are virtually ensuring that your estate will be probated. And although probate is not the worst thing in the world, it is costly and time consuming. It is also usually avoidable.

Even if you believe all your accounts and policies have named beneficiaries, double check. Triple check. Check once a year. Do everything you can to make sure you don’t make the silly mistake of forgetting to name a beneficiary.

However, designating beneficiaries is not always as easy as it sounds…

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