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

taxes

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?

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IRS Increases 2020 Estate Tax Exemption

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IRS Increases 2020 Estate Tax Exemption

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) just announced that the estate and gift tax exemption for 2020 is increasing to $11.58 million per person — up from $11.40 million in 2019.

If you are like most people, you are probably asking, “What does that actually mean?”

What is the Estate & Gift Tax Exemption?

As I explained in the summary of estate and gift taxes I wrote last year:

The estate tax is a federal tax imposed on estates over a certain value. That “certain value” is known as the “estate tax exemption” or “combined estate and gift tax exemption” or “unified credit” or a dozen other names.

The main thing to know is this: if an estate is worth more than the estate tax exemption amount, the value over the exemption will be taxed. If the estate is worth less than the exemption amount, no tax liability.

So the increase announced yesterday by the IRS means that if an estate is created (i.e., if a person dies) in 2020, there will be no estate tax imposed if the estate is worth less than $11.58 million. And thanks to estate tax portability, a married couple can now shield double that amount, $23.16 million, from estate taxes in 2020.

Do I Need to Amend My Will or Trust?

Do I Need to Amend My Will or Trust?

When I was a kid, I really wanted a remote-controlled hovercraft.

I thought it looks awesome. I mean, just the idea of a flying remote-controlled car was amazing. So I saved up my money and bought one. Can you guess what happened next?

If you said, “I used it a few times and then never touched it again,” then you would be correct. The thing took like 37 hours to charge and you could only use it for two minutes until you had to charge it again.

I was really upset about it at the time. I kept thinking, “If only I could exchange this toy for another!” Unfortunately for me, Toys “R” Us hates children and refused to give me my money back. And that’s why I became a lawyer. For justice.

Here’s the good news: there is no Toy “R” Us return policy for your estate planning documents. You can update them, change, exchange, or revoke them entirely as long as you are alive and competent (with a few exceptions).

When should I amend my Will or Trust?

Some attorneys may try to convince you that your Will or Trust needs to be amended whenever you go through any significant life change. Buy a new house? Amend your Trust. Have a grandchild? Amend your Will. Finish binge watching Friends? Amend, amend, amend.

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…

How much can you save for retirement in 2019?

How much can you save for retirement in 2019?

You remember that part of How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey version, of course, because it’s the best one) where — spoiler alert — the Grinch realizes the true meaning of Christmas and his heart grows three sizes?

That basically happened in real life a few months ago, except instead of the Grinch it’s the IRS and instead of “Christmas” it’s “retirement savings.” (The heart-growing thing doesn’t really enter into it. Also Christmas was over a month ago. This was a bad analogy.)

Starting in the 2019 tax year (for filing in 2020), you can contribute even more money toward retirement accounts such as an IRA or 401(k). It’s a Christmas miracle!

Changes to IRA and 401(k) Contribution Limits

Below is a brief summary of the new inflation-adjusted numbers for retirement account contributions; see IRS Notice 2018-83 for more technical guidance.

401(k)s. In 2019, the annual contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal Thrift Savings Plan, is $19,000. That is up from $18,500 in 2018.

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