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

What is a Trust?

What is a Trust?

Life is super confusing.

We literally get dumped into this big world full of complicated things like taxes and etiquette and lawn care, and we’re just supposed to know exactly what to do?

My adulthood has been a constant stream of realizing that I misunderstood basic concepts about life that everyone else apparently already knew. Actually that was my childhood, too. So it’s been my whole life. For example:

When I was younger, there was a good stretch of time when I thought “Watergate” was just another word for a dam. Like, a literal gate for water. A water gate.

But whenever I heard people use “Watergate” in conversation, I got this impression that it was not a good thing. As a result, for a few while I assumed that dams were somehow really bad things but had no idea why.

I eventually figured out what Watergate really was; however, that was by no means the last time I misunderstood something. Learning is great and also sometimes embarrassing.

Many people have similar misunderstandings about estate planning. For instance, clients often think their modest assets do not warrant a living trust. After all, aren’t “trust fund babies” supposed to be wealthy? Isn’t a will good enough for me?

Approximately 1 of every 2 clients I talk to doesn’t know exactly what a trust does or how it is different than a will. That is a mostly made up statistic based on the last few client meetings I could remember off the top of my head. I’m not saying it’s not true. I just don’t have the hard data…

But here is a very real statistic: only 42% of U.S. adults currently have a will or a trust. That’s crazy! Part of that is due to the fact that wills and trusts are complex, hard-to-understand documents. And attorneys usually don’t make it much easier.

That’s why I thought I would take the time to explain just what the heck a trust really is.

What is "Funding" My Trust and How Do I Do It?

What is "Funding" My Trust and How Do I Do It?

So you’ve created a living trust. Awesome. You are super responsible. Spectacular. Your estate is so planned. Excellent.

Reveling in your excellence, you may be thinking to yourself, “You did a great job, Self. You are so responsible, and your estate plan (which is very much planned) is good to go!”

But guess what? Yourself would be wrong.

Is my trust useless?

When you sign a trust document, you just have some sheets of paper. It may be fancy paper — and it’s definitely expensive paper — but it’s still just paper. And paper alone (usually) does not avoid probate. In other words: By itself, a signed trust can be pretty useless.

Think of a trust like a box. When you sign the trust, you have an empty box. To avoid probate, you want to fill that box with all your “stuff,” your assets. Anything that’s in the box at your death doesn’t have to go through probate. Anything that’s not in the box at your death does.

Estate Planning for Entrepreneurs

Estate Planning for Entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, your life is often consumed by your business. But have you stopped to consider what would happen to your business if you are injured?

If you come down with an illness?

If you suddenly die?

Entrepreneurs who fail to create an estate plan leave their life’s work at risk of being torn apart or lost entirely after they are gone. To keep that from happening, here are a few estate planning documents every entrepreneur should consider:

9 Signs It's Time to Update Your Estate Plan

9 Signs It's Time to Update Your Estate Plan

You finally took the plunge and created an estate plan. Wonderful. Awesome. High five. But now that you have a plan, how often do you need to revisit or update it?

Rather than updating your estate plan every X number of years, we recommend revisiting and (potentially) revising it whenever you experience a significant life change. A will or trust you signed years ago might no longer reflect what you care about.

Consider reviewing and/or updating your estate plan if you have experienced any of these changes:

How You Can Prevent Elder Fraud

How You Can Prevent Elder Fraud

Elder fraud and financial exploitation has become an epidemic.

More than ever before, con artists and family members alike are taking advantage of their elderly relatives, friends, or neighbors.

Could your parents or grandparents be next?

The best defense against elder fraud is having caring friends or family with the senior's best interests at heart. But those friends and family can only prevent elder fraud if they know how to spot it — and that's what this blog post will teach you.

This post will cover five ways you can help keep your loved ones safe from elder fraud and financial exploitation. Specifically, you can:

  1. Talk with them about their finances.

  2. Ask them about suspicious phone calls or interactions.

  3. Keep abreast of changes to their estate plan.

  4. Inquire about about caretakers, helpers, or sudden "best friends."

  5. Investigate abrupt or unexplained transfers of assets.

But before we dive in to prevention, let's cover some of the basics of elder fraud.

Connect with us on social media!