ESTATE PLANNING AND WILLS

What is Estate Planning? "I just need a Simple Will!" Estate Planning is a lifelong process. It is not simply the drafting of a Will, Trust or any series of documents. The purpose of estate planning is to assist in the accumulation, management, conservation, and disposition of your assets. Therefore, Estate Planning may also be better called Asset Planning.

The goal of the estate planning process is providing you and your loved ones with the maximum benefit during your lifetime and after your death. Issues typically addressed include:

• saving or reducing taxes,
• avoiding probate or reducing its cost,
• providing for incapacity,
• protecting your assets from creditors,
• assuring that your assets are given to whom you desire,
• empowering your loved ones to control your assets.

If you own a business, business planning and estate planning must be coordinated!

Estate Planning for business owners is a combination of business planning and personal planning. Since the value of the business is frequently the most significant asset of a business owner, and the business income and retirement plan are typically the major source of income, coordinating business an personal planning is the only way to effectively manage your assets.

The first step is to gather information about your family and assets. Below are estate planning questionnaires and a spreadsheet to help you organize your information to prepare for an initial conference:

Download our Estate Planning Questionnaire

Download our Estate Planning Information Spreadsheet

Download our General Estate Information Sheet

 Other Estate Planning Documents and Techniques