Planning Your Legacy and Estate with an Experienced Attorney
Inheritance is a topic that can be tricky for most to discuss. Many of us have been put in a situation where a family member bequeathed us something financially or physically after their passing. Or perhaps YOU are the parent contemplating about how to pass your wealth onto your children or if it’s even a good idea. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many families struggle with the idea of estate planning and beneficiaries. Sometimes the hardest part of planning is figuring out how to be financially responsible and fair. The key to navigating these talks is to have an experienced estate planning attorney who can walk you through all of your options and give you peace of mind on the legacy you leave behind. No one is immune to these planning conversations, eventually they will happen to everyone. Even celebrities like Marie Osmond recently shared how she plans to give her wealth upon her passing.
Marie Osmond’s Approach to Inheritance: Prioritizing Independence and Work Ethic
Osmond who recently appeared on the TV show “The Talk“, explained that leaving her kids a fortune would be a “great disservice” to them, and that they need to make their own money. “I’m not leaving any money to my children. Congratulations, kids.” She went on to say “My husband and I decided that you do a great disservice to your children to just hand them a fortune because you take away the one most important gift you can give your children, and that’s the ability to work. You see it a lot in rich families where the kids don’t know what to do so they get in trouble, so I just let them be proud of what they make and I’m going to give mine to my charity.” Osmond further explained her decision had come from personal experience where families disagreed on inheritance. “I had an uncle and an aunt, her family fought over a mirror and a table when they passed away. My mother said, ‘That will never happen.'”
Designing Your Estate Plan: Tailoring Your Legacy to Your Goals
Not everyone agrees with Osmond’s estate plans and that is perfectly okay. Your estate plan should be as unique as you are. You can create a plan or legacy for every kind giving you wish to distribute. Co-host of “The Talk” Sheryl Underwood felt she would have benefited from being a beneficiary from someone growing up. “When you come from a family of money, you raise your children to value money and to understand money, and because they were born into the family, they should have a healthy respect for money. I would love to have some type of money left for me from somebody else so I can have a leg up. I think when wealthy people say, ‘I’m not leaving my kids anything,’ well, they’ve been living this great life.'”
No matter if you’d like to leave your wealth to your family, charity or even a pet, there is a plan for you. If you are a parent who worries about what your wealth will do to your children, you are not alone. Many clients want to leave money to their kids, but they are concerned that their children are ill-equipped to handle it. Similar to Osmond’s belief’s some worry that by providing too much money will rob their children of the ambition to amass their own wealth. And it’s not just parents who worry. At least one beneficiary usually has reservations too. There are Trusts you can set up for situations just like this, for example, a Spendthrift Trust. A Spendthrift Trust is set up to protect the beneficiary from frivolous spending and prohibit him or her from pledging the trust interest as collateral for a loan or debt. A trustee is appointed to manage the trust assets on behalf of the beneficiary and has full authority to make decisions about how the trust funds are spent.
No matter who or what you would like to leave your wealth to, the most important part is making sure they are legally safe after your passing with an estate plan. If your legacy includes charitable giving take into consideration any tax opportunities of giving. This can ultimately increase the amount received by the charity but also for your loved ones too. Even if you just have a single goal in mind but you’re not sure how to make it happen, we can help you plan out your options so you feel empowered and at ease. Whether you plan for philanthropic giving or would like up future generations in your own family, we would love to help you organize and plan your legacy.
Wide Range of Estate Planning Options
Below is just a sampling of options some of our clients have chosen to create:
- Wills
- Revocable Trusts
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Stand Alone Retirement Trusts
- Pet Trust
- IRA Trust
- Inheritor’s Trust
- Gift Trusts
- Community Property Trusts
- Gun Trusts
- Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
- Beneficiary Defective Inheritor’s Trusts
- Trusts for Minors
- Trusts for Special Needs
- Spendthrift Trust
- Family Trust
- Qualified Personal Residence Trust
- Grantor Retained Annuity Trust
- Testamentary Irrevocable Trust
- Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust