Planning for your financial future as well as the future of your family in the event of your death is a responsibility we all must take. A certified estate planner can help you make all the right decisions about your assets. Many estate planners are also great to use as a financial retirement planner. Making wise choices about your future is imperative; no one will take care of you and your family but yourself.

Estate planning will include making out a will, a living will and granting powers of attorney to specific people. Having a living will is very important in the event that you are unable to make end life decisions. A living will is also known as advance directives in some states but are generally the same document. You can also start a revocable living trust or create other financial planning documents with a certified estate planner. Estate planning may also include setting up a charitable trust or personal residence trust which will alleviate many tax issues upon the estate holders’ death.

Using a financial retirement planner can help you ensure that your retirement years are lived in comfort. Proper savings and investment plans are key to a good retirement and a certified planner can help you design a plan that will make that happen. Planning for your retirement and eventual death is not a simple matter and should be handled with care. Using a certified estate planner to help you with these issues is a wise decision.

There are other ways to supplement your retirement plan. While working for an employer put as much money as allowed into a 401k plan, which invests in various financial instruments. If your employer matches your contributions, this is even better. Like an annuity, it can be directed into the financial instruments you prefer, to spread the risk. These could be bonds, stocks and other investments. If you work for yourself there are a couple of Individual Retirement Plans (IRA’s) to investigate, depending on the tax benefits available.

Of course, only by sitting down and talking to a certified estate planner can you really start to get to know all the issues and find the best option for you.

Investing in safe municipal bonds will help you reach a wealthy retirement. They are entirely tax free, therefore, your real interest rate is higher than given by other bonds. Finally, if your home is worth a lot and is too much house for you. Sell it and move to smaller quarters and invest the profit. Under some conditions no capital gains taxes will be paid for the first $250,000 of profit, for the husband and the same for the spouse.

Watch out for these common estate planning mistakes;

Failure to plan at all

This is arguably the worst mistake to make. It’s disturbing that up to up to 60% of Americans don’t have a will. Without a will, it is difficult to protect your hard-earned possessions, let alone your loved ones. The interstate laws of Ohio will resolve who becomes heir to your assets when you don’t have a Will.

Not planning for Estate Taxes

It’s possible to protect up to $4 million from State of Ohio estate taxes with proper estate planning. An estate planning firm can help you with this. In bigger estates, a family can protect   property from estate tax using revocable life insurance trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, charitable trusts and family limited partnerships. Failure to plan may result in excessive estate tax dues.

Failure to plan for Incapacity

This deals with estate planning and to a small extent distribution of assets after death. An expansive estate plan starts with planning for your own incapacity. In most cases, you will have to name a health care representative who will make health related decisions on your behalf. You ought to have a living will as well. This will rule out uncalled-for life support. You should also have a living trust that will take care of your affairs when you can’t perform your tasks.

Not Naming a Guardian for your minor children

It’s advisable that you have a guardian to look after your young kids in case you are not able to do so. As witnessed after the death of Michael Jackson, it’s important to legally appoint a guardian in your will.

Failure to plan for Life Insurance

Life insurance is an absolute must if you want to support your spouse, look after your loved ones and continue to pay estate taxes when you pass away. Most people assume that life insurance is tax-free. In any case, a certified estate planner will help you structure life insurance to get around estate taxes and still implement your goals through a correctly structured “Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust”.

Failure to plan for “Out of State” Real Estate

If you a resident of Ohio and own real estate outside the state of Ohio, you may have to undergo a probate proceeding in order to transfer title to real estate in another location. If you make all the legal plans in advance, you can prevent this situation from happening.

For example, Lee Hyder only works with people over 50 because he knows how to serve people in that age bracket well.  He knows what their concerns are and how to conserve wealth that guarantees future income in retirement.

If you are not as young as you once were, you really need to think about working with someone that has a long, distinguished track record with people in your age bracket.

If you are in Akron, Cleveland of the surrounding areas, visit Lee Hyder’s Website and read the many testimonails of people just like you that trust Lee to help them live a better life in retirement.  Lee is a Certified Estate Planner and an advocate for wealthy retirement.  And who isn’t a fan of that.

If you are not familiar with an annuity it is essentially an insurance policy or other product that will pay you an income after retirement. Many people use annuities as part of their strategy to have retirement funds available. The way it works is that you make payments into it an then you get payments from it in the future. You can receive monthly, quarterly or annual payments when you need it or you can request one lump sum payment.

The amount of money you pay into an annuity will depend on many factors and whether you have a fixed annuity where you receive a guaranteed payout or a variable annuity which means you will get payments at different times.

Advantages of a retirement annuity fund
One of the biggest advantages of retirement annuity funds and the reason why many people use them is that you can put a lot of money away and defer paying taxes on it. Another reason people like them is because you can put as much money as you want into them each year. In a traditional 401(k) as an example,  you have a limit of the amount that you can put in each year.

For most people this means that you can put money into a retirement fund without worry and your money compounds each year without getting a tax bill from the IRS. This means that your money continues as an investment to work for you. You also have a choice of taking a lump sum or taking payments over your lifetime.
Disadvantages of a retirement annuity fund

Just like any form of investment, there are a few disadvantages to an annuity retirement plan. You must understand that most of the time your retirement income planner may charge a commission of up to 10% when they sell this policy to you. There may be penalties for taking your money out ahead of time especially if you need to take the money out within the first few years after your purchase. These may be steep for the average person using them.

You also may have high expenses in the beginning, especially when you have a variable annuity. Although this may only be 1.25% or higher you will have other types of annual fees that you will want to know about before you purchase an annuity. The bottom line is that you will want to be sure that when you pick an annuity that you have the time and the money to invest over time.

What happens to your annuity when you die?
This is a question that many people ask and this is one of the reasons to talk to a certified estate planner. The annuity will be a part of the total plan. If you have named a beneficiary in the process of purchasing your annuity your beneficiary may get your payments depending on the type of annuity you chose.

Here are some things to ask before you sit down with a planner:

How long have you and your firm offered estate planning?
This is a very important question because you are looking for a certified estate planner with lots of experience. Many lawyers say they offer estate planning but they may not have much experience doing it.  If you have a large estate you will want someone who has had at least 10 years of experience working with estate planning. You will also want to know whether they do estate planning Ohio.

What is included in your estate planning package?
Everyone knows that a will is a part of estate planning but you will also want to know whether other documents will be created that you will need. You will want to know exactly what the estate planner will do for you and what is covered under the amount. If you have many assets like the Ohio Roth or the Ohio IRA, you will want to be sure that any income taxes that my have to be paid are a part of the planning.

How much will it cost?
Many planners will charge an hourly fee or a fee to draw up specific documents. You will want to know how the individual charges you and how much you can expect. Some planners give a free initial consultation so they can help define your needs. Ask about an itemized bill because this will give you a list of specifically what you are paying for and how it measure up to the service.

Who should I choose as my Trustee?
When you have a estate planning firm they should understand the qualifications of a person who will take care of your estate once you are gone. They should be able to help you explore the right person or institution for this process. As an example, a larger estate may need a bank rather than an individual to manage it. Make sure that your estate planner is honest with you and isn’t receiving referral fees from the bank they recommend — this can be a conflict of interest.

What should I do with my life Insurance IRA and other retirement income?
Most planners will be able to sit down with you and discuss all of your assets. Your retirement money may be subjected to inheritance estate tax but  they will be the ones to help. Your assets also determine the value of your estate so this will be an important piece in your planning.

What will I do for my children or grandchildren?
Most people ask this question when they have young children who are dependent on them for care. Your planner can help you provide for your children’s financial, educational and personal needs once they understand what they will need upon your death and help if there are any special needs.

Asking questions up front will avoid surprises at the end of your planning.

A very important aspect of estate planning is to hire someone to help. Although you may have many ideas about what you want to happen after your death an estate planner can make sure that everything you want is covered and that it coincides with any laws within the state.

Estate planning is more about covering your property and having it transferred to your family members or others at your death. It can also help you put to rest personal matters that may not be a part of your will directly, but may mean that you will have to plan for then anyway after you die.

Whether you have a small or a large estate you can make sure that it is planned well. An estate planner is someone who can help. Many people use a lawyer to do everything while others use a financial adviser planner or someone who is knowledgeable about taxes. There is a caution in this: a lawyer, financial planner or tax consultant may or may not do estate planning.

When you are looking for an estate planner it is better to find a certified estate planner because you can be sure that this individual has experience in all aspects of estate planning. They will help you design exactly what your estate needs so that you have peace of mind.

What’s  Included in Estate Planning
A will is only part of what an estate planner helps you create. The professional that you choose will take a look at all of your assets that include those things like bank accounts, furniture, cars, jewelry, stocks and bonds and anything else that is of value. They will look at the “fair market value” of your estate including your property and they will deduct from this your current debts.

Once they have all this information for you they can tell whether your family will need to pay estate taxes upon your death or any other taxes; your family might be subjected to a inheritance estate tax as well. It is a good idea to know this ahead of time so you can plan to have these taken care of so your family doesn’t have to worry about finding the money to do it.

If you are a small business owner your estate will also have to take into consideration what is going to happen with the business. Will it be sold? Will someone in the family take it over? Will it continue after you die? These things will be determined as you move through the estate planning process.

Choosing an estate planner helps you get through the confusion of the estate and help keep you focused on your needs. They help you distribute your assets in exactly the way you want to do them for your own peace of mind.