Six Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid

You will need help from a certified estate planner to avoid these serious estate planning mistakes. These mistakes can place a lot of burden on those you will leave behind and yet they can be easily avoided.

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.

Posted September 25th, 2009 by Estate Planner Staff and filed in financial
Comments Off

Why you need a Certified Financial Planner in Akron

If you leave in Ohio and you are facing complicated to financial problems, a certified Akron financial planner will help you fix that personal financial concern. The majority of people face economic hardships because they don’t plan for major areas of their life like education, cash flow management and investment.

In fact, the need for a financial planner grows as you become older since you will be faced with many financial decisions as regards estate planning, retirement taxation, risk planning and insurance issues.

It’s vital that you include insurance and tax planning when evaluating your financial needs. If you own a business, you will need to come up with a business succession plan.

The major aim of financial planning is to set achievable targets based on your current capital, assets, way of life and likings. Of course, it’s possible to set goals on your own but your goals will be meaningless if it’s not put into perspective-that’s why you need a financial planner. A financial planner with scrupulously analyze your goals and suggest the right things you can do to achieve them.

If you are wondering what IRA ROTH, estate planning and annuities are all about, you definitely need help with financial planning. It’s usually a good idea to begin with yourself before seeking the services of a financial planner. That way, you can have a good idea of what you truly want with your financial life. The financial planner will merely generate plans and advise you on tools you can use to meet those targets.

Once you have a mental picture of your dreams, you can now seek the services of a certified financial planner whom you are contented with. The majority of people usually set unachievable goals-that’s why it’s necessary to engage someone who has been there and done it all. Find someone you like and, more significantly, a certified professional you can have faith in.

You will always meet constraints when setting your goals but a certified financial planner will help you set the priorities amidst these constraints in order to manage your finances well. A trusted planner can be very resourceful as they examine these constraints along the way.

If you are looking for a certified Akron financial planner and financial advisor in, be sure to meet with Lee for your estate planning, retirement and income planning needs.

Posted September 22nd, 2009 by Estate Planner Staff and filed in financial
Comments Off

Financial Retirement Planning For the Elderly

A qualified financial retirement planner can help an elderly citizen address ways of financing certain types of services and long-term care as they experience increased limitations due to loss of some abilities.

When it comes to getting helpful information about retirement income, it’s vital that you obtain advice from a certified financial adviser and planner      .

Some of the solutions a financial adviser can provide you are;

  • What form of long-term care you can pay for
  • Will you live longer than your possessions?
  • The worth of your assets
  • How to monetize your assets to meet rising everyday expenditure
  • What you need to sell first incase you decide to sell
  • If you want to know all the available options you have
  • The price tag of the different assets you own
  • Whether to sell your house or not
  • The available financing options you have
  • How all these will affect your partner or dependants
  • The right time to consider estate planning
  • The question of inheritance

A financial retirement planner will listen to all your needs/concerns and will guide you in appreciating, assessing and evaluating your decisions. This will remove all the major concerns, frustration, confusion and any family disagreements. Most people think that financial decisions are all about money. On the contrary, it has a lot to do with having thorough knowledge, experience, and requirements needed to make one decision over another.

When it comes to financial planning for the older citizens, the present situation and potential future conditions of an elder have to be acknowledge and considered. This can be rather difficult since it involves forward thinking and transitional realism. When evaluating your needs, a financial planner will consider the following;

  • do you  need personal care
  • what sort of healthcare services do you need
  • constrains to your transportation
  • your  priorities
  • what impact your financial decision will have on your Interpersonal relationships

When evaluating your needs, you will want a financial retirement planner to consider the following things;

  • Financial needs
  • Insurance coverage policies(including health care)
  • Sources of earnings
  • Present and possible future expenditures
  • Availability of assets
  • Real estate needs
  • Human resources
  • Legal issues
Posted September 15th, 2009 by Estate Planner Staff and filed in financial
Comments Off

Do not Run Out of Money in Retirement

Company plans, IRA or 401 pension plans, social security benefits, old age benefits, real estate and any personal savings are the common sources of retirement income. Most companies have retirement income plans for their employees, it is used to be a profitable source of retirement income back then, but its value decreased due to the ongoing uncertainties in the market. They can’t sustain the same making their market prospects subjected to major fluctuations.

Viewing the huge deficit in the US economy, the IRA and 401 plans are to be declined having no guarantee that they will still be maintaining their regular payouts.

Age old pensions have also gone down providing only a small amount. This kind of retirement income is just contributory and temporarily available like the social security assistance. The value of pensioner funds has been constantly decreased due to many inflationary conditions which require individuals to contribute more for their retirement income fund.

A large number of retired persons are forced to postpone their retirement, making them work until they can, because of the unsecured situation. Each individual must take charge of his finance and retirement income because saving isn’t enough. These savings should be channeled into well diversified high growth investments.

It is never too early to start saving for retirement. People take retirement non-seriously and do not take enough steps to provide enough retirement income funds. They must be contributing 10 to 30 per cent of their income in prior to their savings. It is harder to provide for retirement as time passes by.

The first important principle of retiring comfortably is to live a debt-free life. Individuals can boost their savings when they don’t have any long-term debts. The second very important rule is paying your self first. You should be taking a good portion of your income before paying any other charges, making you increase your savings perceptibly.

Developing a passive source of income, like an income generating property or investing in stocks, could boost retirement income funds.  Annuities guaranteed income are one option.

Posted August 28th, 2009 by Estate Planner Staff and filed in financial
Comments Off

Get a Financial Second Opinion

A second opinion is a way of avoiding mistakes or error in judgment before taking action. Even though a doctor has 20 years of education and years of experience, one can’t possibly know everything accurately. It is not to insult the first doctor, but getting a second opinion gives you the peace of mind that all options have been considered.

The same thing could be done in considering any major financial decision from a financial adviser. It is more comforting to have a confirmation that you are making the best decisions with the appropriate products. A second opinion from a financial adviser for a financial decision will be just as important as having a second opinion in making medical decisions.

It is very important to find a financial adviser in the product or service you are considering when seeking for a second opinion. That is more difficult than getting general information about a product or service at times. Look for financial adviser “specialists”. These are experts that put themselves in the situation and whose success depends on the ability to earn a living selling that product or service. Avoid “generalist”, those are people who do not advertise themselves or hope no one will check their credentials and sells everything under the sun.

After finding the right financial adviser specialist, second opinion begins with a little learning about how the person works. Let them build your trust and find out if they understand the problem, then let them see if you have figure out the right solution. Make sure whether some other products or service could be a whole lot better than your initial understanding of the problem. Financial services, like the medical business, are built on experience. You can provide more wisdom to your solution with more experiences.

Get a financial second opinion in Estate Planning Ohio from an Estate Planner Ohio Residents turn to and trust.

Posted August 23rd, 2009 by Estate Planner Staff and filed in financial
Comments Off