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Securely
Single
If you are single, you are in good company. According to the
March 1998 Current Population Survey, nearly half of all adult
Americans are single. Being single can mean considerable
personal and economic freedom. Nevertheless, just like your
married counterparts, proper Life & Estate Planning is
necessary to keep you in control.
Incapacity & The Law
Every adult American is responsible for making their own
personal, health care and financial decisions. In fact, you may
take many basic decisions for granted. For example, you decide
where to live, what medical care is appropriate and how to
manage your finances. But what if an illness or injury leaves
you unable to make even these basic decisions? The Law will
require that the decisions be made for you…either by someone
you know and trust or by someone appointed by a Judge who likely
does not even know you.
Proper Life & Estate Planning is required in advance
of your incapacity, if you want to appoint your own
decision-maker. Otherwise, by default you may find yourself
before a Judge in a costly legal process that makes your private
personal, health care and financial circumstances a matter of
public record. Given the option, most singles would prefer to
avoid this expense and invasion of privacy.
Minor Children
Do you have minor children (i.e., under age 18 in
most states)? If so, you probably invest considerable time and
money to provide them with a moral, safe and secure home
environment. What if you died before they reached adulthood? Who
would rear them to adulthood? Who would provide a moral, safe,
and secure home environment? Unless you want a Judge to make the
selection for you, proper Life & Estate Planning is
required.
Who will manage the inheritance you leave for your minor
children until they reach adulthood? Again, that decision will
be made by a Judge in the absence of proper Life & Estate
Planning by you. Oftentimes, the Court will appoint the
surviving biological parent not only to rear the children to
adulthood, but also to manage their inheritance.
Even worse, if the surviving biological parent then
survives your children, they ultimately may receive the
inheritance!
Your Valuables
Is family harmony important to you? Whether it is
"grandma’s yellow pie pan," antique furniture or
that Civil War sword, such items should be identified in your
Life & Estate Plan along with the designated recipients of
your own selection. Otherwise, your valuables could end up in
the hands of the wrong loved one or sold to a perfect stranger
in your Estate Sale. Either way, relationships between and among
your loved ones could be bruised and battered unnecessarily.
Death, Taxes & Trusts
Benjamin Franklin noted that there are only two
certainties in life: Death & Taxes. While there is little we
can do to avoid the former, proper Life & Estate Planning
can minimize the latter. One of the best kept secrets for
reducing Federal Estate Taxes is really a lifetime gifting
strategy using the Annual Gift Exclusion (AGE).
Under the AGE, each taxpayer may give $10,000 each year
to as many people as they wish. This wealth transfer does not
trigger gift taxes to the donor or to the donee. Additionally,
any future increase in the value of the gifted asset is not
included in the donor’s estate for determining Federal Estate
Taxes later on. For this reason, gifts of assets likely to
appreciate in value (e.g. stock that is rapidly going up in
value) are popular. [Note: Appropriate legal counsel should be
sought before making AGE gifts because of important capital
gains considerations.]
Are your likely beneficiaries young, inexperienced or
irresponsible? If so, various Trusts can be created to protect
your AGE gifts from their potential divorces, lawsuits,
bankruptcies and good, old-fashioned squandering. Through
carefully drafted Trusts you can control how and when the gifted
assets are made available to your beneficiaries. As famous
jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes put it: "Put not your trust in
money, but put your money in trust."
Copyright © 2005 Integrity Marketing
Solutions. All rights reserved. Some artwork provided under license
agreement. This publication does not constitute legal, accounting or
other professional advice. Although it is intended to be accurate,
neither the publisher nor any other party assumes liability for loss or
damage due to reliance on this material.
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