Plenty of people intend to accomplish philanthropic goals through their estate and may consider irrevocable trust tools such as a charitable remainder trust, but it is important to be cautious about how you choose to use this. While it might be the right choice for your goals, you need to carefully balance your own financial needs alongside that, especially when using an irrevocable trust for estate planning Read More
Should I Name a Trust as a Retirement Account Beneficiary?
When designating retirement account beneficiaries, it is important to think about your individual estate planning goals. There are disadvantages and advantages to naming a trust as a beneficiary of a retirement account. You can avoid probate, expenses and frustration when naming beneficiaries for qualified retirement plans as these assets pass outside of your probate estate. Naming a trust as a beneficiary of your Read More
Is It Time for A Trust?
If you are concerned about passing on assets to your family members and their ability to manage this appropriately, a trust could be the perfect estate planning tool. For those young adults with money management issues or if you have minors who you want to eventually receive the assets, a trust can be a great way to name them as a beneficiary of a particular asset and protect the way in which it is passed on to them. Read More
Should You Ask an Attorney About Trusts?
Most people have the general understanding of the most basic of estate planning tools which is known as a will, but what about trusts? Trusts and wills can work independently of one another but can also work very well together. This is only possible when you have a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer to craft your trust or your will and help explain to you how this can impact your future. A trust adds a layer of Read More
Most Important Terms to Know with Trust Distribution
There are several common phrases and words often referenced in a trust document to describe the purposes for discretionary distributions. These usually fall under the category of standard of living, emergencies, welfare, support and maintenance, education and health. When the creator of the trust has included provisions for the trustee to make their own calls about what applies for trust distribution, it’s helpful Read More
Should You Establish a Trust in New Hampshire?
There are many estate planning tools out there and you must decide what’s going to work for your individual plans. The two most common tools are a will and a trust, which function individually as well as together. When you have not used these tools before, you’ll likely want the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer to give you further details about these so that you know what to expect and how to Read More
Common Will and Trust Provisions for Fiduciaries
When you create your will or a trust, you’ll be able to appoint who you choose in the most important role of fiduciary. For a will, this would be your executor or personal representative. For a trust, it would be your trustee. You can also discuss with your attorney the possibility of using specific terms within the respective document to give your agents additional authority. One of the great things about creating Read More
Should I Make My Trust Easy to Change?
Before sitting down to work with an estate planning attorney, you have an important choice to make: to make your trust easy to change or not. This is the primary distinction between a revocable and an irrevocable trust. Although the term trust accurately describes both of these, they accomplish different purposes based on the fact that you can update one but not the other. There are many good reasons that you might Read More
What Happens If I Need to Settle a Revocable Trust After the Trust Maker Has Passed Away?
Most people will not have had the experience of being named a successor trustee in charge of settling a person's revocable living trust after a loved one passes away. There are many different steps involved in closing out this trust and all of these should be approached with care and with the possible support of an experienced probate lawyer. The first step to settle a revocable living trust is to locate all of the Read More
Two Ways to Protect Your Estate from Taxes
Tax planning is an important component of completing your estate plan and it should always be done under the guidance of an experienced professional. This is because there are many different details to consider in minimizing or avoiding taxes and you want to ensure that you have thought through all of the possibilities. One of the easiest ways to minimize your tax burden is to put your assets inside a trust. A trust Read More
