Reena Gulati Blog

Simple wills will likely not be sufficient to address the goals of your current spouse and children from a prior marriage or stepchildren. A trust will be the better option. However, the specifics of your family fact pattern will determine the kind of trust and what is included in the trust that should be in keeping with the financial goals for your family. Although it requires a little bit more time and attention, it can avoid many misgivings and acrimony with your loved ones and plan for an easier transition.

Most people have a fear of the unknown. However, if you a have plan in place, it helps settle your mind. In the case of an estate plan, it also can ensure you take care of your family. These tough times present the perfect opportunity to review your existing estate plan or if there is no plan, to put one in place for the following six reasons:

I can’t tell you how often I ask my clients and they don’t remember when the last time was, they checked their beneficiary designations on their assets or their “Transfer On Death” and “Paid On Death” designations on the bank accounts and their brokerage accounts.

Planning for your kids, your health and your finances are important. It's one of the most important things you can do while you have the capacity to do it. However often, an elderly parent or an aunt is taken advantage of, because they are losing their mental capacity.

There certainly are advantages to a living trust. However, whether it is the right decision to incorporate a living trust into your estate plan requires an analysis of your unique circumstances. Just like most things in life, it’s not one size fits all. You may come in wanting some level of planning but what is going to work with your objectives of transferring your assets, planning for estate taxes or incapacity, or surrendering total or partial control over your assets is going to depend upon your end goals. It all begins with an inquiry into your situation and exploring various legal avenues in achieving your intended goals.