Death is an inevitable aspect of everyone’s life. Not all are fortunate to have kinsmen, who would not fight over your property once you are dead. Now the best time for you to plan the division of your estate is while you are still in sound mind and body.
The process of granting portions of your estate to your loved ones, without any kind of legal or tax harassment is known as Estate Planning. Do not be misguided by the term ‘Estate’. It is not just for the affluent, but anyone who has adequate amount of property that can be distributed among his relatives, can avail this.
A very common proverb, ‘prevention is better than cure’, definitely has a lot of weight attached to it, and in this case it is absolutely relevant. It is always much better to plan things in advance, when rational decisions can be taken, regarding any crucial matter.
Taking the advice of professional estate planners, like John Ranhofer, would be a wise thing to do. He is an expert at protecting your property, in tax reduction and providing you techniques for enhancing your income.
Getting an estimate of the value of your total property or estate is the initial step in Estate Planning. This includes all your valuables: your house, land, cars, any other auto mobiles, your savings – which can be in the form of funds, stocks, or bonds; your annuities and insurances; claims against others – if any, your jewelry; and every other possible valuable thing that you might possess, should be taken into account.
Estate does not just include your material assets, even your obligations towards others and the debts that you owe, if any, form a part of your estate; and those should not be unaccounted for.
Your next step would be to enlist the names of all your beneficiaries, their names, addresses and ages. In case any of the beneficiaries are minors, the name of the guardian should be mentioned. The name of the executor of the estate when you have expired has to be mentioned too.
However, before getting an estate planner for yourself, it is important that all other paper works are ready. For instance, the tax payments, the pre and post nuptial agreements, the divorce decrees, if there are any, earlier deeds and wills of real estate; everything should be kept ready prior to approaching an estate planner.
John Ranhofer, manager at Granite Pacific Financial, is an expert in this planning and a veteran resolver of problems. His years of experience are enough to guide you safely through the process of planning. It does not just stop here; his advice will be sought after even when you have past away, by your beneficiaries.
One of the primary concerns for any person conducting his Estate Planning is the tax incidence. It is therefore, very important to seek the help of professional estate planners, who have gathered enough experience over the years. It is absolutely obligatory to have a foolproof planning of the distribution of your estate, after your demise, so that no conflicts arise within the family. One last thing to be kept in mind is – estate planning is not a onetime issue. Any changes over the years, such as the death, marriage, divorce, child birth, or even change of law; will ascertain a change in the already documented estate planning.
