Life insurance is one of those things that, like estate planning, is capable of giving you an incredible sense of peace. It’s one of those things that will help you sleep at night, because you’ll know that your family is going to be cared for, even if something happens to you.

The problem is that not all life insurance is created equal. Of course there is institutional risk (e.g. will the company be around and able to pay the claim when I die), but that’s not our main concern. The main concern is the type of insurance you buy. See, insurance agents have a vested interest in making sure they sell a certain type of policy, while you’re better off buying a different type of policy. You need to make sure that you buy what you need and that you’re not sold on something you don’t.

Whole Life Policies

A whole life policy is one that will certainly outlive you and provide benefits for your beneficiaries, because it is designed to be both life insurance and an investment vehicle that exists until the day you die. But whole life insurance has a few problems:

• Because of the investment component (and the commissions paid to the insurance agent), it’s very expensive.
• Growth rates of your premiums are just guesses. Don’t fall into the trap of believing they are guaranteed.
• People buying whole life are often underinsured, because the policies are more expensive and, as a result, the appropriate amount of death benefit coverage just isn’t affordable.

While at first glance whole life insurance appears to have the benefit of generating tax-free cash from investment activity, upon closer inspection you’ll find that any type of early termination of the policy (even ten years after it’s created) will likely leave you with no cash value. The “cash value benefit” is more of a selling point than anything else. Besides, in today’s world of 401(k)s, IRAs, and other tax deferred or exempt vehicles, there’s really no point to paying extra for whole life.

There was a day and time when whole life insurance made sense. For the vast majority of people today, however, it just isn’t the best option.

Term Insurance

Term insurance is exactly what it sounds like: An insurance policy that insures your life for a specified term of years, after which it expires and will not provide your beneficiaries with any death benefit. This option makes the most sense for the highest number of people, because most of us can plan for the day when our dependents will be “on their own” or for the day when retirement funds will kick in.

Equally as important, term life insurance is dirt cheap compared to whole life policies. Term insurance will also allow you to keep your investing separate from your life policy, which means you have more control over where and how your money is invested.

One of Those Things

Many people are very opinionated about life insurance (especially life insurance agents!). Our goal was just to provide you with some basic ideas to get the ball rolling. You should still do your research and come to the decision that best fits your needs.

If you have questions about life insurance or planning for your loved ones in general, please give us a call. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session™, but we’ll completely waive that fee for the first two people who schedule an appointment and mention the “life insurance article.”

If you’re like most people, you’re worried about keeping your money. The new mantra on Wall Street is that a “return of your money is the new return on your money.” To put it mildly, the markets are presenting a challenge for most investors. Worse, everyone has a different opinion regarding what’s likely to happen and, as a result, how you should be investing your money. So what should you do when there’s no clear answer?

How Far Are You From Retirement?

If you’re still relatively young (35 or under), then you need to have some risk in your portfolio in order to grow your wealth. Without risk, you can’t generate returns. However, that doesn’t mean risking all of your money, and it certainly doesn’t mean you should take unreasonable risks. Consider going “risk on” with thirty or forty percent of your portfolio, and be very clear about the risks you’re taking.

For example, if you’re investing in stocks, be aware that you are taking market risk, currency risk, macro-economic risk, and the risk of unsavory insider dealings (remember Enron and WorldCom?).

As You Get Closer To Hanging It Up

As you get closer to “calling it a career,” you need to take less and less risk with your money. That means transitioning from investments like high growth stocks into more stable investment vehicles that provide consistent income. Dividend stocks and high grade corporate and municipal bonds fit this bill.

As you approach retirement age, you can still take some risk with your portfolio, but the portion of your wealth put at risk should be smaller. Ten percent is a good number to play with, and you can reduce risk by hedging your bets (look up “covered option strategies” as one example).

For Everyone

Once you’ve retired, the question becomes one of preservation of capital. Just because you’re wealth is held entirely in cash doesn’t mean you’re not taking risk. It’s just that the risk changes from market risk to institutional risk. Institutional risk is the risk that the institution holding your money goes out of business (think MF Global).

Don’t kid yourself into finding security in FDIC insurance. If one of the Too Big to fail banks goes out of business, the FDIC has up to 99 years to pay its claim holders. In order to minimize institutional risk, you really need to do your homework. Hold your cash in institutions that have high Tier 1 capital ratios, strong balance sheets, and limited (or, better, zero) foreign sovereign debt or domestic mortgage exposure.

Doing your homework might seem like a daunting task, but you’ll sleep better at night knowing that your money is well protected and that your family’s needs will always be met.

The Last Puzzle Piece

Once your wealth is protected from market and institutional risk, you need to think about protecting it against the claims of potential creditors (e.g. frivolous lawsuits) and passing it on to your loved ones. We are here to support you in doing that. Our entire business model is built around the task of helping our clients establish and maintain effective estate plans.

If you’re ready to get started on a plan, call our office to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session™. We normally charge $750 for these sessions, but if you are one of the first two people to call our office and mention this article by name, we’ll meet with you for free! Don’t wait, because the two spots will fill up quickly (they always do!).

Welcome to politics in 2012! Did you sign up for what we’re getting in America? In many ways, nobody is happy with the landscape. Most of us—Independents, Democrats, and Republicans alike—are unhappy (or even disgusted) with politics in general. It’s at the point of being most disgruntled, however, that we need to pay the most attention. It’s the point at which real transformation can occur.

Pushing through the urge to disengage and through the resistance to be involved is difficult, but if we don’t all take responsibility for it, then we’ll end up in a place that we don’t want to be in. Think about it like this: Who is taking responsibility for our current situation? The answer is that we should all be taking responsibility, whether we played our role actively are passively.

More Reasons To Be Involved Than Ever Before

Even if the typical issues like taxes, the economy, social matters, job creation, globalization, and fiscal policy aren’t enough to motivate you to be involved, there is one issue that will probably get you off the couch this election season: YOUR MONEY!

On December 31st of this year, a law that provides very good tax treatment for estates will sunset, unless it is renewed by Congress and the President. The current law exempts from taxation estates of $5 million or less ($10 million for married couples). That means that most folks currently fall completely outside the realm of taxation.

If the current law does expire, the law that replaces it will likely tax estates that exceed the $1 million mark. In other words, the new law will almost certainly cast a much wider net, and if you are at all concerned about your wealth, then you should be paying attention to the 2012 elections and writing to your representatives in Congress. Every dollar in your bank account is a reason to be more involved than ever before.

It Can Actually Be Fun

The idea is to fully express yourself, and it’s okay to have some fun while doing it. While the issues are very serious, there’s no reason that you have to take yourself too seriously, even when you’re talking politics with friends and family. When you talk about your favorite candidates, talk about the issues and encourage your loved ones of voting age to research those issues and where the candidates stand on those issues. And smile while you’re doing it!

An election year also presents an opportunity to teach your kids about our electoral system, the reasons it exists, and the importance of being involved. Kids really do believe that they can make a difference in the world, and that idea should be nurtured, since children really are our future.

What You Can Do

Even if the beneficial estate tax laws sunset in 2012, you can take action today to prevent losing significant benefits. There are several things you can do. You can give gifts, you can create a trust, and there are some other tricks that can likely help you save on estate taxes.

If you have questions about establishing an estate plan, please don’t wait to call our offices. Time is ticking. If you call our office today and mention this article by name, we’ll give you a Family Wealth Planning Session™ free of charge . . . a $750 value, absolutely free of charge. Don’t wait. November and election time could honestly be too late.

Have you started thinking about the cost of a college education?  Any good financial and estate plan should include provisions for financing the cost of education for your children. There are many options available to help you save for college, including college 529 savings plans, pre-paid tuition plans, and plans that allow you to lock in ever-escalating tuition rates.

Regardless of how you choose to save, when it comes time to send your kids to college, you’re going to have to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, affectionately known as FAFSA by students everywhere. In order for your kids to qualify for any form of financial aid—loans, grants, or school scholarships—you’ll be required to complete the FAFSA.

FAFSA is the first step in applying for financial aid, and it’s the cornerstone of any and all awards of financial assistance.

Fast FAFSA Tips – File Early

A lot of financial aid money is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. In other words, you need to have a sense of urgency, and the entire process begins with filing your FAFSA. While the federal deadline for completing the FAFSA is June 30th, the FAFSA can be filed any time after January 1st. Many states have deadlines that are much earlier than June 30th, and it’s a well-known fact that in some situations, students who file early get more generous awards.

One common objection to filing the FAFSA early is that detailed tax information isn’t available in January. That’s easily overcome. The answer is that you should gather financial information and make informed, educated guesses on the FAFSA. You’ll have an opportunity to update the FAFSA later, after you’ve actually filed your tax returns. Just remember to check the “will file” box on the FAFSA, and the Department of Education will send you an email reminder to update the form in April.

Be Thorough

Schools typically audit about 30% of FAFSA applications. If your application is audited and it contains mistakes, you’ll waste valuable time. The moral is that you need to be thorough and accurate when completing the FAFSA. Gather all the information you’ll need and take the time to really focus while completing this document. Take note that you’ll need more than just your adjusted gross income (“AGI”). You’ll have to add any contributions to pre-tax retirement plans like 401(k) or IRA accounts.

Other Odds and Ends

If you’re divorced, then the FAFSA is filled out for the household (parent and step-parent, if applicable) in which your student spends most of his or her time. The other parent must also complete a supplemental form to the FAFSA.

The FAFSA can be completed online, and it can be re-filed each year (as is required) online too. This method is preferable, since you’ll be given a PIN for access to revise and update your application at any time. Filing online will also help you reduce mistakes, since the online application has a guidance screen that will answer questions that typically arise while completing the form.

You don’t have to fill out a FAFSA for each school that you’re applying to. Rather, you can indicate the schools where you’re applying on the FAFSA, and your information will be transmitted to each of those colleges. If you filed online, you can update your list of schools at any time.

Part of Parenting

Helping your kids figure out how to pay for college is part of parenting. So is making sure that you have an adequate estate plan in place. This primer on the FAFSA is a service that we’re providing; because we want to help you take care of the details. If you’re interested to learn how we can help you form an estate plan, contact our offices and ask to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session™.

The type of trust we most commonly discuss is, without a doubt, the revocable living trust. While revocable living trusts are certainly effective in making sure that your estate avoids a lengthy and expensive probate process, they aren’t an effective way to protect your assets or accomplish other goals. The truth is that trusts and other estate planning tools serve all sorts of purposes. Today we are going to discuss a few of the objectives served by different types of estate planning vehicles.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

If you have a life insurance policy and die, the proceeds will be part of your estate. In some circumstances, this can result in an unnecessary tax liability. You can remove proceeds of life insurance from your estate by placing your policies into an irrevocable life insurance trust (an “ILIT”).

In many cases, ILITs are used both to own life insurance policies and to be the beneficiary of the policies. This gives you the option to make sure that insurance proceeds are held in trust and protected against irresponsible spending, creditors, or ex-spouses. It also means that you can designate proceeds to benefit your spouse, children, grandchildren, or anyone else you want to make sure is cared for.

Keep Control, Get Paid, and Give Away . . . All At the Same Time

Limited liability companies (“LLCs”) are typically thought of as business entities, but they can and often do serve estate planning purposes. Here’s how it works: You create an LLC and transfer assets into it. Those assets can range from real estate to precious metals to cash in a bank account or even stocks and bonds. You make your children (or other heirs) members of the LLC, which essentially gives them an ownership interest.

Finally, when you create the LLC, you designate yourself as the manager of the entity. That gives you full control, and it also gives you the right to get paid from the assets within the LLC for your role as manager. You can also retain a membership interest for yourself, which is advisable.

The beauty of using an LLC is that it has an asset protection feature in addition to the estate planning feature. Specifically, if anyone sues you personally, they typically won’t be able to get at the assets in the LLC!  Though it’s not really relevant for LLCs used as estate planning vehicles, the reverse is true as well: If the LLC gets sued, your personal assets would be shielded. This latter feature is what makes LLCs such great business vehicles.

There are other structures that can be adapted for use as estate planning tools as well. The family limited partnership is one such vehicle.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that there are thousands of variations of estate plans that can be formed given the universe of tools available to attorneys. With all those options, the only one way that you can be sure you’re getting the right plan for you is by consulting with a professional who has a vested interest in making sure that your plan is perfectly fit to your circumstances. The boilerplate forms available online just simply aren’t going to get the job done in most cases.

If you’re interested in sitting down with an attorney who will take the time to understand your situation and help you plan for the future, then call our offices today. If you mention this article by name, we will meet with you for free, even though our Family Wealth Planning Sessions™ normally cost $750!  Hurry, because our calendar fills up very, very quickly, and you simply can’t afford to wait on this.

When people think of estate planning, the first ideas that typically come to mind are of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and guardianship arrangements.  Traditionally, those instruments have been closely associated with estate planning simply because they are legal tools exclusively dedicated to helping people pass on their assets or otherwise ensure that loved ones are cared for.

While the traditional tools work very well at accomplishing their designated tasks, you might be surprised to learn that they are not the only tools available for estate planning.

Business Entities

Certain types of business entities have features that make them very good estate planning tools.  Consider limited partnerships, for example.  A limited partnership has very interesting features that date back to the 16th or 17th century, when shipping companies needed to raise capital for expeditions to the New World and India.  The shippers had a unique expertise in their maritime knowledge and ability to deliver cargo, but they lacked the capital needed to build new ships and undertake expeditions.

Governments recognized the value of shipping enterprises and developed an entity that allowed the ventures to proceed.  Today the entity is known as the limited partnership.  The shippers—the ones with the expertise—were the general partners of the ventures they promoted.  They made all the decisions regarding the business, and they exerted complete control over the enterprise.  They were also on the hook for all of the obligations incurred by the limited partnership.  In other words, the general partners had no corporate veil to hide behind.  They were “generally liable” for the full extent of the debts owed by the partnership.

The limited partners, on the other hand, were pure investors.  They had no say in the operation of the business, but they were given protection from creditors of the business.  The most a limited partner could lose in a venture was the amount he or she had invested.

So to recap, general partners had control and unlimited liability for debts.  Limited partners had no control but only limited liability.

Limited partnerships work the same way today.

Making it a Family LP

Limited partnerships today can be treated by the IRS as Family Limited Partnerships, which is really just recognition by the IRS that a limited partnership is being used for estate planning purposes.  In a typical case, parents serve as general partners and make their children and even their grandchildren limited partners.  The parents then maintain control of the entity and manage the assets as they see fit, while the children (or other heirs) own only a beneficial interest.  The good news is that by doing this you avoid the necessity of willing the assets held by the limited partnership.  That’s because you don’t own them, even though you still exert control over them while alive!

The most beautiful aspect of this type of planning is that in many cases it provides a layer of asset protection for items owned by a limited partnership.  The protection is often on par with that provided by sophisticated trusts but without the issues inherent in trusts (e.g. lack of control or protection for assets).

Let’s Talk More About It

If you are thinking of forming an estate plan in 2012, maybe a limited partnership will be the way for you to go.  Or you might be the perfect candidate for a more traditional plan.  The bottom line is that we can help you formulate and implement a custom plan that fits your specific needs, regardless of whether you are an elderly person or a young entrepreneur on the rise.  Contact our office and mention this article by name, and we’ll provide you with a Family Wealth Planning Session™ valued at $750 for absolutely no cost.

It’s no secret that 2012 marks the end of the Mayan Calendar. What that means, however, is anyone’s guess. Maybe it means that the end of the world is imminent (though that’s not likely). Perhaps the Mayans just got tired of plotting time and decided to continue writing their calendar in a few hundred years. Maybe, just maybe the last day of the Mayan Calendar signifies a new awakening and a higher consciousness that will usher in a new era for humanity.

Or maybe it’s just a day on the calendar, and we can make it whatever we want it to be.

How Will Your World End?

Ayn Rand wrote one of the most widely read novels in history when she penned Atlas Shrugged. In an interview, Rand once said something to effect that the world would end when she died.

Does that statement make Ayn Rand the most self-centered person ever? Probably not, though she did write another book on the virtues of selfishness. That’s beside the point. What Rand meant by her statement is that at death, her world would end. And since we all live in our own worlds . . . since it’s impossible to live in anyone else’s world or to walk in another person’s shoes, death is the end of the world for all of us.

Have you ever thought of it in those terms? If not, maybe 2012 will be the beginning of some new beliefs for you.

The Point to All of This

There is a point to all of this. Specifically, it’s this: Life is important. The importance is defined by the meaning we choose to assign to events, and it is defined by the decisions we make and the impact we have on our loved ones.

We are generally good at making choices. We choose careers and modes of productivity to impact our planet, sometimes even long after we’re gone. We choose spouses, friends, and hobbies. Life is about choice.

In some sense, death is about choice, too.

Choices That Take Effect When Our Worlds End

For far too long, estate planning has been considered something that only the elderly need—for those people who are established and on the downhill side of life. Fortunately, there has been a popular movement aimed at showing young professionals and families that they too need estate planning, especially when young children are involved.

The reason is simple: An estate plan puts you in the driver’s seat. It allows you to choose who will raise your children, who will manage your assets, and who will carry on your legacy if your world happens to end prematurely. These are all choices you can make today that will have the effect of law, whether you pass away next week or in sixty years. And if you fail to make these choices, they will be left to a judge—a total stranger with the discretion to act as he or she chooses without regard to what you “might have wanted.”

Make 2012 Count

You can make 2012 count in a major way by starting the year off with bold action. Don’t wait to create a plan. Waiting will never help when it comes to estate planning, and it could be absolutely catastrophic in some cases. Make your plan now. Set the wheels in motion so that if anything does happen to you, you’ll be remembered as the person who made sure everyone was cared for.

If you decide to create an estate plan this year, call our offices and mention this article by name. If you do that, we’ll provide you with a Family Wealth Planning Session absolutely free of charge (normally valued at $750). You literally have nothing to gain by waiting . . . so don’t.

Part of estate planning involves deciding how much you want to give away while you’re alive. Many, many people get a lot of joy from seeing their loved ones benefit from and even grow gifts. In some sense, that’s infinitely more gratifying than working to put an estate plan in place and letting the gifts occur after your death. You worked for your assets, and if you know they’re going to be passed on, why not enjoy the process of gifting now? It’s at least worth thinking about, for the tax benefits alone if nothing else.

 
The Two Easiest Ways to Gift

There two very easy ways to give gifts without incurring any gift tax, which coincidentally reduces the size of your estate and your estate tax liability, if applicable. Giving gifts, in short, is a very effective double-edged sword for fighting the tax monster. The two easiest ways to give are as follows:

1. You may pay an unlimited amount of tuition and medical expenses for as many people as you want, so long as such money is paid directly to the educational or healthcare institutions, and
2. You may give up to $13,000 annually to as many individuals as you like. If you ever give more than $13,000 worth of cash or assets to a single individual, you must file a gift-tax return, and the amount exceeding $13,000 will go against your lifetime gift tax credit.

If your gifts exceed the annual limit, you will be charged the applicable gift-tax rate. The good news is that the rate has been gradually decreasing, but Congress is set to address the lifetime gift-tax exclusion again in 2012, so what will happen is anybody’s guess.

 
A Reason to Give Now

Here is one very good reason (besides enjoying the process of giving) to give now: If you exceed your gift tax exclusion within three years of dying, then your estate tax exemption is reduced by the same amount. For example, if you give one person $113,000 in one gift two years before you die, then your estate tax exemption will be reduced by $100,000. That’s a very good reason to act right now, unless you happen to know exactly when you’re going to die!

Charitable Gifts

Giving to charity is another option that can help reduce estate taxes and, at the same time, allow you to make a difference in the world. You have four options in this realm.

1. Give directly to a charity that you believe in.
2. Contribute to a charitable gift fund. These are like IRA’s in that you make a contribution (which is tax-deductible), grow the money tax free, and then direct it to the charity of your choosing.
3. Donate to a foundation that pools donations and then allocates grant money to local charities or causes that you designate.
4. Set up a charitable trust. These either allocate income to a charity or cause of your choosing and the principal to your heirs or vice versa.

Speaking of Gifts . . . .

All this talk of gifts has us thinking. We can help you determine whether or not gifting is a good option for you and whether it makes sense from a tax perspective. To that end, we are offering you a gift: For a very limited time (i.e. until our calendar is full), we will meet with you and provide you with a free Family Wealth Planning Session™. We normally charge $750 for these sessions, so the free slots will go quickly. To take advantage of this offer, please call our office and mention this article by name.

The holidays are here! This time of year is supposed to be about celebrating life, love, and family. It’s a time when we should really reflect on how blessed most of us are, and it’s an opportunity for us to show and share our love to the people who mean the most to us. That is the opportunity we’re given during the holidays, and it really is a shame that so much of the true essence of celebration has been shifted to materialism—to shopping, gifting, and all out consumerism. There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving gifts, especially if they are from the heart and not given just because it’s “that time of year,” but there are other purposes that can be served by this season of giving. What should be celebrated, above and beyond all else, is the relationships you have.

Thinking of Others? Give Yourself

If you are young and successful—a combination that’s pretty common these days—then you are probably looking forward to being with your family this holiday season and showing your appreciation for them. Giving gifts, especially to children, is a big part of that. But before getting into the material things you can give, take a moment to think about and reflect upon whether you’ve given all the support you should. Without support and the true genuine expressions that lead to security in relationships, all the material possessions in the world don’t matter—no matter how much you have or how much you give.
Giving of yourself comes first, and many times the gift of self is an unsung one. There is no fancy wrapping, no particular occasion for it to be enjoyed, and no elaborate ceremony to celebrate. In fact, in many cases the gift of self goes completely unnoticed. Yet the irony is that the gift of self is the baseline for all stable relationships and families.

The Gift of Security

Immersing yourself into creating a happy family and a successful career is one of the most rewarding decisions you can make, and it is a decision that will pay dividends for a lifetime. Here’s the question: Despite all your hard work, have you taken worry off the table? Have you done everything within your power to make sure that your legacy lives on after you’re gone (because it can happen tomorrow), to make sure that your loved ones are cared for financially, to guarantee that your children will be raised in the way you would want and by the people you would want to raise them?

If you haven’t given yourself this gift of security, if you’re just hoping for the best—hoping that nothing will happen to you, hoping that things will work out, hoping that wishes you haven’t fully expressed are actually followed—then you’re taking a huge risk. You can give yourself and your family the gift of security right now by formulating a plan that ensures they’re cared for no matter what happens to you. Hopefully that’s a gift they won’t know about for a long time, but it’s a gift that you’ll thank yourself for every day after it’s implemented.

Because it’s the holidays, we’re going to spend some time meeting with young families for free this month. Young families aren’t normally the demographic associated with estate planning, but they are actually more in need of it that anyone. Why? Because you need to plan for your children who would otherwise be defenseless without you! We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but call us today and mention this article, and we’ll meet with you for no charge so that you can begin thinking about how you should plan for an unknown future. It really is the best gift you can give!

Governed By Statute

Most state legislatures have enacted living will statutes. In addition to laying out the criteria necessary to create an enforceable living will, such statutes determine when living wills become effective. For example, a living will may become effective when, in the opinion of medical professionals, a person has less than six months to live. State law may also dictate the extent to which certain medical interventions can be used (or withheld) lawfully.

Open to Interpretation

Like all written documents, the terms of your living will are subject to interpretation. Different hospitals and doctors may come to different conclusions or have different interpretation policies in place, so in some cases living wills aren’t followed to the letter. That’s not to say that a patient’s wishes aren’t taken very seriously, because they are, and creating a living will is one of the best ways to have a say in your medical care when you’re unable to articulate wishes.

This is also where healthcare proxies come into play. A healthcare proxy is simply a designation of a person to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacity. Healthcare proxies can and often do act on behalf of patients when the wishes expressed in a living will are unclear or ambiguous. They can be a great advocate with medical professionals.

Choosing the Right Proxy

Because the role of healthcare proxy is obviously very important, you need to choose the right person. It has to be a person with clarity and resolve, an ability to understand important medical information, and a willingness to fulfill your wishes, whatever they may be. It should also be a person with whom you are very, very close. That’s important because you’ll want to have in-depth discussions with that person about your wishes in certain circumstances. Only then can your healthcare proxy actually be an effective agent for you, because with clarity comes understanding and a willingness to act.

Farther Into the Rabbit Hole

Once you get a living will and health care proxy in place, it’s time to ask another question: Who will make medical decisions on behalf of your minor children if you are incapacitated?  It’s simply not enough to only plan for yourself. You have to put in place a plan that takes the stress off of your family and puts it onto a person who has accepted responsibility (the healthcare proxy), and your plan must also include provisions for the care of your children. You have to think of everything!  Well . . . not really. Keep reading.

We’ve Thought of Everything

You don’t have to think of everything because we’ve already done that!  It’s our job to set up comprehensive estate plans for each of our unique clients. The fact is that no two situations are exactly alike, so you need a customized plan. Only then can you rest assured that the needs of your loved ones will be met. If you’d like to discuss estate planning with us, which includes the creation of living wills and health care proxies, call us today. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session™, but if you mention this article by name when you call our office, and if we have space left on our calendar, we will meet with you for free.