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None of us likes to think about our own death or enjoys planning for that occasion. However, if you do not create an estate plan or fail to update it regularly, you are likely setting your loved ones up for even more stress and grief after you pass away. It may add to your own stress and impede your peace of mind during your lifetime because of the uncertainty that your wishes and goals will be fulfilled. If you have not updated your estate plan to include loved ones who are not provided for in your existing plan, you may be tempted to make deathbed gifts. It may bring you pleasure to make significant gifts to loved ones because of the joy it may bring to them. However, in addition to the obvious problem that no one knows the exact time they will die and may not be able to make the deathbed gifts they intend, there are some other drawbacks to deathbed planning that you may not have thought about.
Some trusts are irrevocable as soon as they are created, which means that, in general, the Trustmaker (the person who created and funded the trust) cannot terminate or modify it and take back the money or property that it holds. You may wonder why anyone would want an irrevocable trust, but irrevocable trusts can provide some very important benefits, particularly asset protection, tax minimization, and maintaining eligibility for government benefits. In contrast, Trustmakers may amend or revoke a revocable living trust at any time prior to their death, but at the death of one or both Trustmakers the trust becomes irrevocable.
A will is a foundational estate planning document. However, according to Gallup, only 46 percent of US adults have a will. This number has remained consistent in Gallup polls dating back to 1990. If you are among the minority of Americans with this crucial estate planning document, then you probably recognize the risks of not having a will. Simply creating a will does not mean that your estate plan is complete or final. It is best practice to regularly have your will reviewed every five to seven years. In some cases, it may even need to be revoked and redrafted entirely. Usually, revoking a will is a purposeful act on the part of the will maker.
Would you like to provide your children or loved ones with an inheritance but protect them from the risks that may accompany a large windfall? If so, you can create a beneficiary-controlled trust in which the person you name as the trust’s primary beneficiary has rights, benefits, and control over the property held by the trust, but with important protections. In a beneficiary-controlled trust, you can name the primary beneficiary as the sole trustee, or if you name a co-trustee, the beneficiary can be given the authority to remove the co-trustee and select a successor co-trustee if they choose. In addition, a beneficiary-controlled trust may include a general power of appointment that enables a beneficiary who is also trustee to choose the beneficiary of any remaining trust property once they pass.
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