CLA Estate Services Educates Seniors About Estate Planning

Do you need an estate plan? According to CLA Financial Services, many of the people who could most benefit from a solid estate plan don't have one, in large part because they don't understand what estate planning is and why it's important. It's not surprising that, in a culture that avoids uncomfortable discussions about such things as end-of-life planning and Wills, most people know little about the importance of estate planning and even less about the various legal instruments that are involved in planning for the distribution of your assets after your death.

The fact is that many people will pay far more in potential taxes, probate costs, attorney fees and other costs than they have to - and all of those costs will reduce the amount of the legacy they've intended for their children and heirs to have. Just as importantly, many seniors have no plan in place to ensure that someone they trust will be making decisions for them in the event they are unable to do so and too many are leaving it up to the state to decide how their assets will be distributed and parceled out upon their deaths if one dies without at least a Will.

Even if you have a single asset, planning advice is and should be a vital part of your future and there are many ways to help protect your assets for yourself and your heirs. The one estate planning instrument most people know is a Last Will and Testament - but a Will is only one of many ways to direct the distribution of assets upon your death. However, a Will does nothing to protect your assets or ensure that they are handled properly while you are still alive.

Those goals are best achieved by other legal documents and instruments, such as living revocable trust and various other types of trusts and legal estate plans that serve to appoint guardians, protect assets and ensure that your assets are there for your use throughout your life. CLA services help seniors define their assets and guide them through the kinds of planning they need to do to ensure that their assets are available for their own care throughout their entire lives and that the unexpected - a catastrophic illness or the need for long term care, for example - doesn't erode the legacy that they intend for their children and heirs to have.

Estate planning isn't all about the money, though. CLA services include discussions of deciding on someone to make medical decisions for you if you are incapable and making your wishes for end of life care clear to those you love. In short, estate planning is an act of love that can take many burdens off the shoulders of your loved ones. If you haven't considered the types of asset financial advice and estate planning that may be beneficial to you, check for a CLA Estate Services seminar being held close to you.

CLA Estate Services Help Educate Seniors About Asset Planning

Every day, CLA Financial Services’ consultants work with seniors who have never before considered estate planning to be important to their lives. Terms like “Asset Planning”, “Wealth Preservation” or “Estate Protection” are often used by financial and estate planners, but such terms seem like a foreign language to most seniors.

For many folks, the idea of estate planning doesn't seem to apply to them - they don't think of the assets they've managed to amass over the years - the family home, their retirement account, perhaps some stocks, their life insurance - as an "Estate". For most, Estates belong to rich people, not to the average person who has worked their entire life and managed to save up enough money to make their life comfortable and perhaps have a little left over to pass down to the next generation.

CLA Estate Services are designed to help educate seniors with asset financial advice about the importance of estate planning and asset protection by introducing them to the different types of planning tools and strategies that can help them protect the nest egg, their “estate”, they've built. In workshops across the country, CLA Estate Services representatives present information that help retirees and seniors review their current planning and determine what alternatives are available to address their needs. CLA seminars present information on a wide range of estate planning topics and strategies, i.e. joint accounts, living trusts, wills, guardianship, etc., that can help seniors better understand the issues involved and the choices available.

Seniors who attend seminars, like the ones presented by CLA Estate Services, leave more prepared to deal with the uncertainties in today's world to allow them to be ready to sit down with their attorneys and accountants to discuss how to effectively protect their estate. Advice is easy to come by. Education to help you make your own decisions is far more important in ensuring your peace of mind for the rest of your life. Once you understand the options available to you, you can more easily make plans that work best for your life and your needs.

How CLA Estate Services Can Help You With Your Will

CLA financial services is a company that specializes in conservative planning for seniors. Estate planning is one of those services and one that many seniors don't understand or want to discuss. There are many reasons for this reluctance - the natural human tendency to avoid thinking about their mortality is one of the biggest. But one of the most common reasons that seniors don't think about estate planning is that they think that estate planning is for the wealthy. While the wealthiest families and individuals are more likely to consider estate planning because they have more assets to protect and distribute; there are a number of important reasons that even those with modest estates should take the time to consider how their estates will be managed during their retirement and distributed upon their death. If you fit any of these five special circumstances, you should contact CLA financial services to find out how estate planning can benefit you.

Complexities of Probate Upon Death

If you have a Last Will and Testament, regardless of the size of your estate, your Will has to be probated not only in the county of your primary residence, but also in every county where you have real property. For those with minimal estates that are below a certain threshold, many states offer an expedited and/or simplified probate process. But for most, a formal probate proceeding will be required before any assets can be passed to your heirs.

The primary issue with probate is the time it can take before any assets can be distributed. First, the Will has to be submitted for probate. The judge will appoint an executor, usually someone identified in the will to act in such capacity. An accounting needs to be made of all the assets and, finally, the judge approves the distribution. While sometimes this can be a fairly quick process, other times it can take several years to finalize. Because of the formal steps involved in probating a Will, many folks engage an attorney to help them through the process. As such, there may be extra costs to your estate. While there are studies that show that the national average to probate a Will can range from 1% to 7% of the value of your assets, the truth is no one can predict what it will cost to probate a will.

This is also true if you die without a Will. This is called intestate and your assets will need to be probated. In the case, however, the distribution of your assets will be based on state statutes. While a Will also needs to be probated, it is a better alternative to dying intestate (without a will) as you have some control over how the assets will be distributed to your heirs.

There are estate planning options available which may reduce or eliminate probate altogether. At CLA Estate Services, we help you understand the options available to have a more time efficient and less costly way to distribute your assets to your heirs by giving you quality asset financial advice.

Ask CLA Estate Services: Wills vs. Living Trusts

CLA Estate Services is based in Texas and has been helping seniors understand their estate planning options in order for them to make informed decisions about their estates for over 20 years. Many of the questions CLA Financial Services consultants hear when they discuss senior estate planning concern the differences between wills and living trusts.

Wills and living trusts are two different legal devices that determine how your belongings and assets will be distributed after your death. Each of them has specific advantages and disadvantages, and a client must consult with an attorney to understand asset financial advice clearly before deciding which is the best option for your circumstances.

What a Will Does
A will is a recognized legal document that lays out your wishes about the distribution of your property and assets. In a will, you name each of your assets and designate the person or organization that you want to have that asset after your death. You can also designate an executor - a person who will be responsible for seeing that your wishes are carried out. The executor of your estate will be responsible for seeing to the settlement of any debts you leave, arranging for payment of any taxes due on your estate and managing the disbursement of your assets.

The major drawback of a will is that it must be probated in the county in which you resided upon your death and in each county where you owned real property. Probate is a legal process where the will is submitted to the Probate Judge who will rule on the validity of the will. There are several steps that must be taken in order to probate a will before any assets can be distributed. Unfortunately, the probate process can, at times, be very time consuming. While some can be very short, some can take years to finalize. Because of the intricacies involved, many people elect to utilize an attorney to help them with the probate process. The costs associated with probate vary greatly and the truth is it is unknown how much it will cost to probate a will after death.

What a Living Trust Does

A revocable living trust is established while you are still alive. When you establish a trust, you transfer ownership of most of your assets to the trust and designate a person - often yourself - to manage those assets. You also designate a successor trustee to manage those assets if you become incapacitated or when you die. Depending on your specific circumstances, a living trust can make the transfer of your property to your beneficiaries more orderly and efficient, help you avoid estate transfer taxes and ensure that your surviving spouse, children or other heirs have immediate access to the resources they need without having to wait for probate. You see, assets in a trust are not probated or overseen by a judge, the trust document will tell the successor trustee how distribute or use the assets in the trust. This basically allows you to control your assets even after your incapacitation or death.

The major drawback of a trust is that it is a proactive planning tool. It takes time now to establish the trust and transfer your assets into the trust. The transferring of assets into a trust is called funding. If assets are not funded into the trust, then they fall outside of the trust and may need to be probated. As such, funding is a critical step to ensure that a trust will operate as designed upon incapacitation or death.

For many retirees, the complexities of estate planning combine with the natural human tendency to avoid uncomfortable conversations can lead to confusion about the various planning tools available that can help ensure your family is cared for when you're not able to make decisions for them. At CLA financial services, we understand the complexities involved and can help you coordinate your planning with attorneys and CPA's to ensure that your planning is in place when you will need it the most. Planning for the future and getting asset financial advice is too important to put off till later.