Five Moves That Can Improve Your Estate Plan

1. Review ownership and beneficiary designations. You can unwittingly limit your power to distribute certain types of property through your will. In the case of a married couple that owns all property in joint tenancy, the will of the first spouse to die may lose its effectiveness.

2. State your health care wishes through a living will. This simple document outlines your preferences about lifesaving medical treatments in certain circumstances such as if you are terminally ill. Combine this with a durable power of attorney for health care to appoint someone to make your medical decisions if you cannot make them yourself.

3. Keep your financial affairs private. Unlike a will, a revocable living trust is not available under public records, and all assets in the trust are handled with the same privacy. Your personal family business is not exposed.

4. Include a trust in your estate plan. If you have substantial financial assets, consider creating a credit shelter trust in your plans. The potential benefits include estate tax-saving opportunities that can help ensure that your heirs will not have to liquidate those assets to pay estate taxes.¹

5. Finally, allow yourself peace of mind. Seeking professional advice and looking at all your options can lead to a tax-wise estate plan that meets the needs of your heirs and your favorite charitable organizations, such as Lewis & Clark, giving you the comfort of knowing that your assets will benefit those you leave behind.

Have questions? We can help. Contact Sharon Bosserman-Benson at (503) 768-7911 or sharon@lclark.edu.

¹Currently federal estate taxes are repealed for all deaths that occur in the calendar year 2010. In 2011, estate taxes are scheduled to be reinstated for estates worth more than $1 million at rates up to 55 percent. Congress, however, is likely to address reinstating estate taxes before 2011. What the final legislation will look like and when it might become effective is unknown at this point.