For updated COVID-19 precautions and FAQs, please click here for more information.

Modern Estate Planning Blog

Elder Law & Special Needs Planning

Steps to establishing a strong estate plan | Estate Tax Lawyer in Gold River

February 25, 2011

Gold River estate planning can be a daunting task, especially when the last thing you want to think about is your death and your family’s grief.

How do you start your estate plan? What all should a good estate plan include?

In this series, I want to discuss the key steps in building a strong plan of distributing assets upon your death. No one likes to think about the grief that their demise will cause their family. But an even sadder thought is forcing your family to deal with unnecessary problems or tasks when they are trying to grieve, just because you failed to put an estate plan into place.

The first step to planning your estate is to calculate your net worth.

This can be done by adding up all of your assets, including:

  • Home equity and other real estate
  • Jewelry
  • Cars/Boats/Motorcycles/Jet-Skis, etc.
  • Collectibles
  • Debt other people have to you
  • Bank account balances
  • Investment accounts
  • Retirement accounts
  • Life insurance policies
  • Business interests

After adding up all of your assets, you then subtract all debt. Common debt includes:

  • Credit card balances
  • Car loans
  • Personal loans
  • Mortgage balances

After you subtract your debt from your assets, you are left with your net worth. Once you determine this number, you will be able to find out what federal tax liabilities your estate will be responsible for upon your death. Depending on the state you live in, it is also possible that you may be responsible for inheritance tax or other estate taxes.

The best way to determine what your tax liabilities will be based on your net worth is to contact an experienced Gold River estate tax attorney to calculate it for you.

By simply mentioning this article, you can come in for a Peace of Mind Planning Session (normally $750) where we will help you determine such estate tax liabilities absolutely free of charge. However, these sessions are limited to 10 per month so call today!

Free Resources

CLIENT Story

Thank you for all that you have done and for all of your time. Worth every penny!
Robert

As Seen On