Estate Planning
Protect Your Assets and Your Family’s Future
Why spend the time on Estate Planning?
Anyone who owns a house, vacation property, IRAs, Mutual Funds, stocks/bonds – or anyone who has some cash squirreled away against a rainy day – has an estate. And if you don’t plan for what will happen to your estate after your death, then Uncle Sam will wind up making those decisions for you - and he just might end up with the lion’s share.
A properly executed estate plan can help you:
- To control who manages and receives your assets at your death.
- To minimize administrative expenses and legal fees.
- To transfer a greater share of your assets to your heirs and favored charities/causes.
- To protect your heirs by providing them with wealth management continuity throughout your lifetime and beyond.
Under the current (2009) tax code, your estate may incur a federal estate tax liability at a maximum rate of 45% for 2009. The Federal exemption amount in 2009 is $3,500,000 per person. Hantz Financial Services can assist you with achieving your unique financial aspirations via the estate planning process.
Reasons for ongoing review
Even if you already have an estate plan, you should review it in the event of:
- Marriage
- The birth of a child or grandchild
- A significant change in your net worth (stock option vesting or inheritance)
- Changes in financial objectives (such as early retirement)
- The purchase or sale of a house or family business
- Divorce
- Death of a spouse or beneficiary
- Changes in the tax laws