As you go through your life’s journey,  you may want to consider the destination. Of course, all of us will eventually pass away and this is our final destination. However, you have choices to make along the way.  You could just proceed blindly and let the chips fall as they may.  Or, you could choose to set goals for yourself with regard to how you want to shape your legacy.
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Parman & Easterday are members of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you think back to the end of the 2010 calendar year you’ll recall that the news in the financial sector revolved around the impending expiration of the Bush era tax cuts. This is an issue that affected Americans on every level, but it also had a very profound impact on estate planning. If the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 would have expired with no new legislation to replace it, the estate tax exclusion would have been reduced to $1 million, and the rate of the tax would have returned to the 2001 level of 55%. Read more…

Parman & Easterday are members of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Legacy Planning is a step beyond basic estate planning. With basic estate planning you can leave direct inheritances to your heirs and make a final statement. With a Legacy Plan, you can create special financial and personal inheritances and provide funds for causes that may be close to your heart.

Financial Inheritances

A popular tool of Legacy Planning is Trusts. Trusts, especially Irrevocable Trusts, allow you to create special financial inheritances for your family members. With your spouse, you can create a Trust that will protect assets and avoid estate taxes up to the amount of the estate tax exemption at the time of your death. For your children, you can create special Lifetime Trusts that will provide them with funds until their death. You can also turn Lifetime Trusts into Generation Skipping Trusts that will provide financial assistance to future generations.

Personal Inheritances

With a Legacy Plan, you can also provide special personal inheritances. Perhaps there is a special item with sentimental value that you wish to leave to a certain loved one. Or maybe you want to leave your family with a sense of your individual history. You can write a memoir or a letter to each family member with unique remembrances. For genealogy buffs, leaving a written family history created from genealogical facts is a gift that will continue giving to future generations.

Providing for a Charity

Through the Trusts used in Legacy Planning, you can leave funds for a charity. Creating a Charitable Trust allows you to leave a piece of yourself to your community. Your funds will continue to help others after you have passed away. A Charitable Trust will also provide your estate with a lower estate tax burden.

Larry Parman
Attorney at Law

Parman & Easterday are members of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.