The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate in Illinois: A Step-by-step Plan to Protect Your Assets, Limit Your Taxes, and Ensure Your Wishes Are Fulfilled for Illinois Residents

by Ashar, Linda C.

• ISBN13: 9781601384294
• ISBN10: 1601384297
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: Atlantic Pub Co

Summary

What happens to your estate after you are gone is very much within your control. Estate planning is not only for the wealthy; it is for everyone. It is simply the process of deciding where your assets are to be distributed after your death. For those people who wish to preserve their assets for designated purposes - such as family or special charities - it becomes necessary to make special advance preparations.To ensure your assets are protected and final wishes are carried out, there are some common actions that should be taken now. Proper estate planning allows you to plan for yourself and your loved ones without giving up control of your affairs.Your estate plan should also allow for the possibility of your own disability. It should detail what you own and whom you want to leave it to at a time of your choosing and the way you want. Your estate plan should include fully disclosed, controlled costs for you and your loved ones. The last thing you want to worry about is having your estate drained of value through taxes and legal costs.The right plan can protect the value of your estate and spare your loved ones unnecessary hassles and legal conflicts. The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate in North Carolina will help you glide through this complicated process. This new book has been adapted to offer Ohio residents state-specific advice for estate planning. Co-authors Margo Pierce and Linda C. Ashar, attorneys at law, have crafted an estate planning primer, allowing North Carolina residents to become more informed and more involved during the process.Many books on estate planning indicate you do not need the services of an attorney, but this book highly recommends using an attorney versed in this area: You should not go through the process alone. This book is intended explain the complicated issues, terminology, and planning strategies of estate planning so when you do meet with a qualified attorney, you will be well prepared. You will understand the legal terms and be ready to discuss issues and strategies with familiarity, saving you time and legal fees and ensuring peace of mind.North Carolina -specific information is offered throughout this book, including: North Carolina 's probate code; North Carolina rules, regulations, and laws specific to estate planning; elements of a valid North Carolina will; planning your living will in North Carolina; explanations of North Carolina laws regarding durable health care power of attorneys, do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, and directives to withhold CPR. The book's easy-to-understand context clarifies this complicated and sensitive subject and gives readers the power to take control of their future.This book also offers an overview of abatement rules, settlement costs, guardianship and minor children, executors and trustees, life insurance, potential long-term care needs, marital deductions, types of trusts, gift splitting, survivorship deeds, 529 plans, reducing or eliminating estate taxes, avoiding tax on life insurance, using insurance to pay estate taxes, gift tax issues, generation skipping transfer tax, and tax-deferred accounts.Estate planning should be a positive experience. It involves reviewing your situation and planning for your future. Although few people want to think about the possibility of disability or disease, advance planning is also a way to show your love and to reduce potential distress later.Other books offer a non-state-specific overview of estate planning, causing many readers to be misinformed about rules and regulations particular to their state; but, this new book provides information North Carolina residents need to know. Do not get outdated or wrong information that does not pertain to you specifically. Use this new book to craft an estate plan that is not only legally sound but also fully carries out your last wishes

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 15
Introduction	p. 19
An Introduction to Estate Planning	p. 21
What is an Estate?	p. 22
Property Types	p. 24
Property Interest: Defined	p. 25
Who Will Help You Plan Your Estate?	p. 26
A Closer Look: The Attorney	p. 27
A Closer Look: The Financial Planner	p. 27
A Closer Look: The Accountant	p. 30
A Closer Look: The Insurance Agent	p. 32
Getting Started with Your Estate Planning	p. 33
Your Method for Success	p. 34
Are You Ready?	p. 39
What Are You Worth?	p. 41
What is Your Home Worth?	p. 42
What Other Property Is Out There?	p. 44
Real Property beyond Real Estate	p. 45
Your Debts: Subtracting Debt from Property	p. 49
What Does the Future Hold in Worth?	p. 51
Factoring in Settlement Costs	p. 53
Your Will: The Definition of Your Estate Plan	p. 55
Your Will is a Backup	p. 57
Getting Your Will Started	p. 59
Developing a Will	p. 66
What Cannot be Included in a Will?	p. 71
Additional Will Contents and Concerns	p. 73
Monitoring Your Will throughout Your Life	p. 80
Your Will's Status	p. 83
Laws That You Have to Deal With	p. 85
Abatement Statutes and Laws	p. 86
Antilapse statutes	p. 89
Ademption Statutes	p. 90
Death and Divorce: Two Common Considerations	p. 91
Sometimes Laws Get in the Way No Matter What	p. 95
Probate: Avoid It at All Costs	p. 103
The Cost of Probate	p. 105
Avoid It if Possible	p. 108
Can Probate Be a Good Thing?	p. 115
Will Substitutions That Can Conserve Your Estate	p. 119
When to Consider Substitutes	p. 120
Which Will Substitute Should You Consider?	p. 121
What is Joint Tenancy With Survivorship?	p. 121
What is a Living Trust?	p. 125
Joint Tenancy Bank Accounts	p. 129
Tenancy by the Entirety	p. 129
Payable-on-Death Accounts	p. 130
Other Will Substitutes	p. 131
Summing It Up	p. 134
Trusts: Trusting and Your Estate	p. 137
How Trusts Work	p. 138
Trusts for Couples	p. 140
Creating the Trust	p. 140
Making Your Trust Valid	p. 146
Abstract of Trust	p. 149
Summing It Up	p. 149
Taxes: Estate Tax and Other Taxes	p. 151
Federal Estate Tax Exemptions	p. 153
State Estate Tax and Inheritance Tax	p. 154
Gift Tax	p. 156
GSTT - Generation Skipping Transfer Tax	p. 158
Estate Recovery Act	p. 158
How is Inherited Property Valued?	p. 159
Lowering Your Federal Estate Taxes	p. 161
Making Gifts during Your Life	p. 162
AB Trusts	p. 164
Is There Anything Else?	p. 168
Disclaiming Gifts	p. 171
A Comprehensive Estate Plan: Putting the Insurance Pieces Together	p. 175
Insurance Protection	p. 176
Types of Insurance Coverage	p. 179
Life Insurance and Taxes	p. 188
Summing It Up	p. 190
Planning for Long-Term Care	p. 193
It Will Not Happen to Me	p. 193
Medical Decisions to Consider	p. 194
Final Arrangements	p. 201
Making Financial Decisions	p. 205
Your Estate Plan and Your Retirement Money	p. 209
First, Invest	p. 209
Into Your Estate Plan	p. 210
Planning for Your Retirement Funds	p. 212
What Happens When...?	p. 225
Children and Estates	p. 225
What Happens with Divorce?	p. 233
Putting It All Together	p. 235
Why Are You Planning	p. 235
What Do I Want to Cover?	p. 236
Who Are Your Beneficiaries?	p. 237
Caring for Your Children	p. 238
Determine Where You Are Currently	p. 239
Who Is Your Team?	p. 240
Whom Should You Tell?	p. 241
Did You Get Everything?	p. 241
Revisit Your Estate Plan Yearly or More	p. 243
Work to Accomplish Your Goals	p. 244
Conclusion	p. 245
	p. 247
	p. 253
Living Will	p. 253
Designation of Health Care Surrogate	p. 256
Power of Attorney	p. 258
Considerations in Planning Your Estate	p. 261
Tentative Tax	p. 284
	p. 285
Glossary of Terms	p. 323
Bibliography	p. 329
Author Biographies	p. 331
Index	p. 333
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