Estate planning is important for everyone. It is not just for extremely wealthy individuals. Most people have more assets than they realize. Individuals with minor children need to consider guardianship issues and may want to create a testamentary trust to provide for the needs of their minor children. Call one of our attorneys at (717) 848-8455 today to set up a free, no-risk consultation to discuss your particular estate planning needs.

Estate planning includes a comprehensive review of the assets, debts, likely expenses, and financial needs of the entire family involved in estate planning. A young couple in their forties with two minor children will likely need to engage in at least basic estate planning, for instance. If the couple owns a home, both parents work, and one or both parents have life insurance policies and IRA/401(k)/403(b) retirement plans, for instance, the parents should consider what would happen if they would both die, perhaps in a car accident. Someone would need to serve as guardian for the children until they attain majority status. Someone would need to look after assets to make sure that the assets are well-managed to make sure the children can go to college or buy homes in the future.

Most parents will name their spouse as the beneficiary on life insurance policies and on retirement accounts. If something happens to both spouses, the children would receive the assets directly in the absence of estate planning, once they attain majority age (18). It is usually not a good idea to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into the pockets of 18 year old children. A testamentary trust (a trust set up in a will) set up in a will may be an excellent vehicle to make sure that hard-earned assets are used for the benefit of children until they are fully mature and able to handle the responsibility of managing financial assets.

The parents should probably at least consider setting up a testamentary trust for the benefit of the children. It would be a good idea to consider funding the testamentary trust with the proceeds of (for example) the father's life insurance policy by naming the testamentary trust as an alternate beneficiary to the mother. That way, if the mother passes at the same time as the father, the assets go into the trust, where they would be protected and held until an appropriate age as set up in the mother's will. The same procedure could be used to protect assets held in a 401(k) plan or other retirement savings account.

The number of situations where families can benefit from estate planning is too large to list each situation specifically here. Suffice it to say that you do not need to be a Rockefeller or Bill Gates to benefit from estate planning and having a will.

Call one of our attorneys at (717) 848-8455 today to set up a free, no-risk consultation to discuss your particular estate planning needs.

---

Share this page: