We all have goals that we want to meet during our lifetime.
The education of our children, a comfortable and financially secure retirement and perhaps the purchase of a new home. The first step of estate planning is to help you plan for – and hopefully realize – these lifetime goals. This type of planning addresses your legal and financial concerns, taking into account goals and tax considerations. It also takes advantage of existing laws and funding vehicles to help save on taxes and help manage your property in an efficient and profitable way during your lifetime.
Relatively few people have to be concerned with estate taxes because few have estates large enough to be subject to the federal estate tax. But estate taxes can be a major concern for those with large estates as they can result in liquidation of assets to raise cash to pay the taxes due. Estate tax planning involves learning about ways to help reduce these taxes such as making lifetime transfers to heirs (gifts or sales) and providing a source of money to pay taxes (life insurance trusts).
