How to Make Sure Your Charitable Estate Donation Is Effective

During the crafting of an estate plan, an individual may choose to utilize a part of their life savings to give back to a charity. This is called a charitable estate donation. However, simply deciding to give isn’t enough to ensure that the charity is going to benefit from your donation. The following includes detailed information on how to make sure your estate donation is effective once the funds are released to them.

Conduct a Proper Vetting Process Before Adding It to Your Estate Donation Plan

Although a charity may state that they are going to help someone or something that you are passionate about, you should never take their word for it. The fact is that there a lot of organizations that will run on a specific message but may have multiple causes they support. This can lead to your money being divided among a few that you may not agree on. This is why it is critical that you vet your chosen charity to ensure that your money is being used correctly and effectively.

Providing Assets Rather than Funds

One of the lesser-known parts about giving to a charity is that they are going to be taxed for those donations. This essentially means that the funds you leave behind are not entirely what they are going to get. So, how can you make your estate donation that much more effective? A business planning lawyer in Las Vegas may recommend leaving behind retirement assets instead. The reason for that is because when you leave assets, the charity does not have to pay taxes on them. In addition, removing taxes from your estate can actually lessen the burden for your family as they would now be eligible for a federal estate tax charitable deduction.

The Probate Process From Start to Finish

When dealing with the probate process after the loss of a loved one in Las Vegas, it can be easy to lose track of what exactly is supposed to happen next, or what is required to keep things moving. Dealing with the loss and grief can be enough to overwhelm someone on its own, let alone adding the stress of keeping up with a convoluted legal process to make sure their estate is handled properly. There are a few things that can help make the probate process more manageable, the first being understanding what exactly the probate process entails.

What Is the Probate Process?

Probate covers the court-supervised process of verifying and authenticating the last will and testament of the deceased if one was made. This includes things such as determining the value of assets like homes or other pieces of property, as well as paying any final bills and taxes, and lastly properly distributing the remaining estate to their beneficiaries. There are a few notable steps in this process.

Verifying the Will

There will be a court hearing scheduled with all of the beneficiaries to verify and confirm the deceased’s last will and testament. So long as there are no objections to the submitted will and testament, it will be submitted as the final will and the next steps in the probate process can continue.

Naming an Executor

The judge will appoint an executor once the will has been verified. Usually, the deceased will have named one in their will, but if there is no will or no executor appointed in the will it generally falls upon the spouse or eldest next of kin to handle the responsibilities. The executor will receive letters of authority which will allow them to handle transactions related to the estate on the deceased’s behalf. It may be recommended that the executor retain a probate attorney in Las Vegas to assist with the process.

Attaining and Appraising Assets

The executor will then be in charge of locating the deceased’s assets and appraising the value. Many courts will appoint an appraiser to assist in the process, but in many cases, the executor can name someone they would like to use as an appraiser. Once these assets have been located and appraised, the executor must identify and seek out any debtors that the deceased had and settle their debts. The executor can petition the judge should they feel a claim against the estate is not valid, leaving it for the judge to decide on the validity of the claim and if it should be paid. An attorney can help with protecting the estate against fraudulent claims among other issues that can arise during the process.

Releasing the Remaining Estate

Once all debts have been paid, the executor then must petition the court to release the remaining estate to the beneficiaries as stated in the will. This can involve things such as setting up trusts for minors who cannot own property, as well as selling larger assets such as homes if the will dictates the proceeds from the sale of the property should be distributed amongst the beneficiaries.

Why a Trust Fund Instead of a Savings Account?

While it is perfectly fine and quite common to save for future emergencies with the help of a savings account, this might not be the best way to secure a financial future for your children. When opting for a savings account, you must keep in mind that there will be fees associated with the account, such as bank fees and taxes. However, by opening a trust fund instead, you can reduce your tax liability significantly as well as place stipulations on trust in regards to how the money is doled out.

Financial Security is Not Just for The Wealthy

Contrary to what you might believe, you don’t have to be a millionaire in order to hire a financial advisor. In fact, because you are not extremely wealthy, that should be even more of a reason to set things in place that will secure your future later on. While the initial set up fee can cost a couple of thousand dollars, the guidance that you will receive from a professional finance expert can be well worth it. Also, for a small percentage, you can even have your advisor manage your entire estate as well.

Benefits of Setting Up a Trust Fund

Although most people’s estate planning goes as far a writing a will, this might not be enough to ensure your children are protected. Generally, once a person is deceased, their assets will have to go through the probate process. However, with a trust in place, you can typically avoid this lengthy and stressful process by having your assets distributed by a trustee according to your stipulations. While talking with a financial planner, you should also consult with an estate planning lawyer in Las Vegas as well.

How Trusts Work to Preserve Your Privacy

In the era of social media and big data, it seems as if none of your personal information truly belongs to you or your family. However, there are steps that you can take to make sure that only a select few people know the terms of your estate plan. One such step is to create a trust instead of using a will.

Trusts Don’t Need to Be Recorded

A trust is a document that grants authority to a trustee to transfer assets or carry out other tasks. A will is a document that grants an executor to take similar actions only after a judge has verified its validity in a process known as probate. During probate, the will is recorded and interested parties are invited to review the will. These parties may be family members, friends or those who simply want something to gossip about. Only beneficiaries are allowed to know the details of a trust.

Even Beneficiaries Can Be Kept in the Dark

In some cases, it may be possible to keep the terms of a trust secret from a beneficiary. This can be helpful if the beneficiary is not yet old or mature enough to handle significant wealth. It can also provide protection from creditors and others who may try to sue a person who is set to come into significant wealth. It is worth noting that state law is murky as it relates to withholding information from a beneficiary. However, a trust administration lawyer Las Vegas may be able to provide insight into the matter.

Estate Plans Can Be Amended as Needed

If you don’t yet have a trust, you can create one at any time prior to your death. It may also be possible to use beneficiary designations to ensure that assets are transferred in a private and timely manner.

Why a Second Trust May Not Be a Good Idea

There are many great reasons to have a living trust or almost any variation of such a document. One of these reasons is that the terms of a trust can be flexible and can be changed at almost any time. In theory, you can make amendments that erase your current trust’s terms and replaces them with something completely different. Let’s look at why this may be preferable to creating a second document.

A Second Trust Costs Money

It can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to create a trust even if its language is not overly complicated. The cost can be even higher if you require the services of an estate planning attorney Las Vegas. Therefore, it may be easier to simply amend an existing trust to meet your goals and keep estate planning costs to a more reasonable level.

Additional Trusts Require Additional Oversight

Creating a second trust means that there is one more estate plan document to keep track of. As the process of trust or estate planning is an ongoing process, you will need to review it on a regular basis. Depending on how complex a second trust is, this may require spending hours each month or year with your attorney. It also means having to choose another trustee, which can be a difficult decision if you don’t have a lot of close friends or family members.

An Estate Plan Shouldn’t Be Unnecessarily Complex

The goal of estate planning is to keep everything organized and easy to understand. The simpler a plan is, the better the chances are that your wishes will be respected and carried out. Regardless of what your estate planning goals or needs are before and after passing on, a single trust is generally enough to meet them.