The big picture - planning for today, tomorrow, and beyond
Estate planning is about the big picture. It's about creating a comprehensive plan that encompasses all of your assets and manages them so you can achieve your financial goals. A good estate plan maps out what you want to have happen to you, your dependents, and all of your worldly possessions while you're alive and after you're gone.
Over the course of the next 20 years, trillions of dollars of assets are expected to transfer from one generation to the next.*
You may be thinking about how you can take care of your family and leave a legacy for your children or grandchildren. You may also have specific ideas for how you want your estate to be divided among your heirs, and how you want that money to be used.
Building your nest egg for a comfortable retirement and preserving your wealth to pass on to future generations are also high on many people's lists of estate goals.
Some common goals of estate planning may include:
- Controlling the distribution of your estate
- Managing your financial and legal concerns if you are disabled
- Helping reduce the estate tax burden for your family
- Minimizing delays in the settlement of your estate
- Supporting your favorite charity
- Expressing your wishes for medical care
- Protecting your assets from the high costs of long term care
* Source: Forbes.com Estate Planning. "So You Want To Be A Trustee?" May 10, 2010.