Duluth Georgia Estate Planning Legal Blog

Georgia residents and others will ideally create an estate plan that takes care of their needs both while alive and after passing. It is also important that individuals can articulate what their plan does and how it could impact the lives of family members and friends. One of the key issues to consider is how assets will be distributed. In some cases, it may be best to leave them directly to a beneficiary.

However, leaving assets to a trust may protect them from being taken in lawsuit or in a divorce settlement. Assets may be distributed per the terms of a beneficiary designation. This is generally true for money inside of an IRA or the cash value of a life insurance policy or annuity. It is a good idea for a person to review a beneficiary designation regularly to ensure that it truly reflects his or her wishes.

Many Georgia adults may lack estate plans, and many of those who do have them could improve them. It is not uncommon for people to have no estate plan or to have an insufficient estate plan whether they are very wealthy or have few assets. Incorporating charitable giving is one way an estate plan can be improved, particularly for wealthy individuals. A charitable remainder annuity trust can provide money for a loved one until their death and then pass what is left to the charity.

Every estate plan should be reviewed periodically, and it can be particularly important to review beneficiary designations. Assets such as retirement accounts are passed using beneficiary designations, but these documents may be forgotten when someone goes through a major life change. This could mean that after the divorce or the birth of a child, the beneficiary designation is out of date, and the asset could pass to an ex-spouse, or a child could be left out. Life insurance is also passed using a beneficiary designation, and it can be an important addition to an estate plan to cover expenses and lost income.

When you have loved ones with special needs, there are certain times and situations wherein they require additional care and consideration. This is particularly true in regards to their care in the case that a guardian or caregiver passes or is no longer available.

Thankfully, there are programs and services in place to help protect the estate and inheritance of parties with special needs, including special needs trusts. In fact, there are a few different types of special needs trusts to consider.

Estate planning can raise tensions for families in Georgia, especially when blended families with stepparents and stepchildren are involved. Remarriage is perhaps more common than ever before, and people planning for the future may want to consider how they can best balance out the interests of their spouses and their children. This is especially true when two people marry later in life with their own grown children. Many people do not even make a basic will; they may expect to rely on intestate distribution. In other cases, people make a simple will leaving everything to their spouse.

When spouses share their children, this can seem an easy choice for many people, especially if they are also not dealing with substantial wealth. However, blended families may have more to think about. If one spouse passes away and leaves everything to the other, that spouse may be far more likely to will their own assets to their children, leaving the children of the original parent cut out of the picture. These results can occur even in relatively close blended families, especially if people fail to update their wills or do not develop a joint plan after marrying.