How Do Retirement Assets Fit into My Estate Plan?

Which assets should you plan to pass down? Which are those you should intend to live off of and how do taxes impact the equation? Thinking about all of these things together as part of your overall estate planning strategy is important and it should be discussed directly with your estate planning lawyer. Identifying your goals is the cornerstone of determining how your retirement assets fit into the bigger picture.

If you want to leave the bulk of your assets to certain beneficiaries or accomplish philanthropic and charitable goals, these are things that will need to work together or be planned for appropriately. Make sure that your accounts are titled and earmarked correctly, which can enable you to get maximum tax efficiency out of your estate plan.

You can avoid problems by carefully looking at titling, beneficiary designations and other legal documents on an annual basis to verify that all of your assets match up with your plans and expectations. You’ll want to plan for both your core assets and additional capital. Stable sources of income, such as social security payments, annuities and pensions can be supplemented by taking distributions from your taxable investments.