August 4, 2016

Did you know that only about 45% of adult Americans have already put together their estate plan? As individuals accumulate more assets with every year that they age, it increases the importance of putting together estate planning.

This also increases the probability of problems if you do not engage in estate planning at all. If you don’t have clear planning documents, your family could be exposed to:

• Wasted time
• Frustration
• Not receiving what you intended for them to receive
• Costly court and attorney expenses

When you pass away, your assets could go to taxes, attorneys, appraisers, friends, family, charity, courts and other service providers. Having your estate planning documents in order can help speed up this transfer process as well as decrease cost and minimize family arguments. If you haven’t done so already, talk to an experienced estate planning attorney. You might be under the impression that an estate plan and a wealth transfer plan is the same. Did you know that 70% of family wealth is lost by the second generation and more than 90% of family wealth is lost by the third generation? It can be challenging for your loved ones to adapt to being responsible for a vast sum of money, but using trusts in your wealth transfer plan can help articulate how these individuals receive these assets and use them.