Wills and trusts are two options to transfer your assets, but the key difference between these two documents is timing. A will goes into effect only after you die, whereas a trust becomes effective immediately.
Author Archives: Daniel Hughes
As an essential element of your overall wealth management and financial strategy, estate planning ensures that you have a plan in place to distribute your home, assets and possessions.
Making the decision about whom to appoint as trustee deserves careful consideration. It may surprise you to learn that it’s often best to appoint a non-family trustee.
The proper financial professionals can help craft a plan that will ensure you and your family are protected for whatever life throws your way.
The proper financial professionals can help craft a plan that will ensure you and your family are protected for whatever life throws your way.
I don’t consider myself old, but I do feel like I’ve been around long enough to know that life doesn’t always go exactly the way you think it will. Accidents can happen that leave you dependent on someone else, either temporarily or permanently. Family members could make the wrong decision when it comes to who they choose as a spouse. Substance abuse can rear its ugly head in the most unlikely places. Legislation may change so the government can share in a more significant portion of your wealth. None of these are fun scenarios, but they’re all very real possibilities, and it’s essential to prepare for these circumstances adequately.
The proper financial professionals can help craft a plan that will ensure you and your family are protected for whatever life throws your way. Hopefully, my helmet never hits the ground, but over time I still need to check in on it to ensure it will continue to protect my head. Even if you already have an estate plan in place, it is just as important to review the plan periodically to make sure it is still working the way you intend it to.
In Wilmington’s warm climate, it’s not always fun to put on a helmet, leather jacket, boots and gloves to ride across the street. If that happens to be the day that a car leaves an oil slick in my path, however, it will turn out to be well worth the effort. Making a plan for how you leave your legacy will probably not be the highlight of your year, but the effort will certainly be worth it for your family. The fact of the matter is that the slide will happen one day, so it’s best to be dressed for it so you can go out and truly enjoy your ride.