Introduction To Estate Planning:

A Matador Capital Partners Review

Matador Capital Partners has secured a full team to assist you with any legal procedures and documentation that is required, to secure your estate. What do Advanced Planning, Annuities, Employer Benefits, Estate Planning, Executive Strategies, and Life Insurance have to to do with Estate Planning? Read on to see what our firm (and associated legal team) can use to secure the longevity of your assets and estate.

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the preparation of tasks that serve to manage an individual’s asset base in the event of their incapacitation or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to heirs and the settlement of estate taxes. Most estate plans are set up with the help of an attorney experienced in estate law.

What is a Will?

A will details where you want your assets to go at your death, and who you would like to serve as guardian of your minor children.

What are Living Wills?

A living will is a legal document that informs doctors and medical caregivers what medical care you want if you are unable to communicate due to an accident, severe illness, dementia or coma. It also guides your family to make decisions about sustaining your quality of life that you would agree with.

What are Irrevocable Trusts?

An irrevocable trust is a type of trust where its terms cannot be modified, amended or terminated without the permission of the grantor’s named beneficiary or beneficiaries. Irrevocable trusts offer tax-shelter benefits that revocable trusts to do not.

What are Living Trusts?

A living trust is designed to allow for the easy transfer of the trust creator or settlor’s assets while bypassing the often complex and expensive legal process of probate. Living trust agreements designate a trustee who holds legal possession of assets and property that flow into the trust.

What is Probate?

Probate is the legal process of proving a last will and testament, which means verifying that the will is legal and the deceased person’s intentions are carried out. Probate also occurs when there is no will and a probate court must decide how to distribute the assets of the deceased’s estate to their loved ones.

For small estates, probate may only take a matter of weeks or months (or they may even avoid a formal process entirely). But probate for larger estates can take years. Someone with a valid claim to any assets in the estate may contest the will or file a petition with the probate court, which could drag the process out even longer.

Contrary to popular belief, wills don’t help you avoid probate. But the terms of your will guide probate, which can make the entire process, including any necessary visits to a probate court, easier for everyone involved.

What is a Power of Attorney?

Powers of Attorney (POA) can be helpful to older people and others who want to choose a trusted person to act when they cannot. Creating a POA is a private way to appoint a substitute decision-maker and is relatively inexpensive, although it may involve help from a lawyer. If you don’t create a POA in advance, a friend or family member might have to go to court to have a guardian appointed – and that process can be lengthy, expensive, and very public.

A financial POA can be used as a tool for planning for future incapacity – an inability to make financial decisions due, for example, to dementia, traumatic brain injury, or some other impairment that affects mental function. When used for advance planning, a POA generally is “durable,” meaning it continues to be effective even if the person creating it becomes incapacitated.

Matador Capital Partners and Estate Planning:

When you are planning your estate, don’t forget to include any Physical or Virtual Currency, Annuities, Employer Benefits, Life Insurance, Real Estate or Executive Plan Umbrella information, so that you are protecting all of your assets. If an asset is not included, it may become a liability.