Inheriting money comes with plenty of benefits, but inheritance doesn’t automatically mean a worry-free life of ease. Inheriting wealth can actually create unique challenges and conflicts. Do you have the correct strategies in place to address inheritance-related issues?
If you’ve amassed sizable wealth, or are on the right path and getting there, it may be time to consider how to pass on some of that money to children and grandchildren—without creating big problems that could harm their futures and destroy family harmony.
Many successful families use trusts to minimize taxes, transfer wealth and protect assets from creditors and others, but is your family relinquishing more control over your trusts than you need to? By doing this, families can potentially put their goals at risk. There are three ways to ensure you take the reins when it comes to a trust: retain the power to remove a trustee, be a non-independent trustee, and direct your trustee.
One component of a wealth protection plan that is often overlooked or underused—even by the affluent—is the umbrella policy. If you don’t have an umbrella policy, run—don’t walk—and get one. If you do have an umbrella policy, make sure you’re sufficiently covered—and boost that coverage amount if you’re not.
What is the importance of stress testing your wealth strategies? Stress testing is a process that carefully examines your current wealth planning strategies to assess the likelihood that they’ll deliver the results you expect them to in various environments and situations.
Between stock market upheaval, campus closings and major regulatory and tax changes, the COVID-19 pandemic has inserted a great deal of complexity into education planning. If you’re currently paying for college or repaying a student loan, the following Q&A addresses three education financing changes you should be aware of.
