Estate Planning
Estate Planning and Leaving A Legacy
Estate Planning
You work hard to build your estate, and you work hard to keep it. Don’t give it away foolishly through taxes and other administrative costs by not having an estate plan. Your estate plan simply and legally provides for distributing your estate. A will or trust is one of the most important documents you will ever sign. Think about the things a will enables you to do:
- To decide for yourself who receives your estate. If you die without a legal will or trust, the state decides who receives your assets.
- To name guardians for your minor children. Through a legal will, you decide who would raise your children in the case of a tragedy. Without one, a court decides, not necessarily as you would have wished.
- To save on legal costs of settling an estate. Having an estate plan prepared by a qualified attorney can be surprisingly inexpensive. The legal costs of settling an estate without one can be many times as expensive.
- To promote family unity. By clearly setting out your wishes with regards to your estate, you can clearly inform family members about your gifts.
- To remember your favorite charities. A will or trust allows you to remember at death those causes you supported, or who supported you, during life.
Leaving a Legacy
Leaving a legacy to Schlarman Foundation through a gift is knowing that you are doing something for those who come after you. It is a good feeling to know that the values you espouse are values you want to see perpetuated in the future. You may have thought about including Schlarman Foundation in your estate because it is an important part of your life and community. Although you can carry out this good intention in many ways, the easiest method is through a bequest in your will.
Here are three types of bequests:
- A specific bequest leaves the recipient a specified amount of money or an identified item, such as a vacation home.
- A residuary bequest disposes of all or a portion of assets remaining after everything specified in your estate has been distributed.
- A contingent bequest designates that a beneficiary receives all or some of your estate dependent upon a specific condition.
