Every stage of life presents its own estate planning issues and areas of concern. Retirement is no different.
Most estate planning attorneys suggest people review their estate plans every couple of years to make sure the plans continue to meet the needs of the person's current situation and goals. At a minimum, attorneys advise that any significant life changing event should trigger an estate plan review and possible update.
Retirement is a significant life changing event and a good time to review your estate plan as retirees have special considerations that need to be reviewed in their plans.
Recently, Wealth Management discussed this in “Estate Planning for an Aging Population.”
Things to consider include:
- Gifting Provisions – Many estate plans include provisions to allow ongoing gifting should that be necessary to avoid the estate tax. Retirees who know their estates will fall under the estate tax exemption might want to remove those provisions as they could be a tool unscrupulous people use in elder financial abuse schemes.
- Where to Live – The state you live in during retirement and where you create your estate plan can be very important as income taxes, state estate taxes and estate planning laws are different in different states.
- Retirement Trusts – These are interesting vehicles for people with IRAs who are planning on leaving money in the accounts for the benefit of their children. The trust allows the children to disclaim a portion of the IRA for the benefit of their own children. Thus, if the child does not need the full amount because he or she has plenty of other assets, the IRA funds can continue to grow and be available when needed by your grandchildren.
Talk to a qualified estate planning attorney about these and other estate planning matters.
Reference: Wealth Management (July 5, 2016) “Estate Planning for an Aging Population.”
