B. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW TO PLAN FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY?

1. How Much Do I Need To Know

Doing your personal estate plan can be very simple or very complex, depending on a number of factors.  Things obviously get more complex as the total value of the things that you own increases.  Complications are also caused when you own properties in multiple states or countries.  As with most everything else in life, getting married and having children makes things more complex in the estate planning area.  In any circumstances, however, it is important to have a basic understanding of the general principals applicable to your personal planning.  You can then reach a reasonable conclusion as to whether doing personal planning is a project you would like to undertake yourself, or whether you want to engage assistance through an estate planning attorney to provide more detailed personal planning.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people do neither.  This leaves their families or friends in a very difficult position when death occurs.  Without instructions as to how you intended your property to be managed or distributed, the state law will generally become operative to direct the manner in which property will be distributed.  Should you be a single individual without friends or relatives you care to provide for, there is no need to read further, the laws of your state will take care of your personal planning.  Since people in this circumstance are relatively rare, most individuals should understand some of the basics in terms of how to implement overall planning.  Remember that the real goal is to define who the property is to go to, to reduce complication and to avoid taxes.  You need to know enough to accomplish these goals.

2. What Materials Should I Review?

To make it easier to review the matters most relevant to you, it is helpful to decide what provisions apply to your present situation.  These issues are basically divided as follows:

a. Are you single or married?  For our planning purposes, this means a response to the question of whether you are legally married
    to a member of the opposite sex.

b. Do you have children? 

c. Who do you plan to give property to?

d. Does the present value (regardless of what you paid for things) of your estate approximate $600,000 or more?

e. What is the nature of the things you own and where are they located?

Your answer to these questions will determine the areas that are most important for your review.  Certain additional information is set forth below that will help you in assuring that you can properly answer these questions.

You should feel free to review all of the material contained in this website to provide background.  If you were more interested in looking only at the material that is of particular relevance to you, I would suggest, depending on the category in which you fit, that you review the following information:


a. If You Are Single With No Children, Review The Following Topics:


     1. "USING A WILL"

     2. "THE USE OF A LIVING TRUST"

     3. "TO WHOM, AND HOW, SHOULD I LEAVE MY PROPERTY"

     4. If your estate exceeds approximately $600,000, review "FEDERAL ESTATE TAX"

     5. Review the summary at "WHAT DO I DO NOW"

     6. If you are living with a same or opposite sex partner or maintaining residence with someone with whom you are not married
         it is even more imperative that you do careful personal planning.  Most states do not include any automatic provision
         providing protection for those who are not legally defined as spouse


b. If You Are Single With Children, Review The Following Topics:

     1. "USING A WILL"

     2. "THE USE OF A LIVING TRUST"

     3. "TO WHOM, AND HOW, SHOULD I LEAVE MY PROPERTY"

     4. "HOW DO I PROVIDE FOR CHILDREN OR OTHERS WITH PROBLEMS DEALING WITH MONEY"

     5. If your estate is in excess of $600,000, review "FEDERAL ESTATE TAX"

     6. Review the summary at "WHAT DO I DO NOW"


c. If You Are Married Without Children, Review The Following Topics:

     1. "USING A WILL"

     2. "THE USE OF A LIVING TRUST"

     3. "TO WHOM, AND HOW, SHOULD I LEAVE MY PROPERTY"

     4. If your estate is in excess of $600,000, review "FEDERAL ESTATE TAX"

     5. Review the summary at "WHAT DO I DO NOW"


d. If You Are Married With Children Review The Following Topics:

     1. "USING A WILL"

     2. "THE USE OF A LIVING TRUST"

     3. "TO WHOM, AND HOW, SHOULD I LEAVE MY PROPERTY"

     4. "HOW DO I PROVIDE FOR CHILDREN OR OTHERS WITH PROBLEMS DEALING WITH MONEY"

     5. If your estate is in excess of $600,000, review "FEDERAL ESTATE TAX"

     6. Review the summary at "WHAT DO I DO NOW"

3. How Do I Tell Where I Fit?  For more definite information as to the categories set forth above, please note the following:

a. Single Individual

You fit within the category of being "single" so long as you are not married to a person of the opposite sex which is accepted as a legal marriage under applicable state law.  So you qualify as single whether or not you have children, whether you live with a same sex partner, whether you are part of domestic partnership with a same sex partner, whether you live with an opposite sex partner but are not married, or fit in any category other than a person legally married to a member of the opposite sex.  In most instances, if you refer to your spouse as your "husband" or "wife," you are probably in the wrong place.

Personal estate planning becomes even more critical for those who are not married, but who are living with a same sex or opposite sex partner and desire to provide some protection for them.  In the absence of a legally recognized marriage, most states do not provide any automatic protection for the surviving partner.  As a result, it becomes extremely critical that each party in the relationship prepare a estate planning documents incorporating whatever provisions are desired for the "significant other".  See discussion in "TO WHOM AND HOW I SHOULD LEAVE MY PROPERTY"

b. Value of Your Estate

The value of your estate is the total value of everything you own less your debts.  This question relates to the fair market value of the property that you own or expect to own at the time of your death, and does not relate to the question of what you actually paid for it.  Please note that in this discussion the reference to "property" or "assets" do not refer to a particular type of item which is owned (such as real estate or stocks and bonds), but is intended to be a generic reference to everything that you own an interest in that may have any value.

c. Nature of Your Assets.

The nature of your assets may impact significantly the complexity of your personal planning.  If you hold all of your assets in the form of non-real property investments (what we generally refer to as "tangible personal property"), and reside within one state, matters are relatively simple.  If you own real estate in multiple states, or multiple countries, then it becomes more complex.  You should also consider whether you might inherit properties in different locations.