TANNER PITTMAN, LLC
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| TANNER PITTMAN, LLC |
Failure to create an estate plan will hurt your family. About 55% of Americans do not have
even basic wills. For reasons that follow, you should not be one of them.
Testamentary guardianships. It is vitally important to specify who should care for your
children if their parents die. Without a testamentary guardianship, the state will
determine who has custody of your children until such time as the probate court has
appointed a guardian – a lengthy and often contentious process. In this process, the
courts will not rely on church designations of Godparents, any writings outside a will, or
instructions you may have left your family members. A well drafted estate plan can
protect your children from further tragedy if you were to die untimely.
Tax planning. Failure to plan for federal estate tax can cause nearly one half of your
wealth to go to the government rather than your loved ones. In 2011, the law is set to
change such that any estate worth more than $1 million will be taxed at a graduated rate
reaching 50%. Even middle-income families may have to deal with this tax. The reason
is that your taxable estate includes the value of the home, life insurance proceeds,
inheritances gained later in life, as well as retirement funds. Furthermore, for reasons
your attorney can explain, the $1 million limit will typically be per married couple as
opposed to per person. Planning today to reduce this estate tax burden is both simple
and could literally save your heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Designation of heirs. If you do not specify who receives your property, the state of
Georgia will. Most are surprised to learn that Georgia law splits an estate equally among
spouse and children. This runs contrary to the wishes of those who would rather their
spouse take the entire estate to use during his or her life and then pass it on to the
couple’s mutual children. This is to say nothing of problems that arise when, for
example, one fourth of your home is owned by a child: a court order must be obtained
before it can be sold or mortgaged.
Costs of administration. The costs of administering an estate without a will are high and
can run more than $10,000. If you write a will, you designate a trusted person to handle
the dividing up of your assets. Without a will, the court will not know whom to trust and
will require that an administrator, among other things, post bond in an amount equal to
your estate value, obtain court permission before selling any part of your estate, keep a
detailed accounting of everything you owned (a truly ponderous task), and send periodic
returns to the court showing what action has been taken. Along with attorney’s fees, the
costs of these measures can quickly become great, and all of them can be avoided by
careful estate planning.
End-of-life decisions. Failure to make your end-of-life wishes known can create a terrible
burden for your family. Most of us will leave this life due to an illness that will render us
unable to communicate for some period of time. A living will is important not because
your family can’t be trusted to do the right thing during such a time but so that they aren’t
left with heart-wrenching choices, wondering all the while what you would think about
them. Drawing up a living will provides comfort and guidance to your loved ones that you
once provided them during your life.
Financial security. If you, for whatever reason, become unable to handle your finances
yourself, your loved ones must petition the probate court to appoint a conservator to do
so for you. This process is lengthy and can cost thousands in attorney's and evaluating
physician's fees. Creating a financial power of attorney will designate a trusted individual
to handle your finances if you cannot. This is especially important should your family
need funds to deal with expenses of your last illness.
Avoiding consequences of divorce. You probably do not want your child's ex-husband or
wife included in your will. But exactly this can happen if your child's spouse leaves him or
her and takes custody of your grandchild. Assuming you left property to your grandchild in
your will, the ex-spouse can become a de facto custodian of that property as your
grandchild's legal guardian. The ex-spouse then has an incentive to use your property
(as opposed to his or her own income) to pay for your grandchild's expenses, potentially
tapping out a college fund long before it could be used. Wise planning and creation of
testamentary trusts can avoid this result entirely.
TANNER PITTMAN, LLC is a law firm that specializes in estate planning. As I will not bill
"by the hour" for most estate plans, you may comfortably take time to craft and talk
through a plan that best suits your needs for a reasonable flat fee.
even basic wills. For reasons that follow, you should not be one of them.
Testamentary guardianships. It is vitally important to specify who should care for your
children if their parents die. Without a testamentary guardianship, the state will
determine who has custody of your children until such time as the probate court has
appointed a guardian – a lengthy and often contentious process. In this process, the
courts will not rely on church designations of Godparents, any writings outside a will, or
instructions you may have left your family members. A well drafted estate plan can
protect your children from further tragedy if you were to die untimely.
Tax planning. Failure to plan for federal estate tax can cause nearly one half of your
wealth to go to the government rather than your loved ones. In 2011, the law is set to
change such that any estate worth more than $1 million will be taxed at a graduated rate
reaching 50%. Even middle-income families may have to deal with this tax. The reason
is that your taxable estate includes the value of the home, life insurance proceeds,
inheritances gained later in life, as well as retirement funds. Furthermore, for reasons
your attorney can explain, the $1 million limit will typically be per married couple as
opposed to per person. Planning today to reduce this estate tax burden is both simple
and could literally save your heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Designation of heirs. If you do not specify who receives your property, the state of
Georgia will. Most are surprised to learn that Georgia law splits an estate equally among
spouse and children. This runs contrary to the wishes of those who would rather their
spouse take the entire estate to use during his or her life and then pass it on to the
couple’s mutual children. This is to say nothing of problems that arise when, for
example, one fourth of your home is owned by a child: a court order must be obtained
before it can be sold or mortgaged.
Costs of administration. The costs of administering an estate without a will are high and
can run more than $10,000. If you write a will, you designate a trusted person to handle
the dividing up of your assets. Without a will, the court will not know whom to trust and
will require that an administrator, among other things, post bond in an amount equal to
your estate value, obtain court permission before selling any part of your estate, keep a
detailed accounting of everything you owned (a truly ponderous task), and send periodic
returns to the court showing what action has been taken. Along with attorney’s fees, the
costs of these measures can quickly become great, and all of them can be avoided by
careful estate planning.
End-of-life decisions. Failure to make your end-of-life wishes known can create a terrible
burden for your family. Most of us will leave this life due to an illness that will render us
unable to communicate for some period of time. A living will is important not because
your family can’t be trusted to do the right thing during such a time but so that they aren’t
left with heart-wrenching choices, wondering all the while what you would think about
them. Drawing up a living will provides comfort and guidance to your loved ones that you
once provided them during your life.
Financial security. If you, for whatever reason, become unable to handle your finances
yourself, your loved ones must petition the probate court to appoint a conservator to do
so for you. This process is lengthy and can cost thousands in attorney's and evaluating
physician's fees. Creating a financial power of attorney will designate a trusted individual
to handle your finances if you cannot. This is especially important should your family
need funds to deal with expenses of your last illness.
Avoiding consequences of divorce. You probably do not want your child's ex-husband or
wife included in your will. But exactly this can happen if your child's spouse leaves him or
her and takes custody of your grandchild. Assuming you left property to your grandchild in
your will, the ex-spouse can become a de facto custodian of that property as your
grandchild's legal guardian. The ex-spouse then has an incentive to use your property
(as opposed to his or her own income) to pay for your grandchild's expenses, potentially
tapping out a college fund long before it could be used. Wise planning and creation of
testamentary trusts can avoid this result entirely.
TANNER PITTMAN, LLC is a law firm that specializes in estate planning. As I will not bill
"by the hour" for most estate plans, you may comfortably take time to craft and talk
through a plan that best suits your needs for a reasonable flat fee.
| The Importance of an Estate Plan |