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Non-Tax Reasons to Plan Your Estate

There are many non-tax reasons to plan your estate. The following are a few such reasons:

• To provide for an orderly process of settling your estate.
• To avoid probate.
• To avoid disputes among family members.
• To choose who will benefit from your estate, rather than defaulting to the government’s plan to distribute your assets.
• To provide long-term care tax deferral of retirement assets.
• To provide for children and others with special needs in a way that will protect what you leave from poor management decisions and allow your heirs to continue to qualify for public benefits.
• To protect your children and grandchildren in the event of divorce, lawsuit, or premature death – to make sure what you leave stays in the family.
• To provide for your own care and well-being and management of your assets in the event of incapacity.
• To protect your assets in the event you need long-term care or are sued.
• To benefit charities you value, whether through a simple donation or to create a legacy.

As you can see, estate planning is about a lot more than tax planning – and of course, tax planning can still play a major role. Please call us to discuss any of the above.

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