Recent News & Blog / Estate Planning
Avoiding probate: How to do it (and why)
Few estate planning subjects are as misunderstood as probate. But circumventing the probate process is usually a good idea, and several tools are available to help you do just that.
Did your spouse’s estate make a portability election? If not, there may still be time
Portability helps minimize federal gift and estate tax by allowing a surviving spouse to use a deceased spouse’s unused gift and estate tax exemption amount. Currently, the exemption is $12.92 million, but it’s scheduled to return to an inflation-adjusted $5 million on January 1, 2026.
Life insurance can be a powerful estate planning tool for nontaxable estates
For years, life insurance has played a critical role in estate planning, providing a source of liquidity to pay estate taxes and other expenses.
To avoid confusion after your death, have only an original, signed will
The need for a will as a key component of your estate plan may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by the number of people — even affluent individuals — who don’t have one.
How can an estate be kept vital after death?
When a loved one passes away, you might think that the options for his or her estate plan have also been laid to rest. But that isn’t necessarily the case. Indeed, there may be postmortem tactics the deceased’s executor (or personal representative), spouse or beneficiaries can employ to help keep his or her estate plan on track. Contact our estate planning advisors for help with a QTIP trust.
The time to make health care decisions is when you’re healthy
When it comes to estate planning, your ultimate goal likely is to provide for your family after your death. To achieve this goal, consider placing assets in an irrevocable trust to protect against creditors and drafting a will to clearly state who gets what. Contact the estate planning advisors at SEK with questions.
How to address your frequent flyer miles in your estate plan
If you’re a frequent traveler, you may have accumulated hundreds of thousands or even millions of frequent flyer miles. The value of these miles may be significant, so it’s important to determine whether you can include them in your estate plan and share them with your loved ones.
You’ve been asked to serve as executor, now what?
If you’ve been asked to serve as executor of the estate of a friend or family member, be sure you understand the responsibilities and potential risks before you agree.
If your family owns a vacation home, address it carefully in your estate plan
For many people, the disposition of a family home is an emotionally charged estate planning issue. And emotions may run even higher with vacation homes, which often evoke even fonder memories. So, it’s important to address your vacation home carefully in your estate plan.
Benefits of a living trust for your estate
if you have significant assets, you should consider establishing a living trust to avoid probate. Probate is a court-supervised legal process intended to make sure a deceased person’s assets are properly distributed. However, going through probate typically means red tape, legal fees and your financial affairs becoming public information. You can avoid this with a living trust.