Estate planning is the process of deciding on and organizing how you want your assets to be distributed. Done properly, it ensures that your assets are distributed in a timely and tax-effective manner, according to your wishes. In addition to the financial details, it gives you opportunity to express who and what were important to you in your life. Estate and succession planning have an important role for business owners. For example, in a partnership, each person may have strong feelings about whether they want a partner’s heir to inherit a share. Maybe provisions will be made for a surviving partner to buy out the other half from the estate of the deceased.
Putting one’s home in a child’s name to circumvent inheritance tax would be another example. Anyone who owns multiple properties and/or holds assets abroad from their home nations, needs to consider ways to minimize inheritance tax. You worked hard to build your wealth, and careful planning can shelter what you have accumulated from not just taxes, but legal challenges among potential heirs or lengthy probate periods. If you’ve been living abroad, you may have assets in multiple jurisdictions. Consolidating one’s assets does simplify the estate planning process. Estate planning can be an emotional process, and having an objective professional walk you thought it makes it much easier. Estate planning professionals help you understand the best solutions for you, your family, your business and the people and causes that are dear to you.