Who needs Estate Planning? Should I create an Estate Plan?

Here is what we recommend for Who Needs Estate Planning!

Who Needs Estate Planning? If you own a house or real estate in California you should have a trust, plain and simple.

This is because if you have over $166,250 in assets then your beneficiaries are going to have to do a probate to get the assets in their name. You’ll see in a lot of publications that the amount is $150,000, but this was upgraded at the beginning of this year (2021).

Add all your assets, such as assets that need to be titled, cash on a bank account statement, stocks, antiques, business ownership, real estate. Items that are not included in calculating for a probate are pension plans, IRAs, 401ks and that’s because they have a designated beneficiary. You don’t put them in your trust and pensions, you have to be careful about directing them to go to your trust, generally it’s better to an individual for better tax benefits. Life insurance is not included for probate and annuities are also not included.

When I say things are not included in probate keep in mind they are included for estate tax but very few people have to pay estate tax anymore. You don’t start paying estate tax until $11,580,000 of assets, which won’t affect most people.

For a younger person, in their 20’s or 30’s, that doesn’t have many assets yet it does make sense just to have a will. This will not cause any problems since there’s not much of an estate but it does direct your beneficiaries on who is supposed to get what in terms of asset distribution.

When you don’t have a will or trust then you get into intestate succession and you hear about this thing called a table of consanguinity. Consanguinity is the Spanish word for blood is angry so it’s the consanguinity is bloodlines and there’s a big chart that is rather surprising sometimes on where the assets go if you don’t have any type of estate plan.

The answer for Who Needs Estate Planning is really based on your individual circumstances.

Not everyone needs Estate Planning, but it isn’t something that should be ignored. It depends where you are in life, your family dynamic, if you have children, etc.

Who Needs Estate Planning? Want to sit down with an Estate Planning professional?

Call 925-934-6320 to speak with Rex Crandell Firm in Walnut Creek, CA.