When you have a lot of your financial resources invested in an asset that is not liquid you are presented with an estate planning challenge. People who are partners in small businesses are generally going to be in this situation. If you were to pass away and leave your share in the business to your heirs what exactly would they do with it?

The first thing that comes to mind would be that they could sell it, but then your remaining partners would have no control over who would be joining them. This is not going to be acceptable to most people.

One thing that you could do if you are in this situation would be to enter into a buy-sell agreement with your partner or partners. A very common type of buy-sell agreement is known as the “cross purchase plan.”

Executing this plan involves the purchase of life insurance. The partners in the business first get together to determine the value of each share. They then purchase life insurance on one another with the proceeds adding up to the value of a share.

Should one of the partners pass away, the survivors will collect the insurance policy proceeds. These funds are then used to buy the share in the business that was owned by the deceased partner from his or her estate at a price that was agreed upon by all when the agreement was put into place.

Buy-sell agreements can provide a rather straightforward solution for small business partners. To explore them in depth, simply take a moment to get in touch with a Fairfield County estate planning attorney to set up an informative consultation.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you reach the point in your life when begin to look back and evaluate the mark that you have made on the world a lot of things may cross your mind. When you are gone, how will you be remembered? You may ask yourself how you can make an impact that is felt even after your passing, and this is what legacy planning is all about.

There are a number of different courses of action that you could take to have a positive influence on the community for years to come and perhaps even permanently.

For example, you could choose to finance the construction of a community center or a playground. There are those who will fund an addition to a museum or a school of some kind. Developing a commemorative scholarship that is endowed on an annual basis into perpetuity is another option.

As an elder you are an invaluable link to generations of your family that have come before you. A lot of people are very interested in their family trees, and you could provide a priceless gift to your family by taking the time to write your autobiography or at least a collection of memoirs. The composition of an ethical will sharing your moral and spiritual values is another option that you may want to consider when you are crafting your legacy.

Intelligent legacy planning can allow you to have a lasting impact. To learn how to make your long-term visions a reality, take action right now and set up an appointment to speak with an experienced, licensed, and savvy Hartford legacy planning attorney.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you are working and planning for your active retirement years it can be a lot of fun to envision the future. You will finally have the spare time to do all of the things that you always wanted to do. The key is to plan ahead intelligently so that you have the financial resources to do so.

This is why it is wise to develop a relationship with a retirement planning attorney at a relatively young age. The longer you have to achieve your goals the more likely it is that they will come to fruition. When you have a professionally formulated road map to follow there is little doubt that your visions will become a reality if you diligently stick to the plan.

This having been stated, comprehensive planning should include all of the eventualities of aging. If you take a close look at the statistics and apply some simple common sense to the equation, there may come a time that follows your active retirement years when you are not fully capable of tending to your own personal needs. Statistics that have been provided to us by the United States Department of Health and Human Services indicate that some 70% of individuals who reach the age of 65 will someday require some form of long-term care. This is a pretty profound number, and if you want to be prepared it is wise to plan ahead.

There are many different nursing homes and assisted living facilities out there and some have better reputations than others. It is important to do your research and identify the facility that serves your needs. Asking friends, family members, and business associates for referrals is one way to garner helpful information. Another is to do research on the Internet, and there is a Nursing Home Compare portal on the Medicare.gov site that is very useful to this end.

Another thing to consider would be the costs associated with long-term care, which can routinely exceed $200,000 for an average stay in a nursing home. To explore your options with regard to addressing these costs, simply arrange for a consultation with an estate planning attorney.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

One of the estate planning tools that is most frequently utilized is life insurance, and for many people the purchase of life insurance is the initial step taken into the realm of estate planning. You may be one of the many who is first exposed to life insurance as a component of your benefits package at work, and a lot of people who are first starting out are unmarried and without children.

At this point in your life the life insurance coverage is a way to cover your final expenses and pass a little something along to your loved ones should the unthinkable take place. And after all, basic coverage is usually going to be paid for by the company so anything that is free is welcome.

As you progress through life you may well get married, and when someone else is depending on your income life insurance takes on added significance. When children come along you’re going to have to revisit your coverage to make sure that they are provided for, and it would be prudent to think long-term when you’re making financial projections with regard to their needs. Nobody likes to think that their marriage will come to a close, but divorces is another life-changing event that precipitates a review of your insurance coverage.

In addition to serving as a vehicle of income replacement, life insurance has other uses in the field of estate planning. There are those who have the lion’s share of their assets concentrated in a single piece of property such as a business or some real property. You may want to leave this property in its entirety to one of your heirs for one reason or another. To be fair to all you may take out life insurance policies making the other heirs your beneficiaries, with the value of the policies being similar to the value of the property in question.

If you would like to probe deeper into the subject of life insurance and how it can fit into your estate plan, simply get in touch with an experienced estate planning attorney to arrange for an in-depth consultation.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Intelligent retirement planning involves getting a firm grasp on the expenses that you may be facing when your working years are through. Looking forward to taking vacations and enjoying leisure time and estimating costs associated with this part of the equation can be fun, but you must also consider your twilight years that lie beyond your active retirement years. There are potential expenses that you may face when you reach an advanced age, and some of them are considerable.

People are living longer these days, with the oldest old being the fastest growing age group in the United States. As you get older the possibility that you will spend some time in a nursing home increases. These costs can add up to consume a large portion of your legacy if you have not made the appropriate plans in advance. If you combine the average length of stay with the average costs, your nursing home expenses may be in excess of $200,000 using today’s figures. Of course, the costs associated with long-term care are expected to trend upward into the foreseeable future, so if you’re planning for a possible nursing home stay in ten or twenty years the number may be much higher.

One possible option for those who are concerned about the costs associated with long-term care would be to take out a home equity conversion mortgage. These federally insured reverse mortgages provide you with payments in return for equity in your home. The loan becomes due after you pass away or move from the home. So, you could choose to use these funds to pay for in-home care. Another approach would be to pay for long-term care insurance with the loan proceeds. If you were to subsequently move into a nursing home or assisted living facility the insurance would pick up the costs. You could then sell the home, pay off the loan with part of the proceeds, and keep the remainder.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In a very real sense retirement planning and estate planning are two of the basic responsibilities that go along with being a self-supporting adult. If you don’t plan for the future no one is going to do it for you. Those who enjoy a comfortable retirement with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they will be leaving behind a suitable legacy generally are not in this position due to dumb luck. For most people it requires intelligent long-term planning and fiscal discipline. The wise course of action is to set goals early on and stay the course over a number of decades until you ultimately reach your objectives.

The fact is that most individuals are introduced to retirement planning and estate planning on a rudimentary level when they enroll in the benefits plan offered by their employers. Your life insurance coverage is a basic estate planning component, and in most cases you will be offered an opportunity to get started saving for your retirement via participation in a 401(k) plan.

A 401(k) is a savings account of sorts that allows you to contribute into it with pre-tax earnings. As the account grows over the years any interest accrued by the investment is not taxed. So, while you’re saving for the future you also gain tax benefits each year. For example, if you earned $40,000 in gross income and contributed $2,500 into your 401(k) that year your taxable income would be reduced by that amount, making it $37,500 rather than $40,000.

Another opportunity that often exists with the 401(k) is that many employers will match employee contributions into the fund. This is in essence free money being offered to you and financial advisers will always recommend that you take advantage of it.

There is another type of 401(k) called the Roth 401(k) that is appealing to many people. With this plan you deposit after-tax earnings, but when you eventually receive distributions from the account they are not subject to income tax. With the traditional 401(k) you do pay income tax once you start to take distributions.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are some people who think that estate planning involves nothing more than drawing up a last will, and they assume that they have plenty of time to do that in the future so they really don’t give the matter much thought. People who take this approach are not acting in light of any estate planning goals they may have. This is a personal choice and there are no absolute rights or wrongs, but there are others who have specific things they would like to be able to do for their loved ones after they pass away.

If you do have specific objectives with regard to your legacy, they are going to logically impact your actions in the present. This is why long-term financial planning, retirement planning, and estate planning all go hand-in-hand. There are folks who have those bumper stickers on their cars that say “We are busy spending our children’s inheritances.” These people need only plan to finance their own retirement years without having anything left over to leave behind to their families. But those who do have legacy goals will have to budget accordingly throughout their lives.

You’ll hear retirement planning attorneys say that you should start planning for your retirement early on during your working career, and many people hear this suggestion and let it go in one ear and out the other. However, if you stop for a moment and do the math, even if you save a relatively modest amount of money each month but do so over a sustained period of time it will add up considerably. The key is to get started early and be very consistent. If you do this and make intelligent investments along the way you should be able to meet all of your long-term financial goals.

If you recognize the need for comprehensive planning but don’t know where to begin, a wise first step would be to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney who will help you devise a holistic plan for the future.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you are planning your estate you have a lot of things to take into account. After all, this is going to be your final act of giving and it involves all of the worldly possessions that you been able to accumulate throughout your life. With so much to consider, it is very possible to overlook some of the details. As much as you want to take care of all your loved ones, you may actually neglect a beloved family member unintentionally: your pet.

If you have a pet or pets, it is important to make sure they are provided for as well. Many people expect to outlive their pets and don’t plan for them because of this, and others simply assume that it is a matter that will take care of itself. But if you want to be sure that your pet is properly provided for you need to be proactive about asserting your wishes, identifying a suitable caretaker,  and providing the financial means for the new owner to take care of the pet.

There was a story recently in the news about someone who certainly made his pets a priority when he was planning his estate. Fashion designer Alexander McQueen took his own life last year, but he certainly made sure that his pets would not suffer. McQueen had three dogs, and he left behind almost $82,000 earmarked for their ongoing care.  He also made very generous bequests to two charities that are devoted to the well-being of animals: The Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Blue Cross animal welfare charity.

Pet planning is important piece in the estate planning puzzle. To find out more about how to make sure that your pet is provided for through the execution of the proper legal documentation simply arrange for a consultation with an  estate planning attorney.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Fans of music around the world were met with some extremely sad news recently when the death of British singer Amy Winehouse was announced. Winehouse was an extraordinary talent, a winner of five Grammy awards whose music touched the lives of millions of people. Some critics say that she helped to revive a stagnant British music scene with the enormous success of her seminal album Back to Black.

Though Amy Winehouse was known to indulge in drugs and alcohol to excess, the precise cause of her death has not been determined as of this writing. She was just 27 years old at the time of her passing, joining the so-called “27 Club” with other deceased musicians Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, blues legend Robert Johnson, and grunge rocker Kurt Cobain.

Because of her image as a freewheeling, hard living sort many people would assume that she did not have her financial affairs in order. The reality is that according to British newspapers she did in fact have a current estate plan in place, and it is a good thing that she did.

Amy Winehouse had an ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is imprisoned at the moment. Because of British law he may have actually been in line to inherit her assets, but because of the fact that she engaged in effective estate planning her wishes will be honored and her parents and her brother will assume ownership of her assets.

Though the Amy Winehouse case is certainly not the typical one on a number of different levels, it does shed light on the fact that younger people do pass away at times for one reason or another. Many young adults have spouses and children, and these days two incomes are usually required to maintain the standard of living is enjoyed by most families. So estate planning is something that is relevant to all adults, and if you don’t have an estate plan in place at the present time you may be leaving your loved ones in a precarious situation.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Legacy planning is going to involve a consider amount of soul-searching. Of course you’re going to want to make decisions regarding what you give to your loved ones, but you also want to consider how you give it. It is not always as easy as simply handing over a lump sum of money to everyone that you want to remember because different people are at different stages of life and have different proclivities when it comes to handling money.

You don’t want to do more harm than good by giving a loved one too much too fast, and at the same time an  inheritance with strings attached can lead to resentment. So the matter has an emotional side as well as the financial side.

Along these lines, when you’re planning your estate you are in fact planning for your death to put it bluntly. Most people would like to feel as though they were in the best possible graces as their final days approach, and to this end many are inspired to engage in philanthropic efforts when they are creating an estate plan.

One very popular and efficient way to give to charities would be to make contributions into a donor advised fund. With these funds you can recommend that multiple charities receive grants from the assets you contribute, but you can do this after making a single contribution. So you don’t have to contend with mountains of paperwork coming from various different sources if you want to support multiple charities. Plus, you get a charitable deduction for the year that you make the contribution even if you don’t make any grant recommendations until after that year has come to a close.

Contributing into a donor advised fund provides the tax advantage of removing the assets that you contribute from your estate for estate tax purposes. And, no capital gains tax is applicable to securities that you donate into a donor advised fund. To gain a more detailed understanding of how donor advised funds can fit into your overall estate plan, simply arrange for a consultation with an experienced legacy planning attorney.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.