Calling All Business Owners: Don't Forget Your Estate Plan!
If you do not have legal documents in place because you believe that you don't have a taxable estate (one whose gross value exceeds $5.43M) you are missing the point.
Like most business owners you have probably spent countless hours, energy and ideas on how to establish and grow your business. You may even be planning to sell your business and successfully retire. Amid your success do not forget that it is important to create an estate plan and re-evaluate it to make sure it still meets your needs. Don't be the shoemaker whose children are the last to wear shoes.
The importance of have legal documents in place is so that:
1. You choose who makes financial and healthcare decisions for you if you become incapacitated;
2. You avoid a court supervised guardianship which is expensive and results in loss of privacy;
3. You choose what is to be done with your business when you die;
4. You decide who inherits and how much (as well as who does not inherit);
5. You plan for future generations; and
6. You provide for the needs of a current spouse as well as children from a former marriage.
If you already have an estate plan take out the documents and see what date you signed them. You may be surprised to find that it was done many years ago and is outdated. Your estate plan needs to be updated or revised due to changes in the laws or, changes in your wealth or, life changing events (i.e. divorce, marriage, birth, death). It is a good idea to have your estate plan reviewed every two years so that you maximize benefits provided by law. There is no time like the present so schedule your consultation today and be on your way to creating peace of mind.
We want to be your trusted planning advisor through life.
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