Estate Planning

Your estate is comprised of everything you own – your home, car, bank accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, personal possessions, and more. No matter how modest or large, everyone can benefit from estate planning to control how these things are given to the people or charities you care the most about upon your passing.

Creating a plan in advance to control our estate is important – but can fail if you do not have proper documents in place. Certain documents are crucial during your lifetime to provide decisions should you become incapacitated. Other documents ensure that your final wishes are carried out – and most likely you would like this to happen with the least amount paid in taxes, legal fees, and court costs.

Some of the most common estate planning solutions we prepare are:

Living Trust

A living trust creates an entity of which you are the trustor, trustee, and beneficiary. It is created for the lifetime management of your assets as well as direction for the division and distribution of your estate. The trust holds legal title to your assets of which you maintain full control. Different types of trusts can help avoid probate, reduce estate taxes, maintain privacy of your estate, or establish long-term property management.

Last Will & Testament

A Last Will & Testament is a document that provides all of the essential details of who will inherit your assets, when and how they will inherit it, and who is in charge of settling your affairs. Additionally if you have minor children, this will also cover who will serve as a guardian to your children until they become adults.

Power-of-Attorney

A power-of-attorney is a document that allows you to appoint an individual or organization as agent to handle your financial, healthcare, and mental healthcare affairs should you be incapacitated or unable to do so.

Living Will

A living will communicates your wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments. This document is important, as it informs your family and health care providers about such medical treatments in the event you are unable to speak for yourself.

Do I need a Will or a Trust?

The fact is, the more complex your estate is, the more your need for a proper estate plan in place. While not everyone needs a living trust, they certainly become better options as your estate grows.

A living trust supersedes a basic will in that it contains all the instructions on where you want your assets to go and it offers the trustee (you) additional benefits. Ideally if are creating a living trust, you will also have a will. There are some type of assets that cannot be owned by a trust, or there may even be assets that were accidentally never transferred into a trust; therefore having both can cover the bases of passing your estate to your loved ones.

If you’re wondering whether a living trust is appropriate for you, or if you already have one but have thought about revising it to ensure it’s complete, give us a call and we’d be happy to review your existing plan.

Will Your Estate Plan Work When You Need It?

At GCPA our ultimate goal is to help you protect a legacy you’ve spent your lifetime building. Don’t leave it all to chance by not providing a clear path to assure your assets make it to your loved ones not only by avoiding probate but also to minimize your tax liability as well. Our professionals have been assisting our clients for over 25 years throughout Arizona to build a proper plan with the use of estate planning documents.

GCPA's Five Steps to Estate Planning

Set your goals: Take time to think about, and talk through, your legacy goals; be sure to put all of your thoughts down in writing.
Identify challenges and obstacles: The earlier you can identify potential obstacles, the easier they will be to manage.
Develop a strategy: A common starting point is preparing your estate planning documents.
Communicate the strategy: It’s important you have this conversation because putting it off will likely only cause dissent and turmoil after you’re gone.
Review regularly: Your life could change drastically between the time your plan is established and the time it’s implemented so make sure your plan still aligns with your goals and needs.

Estate Planning Workshops

Come to our office and learn more about estate planning and how we can help find solutions for you. There is no cost to attend our workshops and we encourage you to take notes and ask as many questions as you’d like during our presentation. Sign up for one of our upcoming workshops today.

View Upcoming Workshops

More About Estate Planning on the Blog

Does Your Estate Plan Address End-of-Life Needs?

November 6, 2018

You probably know how important it is to have a written estate plan. Even at its simplest, an estate plan helps the courts and your loved ones determine how you want your legacy and assets distributed. Your estate plan could…

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Do You Know Who Your Beneficiaries Are?

October 3, 2018

Your beneficiary choices may need to change with the times. When did you open your first IRA? When did you buy your life insurance policy? Are you still living in the same home and working at the same job as…

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Speak to Our Estate Planning Team

Contact us for a complimentary estate planning assessment. Whether it’s to start from scratch or review your documents, there will be no cost and we will make the appropriate suggestions with your goals in mind.