Wills and Estate Planning

Estate Planning for Your Long Term Needs

Comprehensive estate planning may consist of a team of professionals such as specialized attorneys and a financial planner to help you with many estate planning and long-term care concerns.

Estate Planning Basics: Planning Ahead for Long Term Needs

There are two common elements lacking in the estate planning process regarding long term needs. The first is not planning ahead for an orderly distribution of your assets when you die, and the second is failing to leave instructions for family members as to what to do when you can no longer manage your own affairs.

Estate planning from a qualified estate planning attorney can help provide you with the written documentation to ensure that your assets and property will be transferred over to the next generation according to your wishes. With wills and living trusts, you can plan ahead for concerns surrounding everything from estate planning taxes, income taxes, real estate capital gains, business succession, and even an unexpected illness or disability. Because life often throws us curves and because we're all living longer, it's important to plan ahead.

Estate planning for the long haul

Today's estate planners understand the need to become more involved in the planning process for the long term. Recognizing this need, a qualified estate planning attorney will typically work with other professionals who can provide you with a complete and comprehensive plan that includes long term care and end-of-life issues. This “team” may include more than one specialized attorney, a care manager and/or a financial planner. Together, they can help you with a multitude of estate planning concerns such as:

  • Tax advice regarding your estate
  • Probate services
  • Designing charitable gifting programs
  • Drawing up powers of attorney and other health consent documents
  • Drawing up wills and trusts
  • Creating trusts or partnership programs to save on estate and/or gift taxes
  • Designing charitable gifting programs
  • Options to help pay for estate taxes

Estate planning encompasses many different elements. Be sure that the professional(s) you work with to design your individual plan, consider planning ahead for all of your long term needs.

For more information on estate planning, visit the Protective Learning Center.

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All Learning Center articles are general summaries that can be used when considering your financial future at various life stages. The information presented is for educational purposes and is meant to supplement other information specific to your situation. It is not intended as investment advice and does not necessarily represent the opinion of Protective Life or its subsidiaries.

Learning Center articles may describe services and financial products not offered by Protective Life or its subsidiaries. Descriptions of financial products contained in Learning Center articles are not intended to represent those offered by Protective Life or its subsidiaries.

Neither Protective Life nor its representatives offer legal or tax advice. We encourage you to consult with your financial adviser and legal or tax adviser regarding your individual situations before making investment, social security, retirement planning, and tax-related decisions. For information about Protective Life and its products and services, visit www.protective.com.

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