WHAT ARE SOME ESTATE PLANNING MISTAKES TO AVOID?

Many Winter Haven and Lakeland residents ought to have an estate plan, but estate plans can be difficult for the uninitiated to draw up. There are so many mistakes that people often make in the realm of advanced estate planning. Sometimes these are due to lack of information, other times they are due to the abundance of bad information available on social media and by word of mouth. This blog post will review a few of the mistakes that some people make when they put together an estate plan.

Probably the most common estate planning mistake for many people is not having an estate plan. If you have an opinion on what should happen to your assets after your death, or if you have an opinion on what certain end-of-life decisions should be made, you should seriously consider putting together an estate plan because an estate plan could help you make your opinions a reality.

Another estate planning error is not updating an existing estate plan. New children, new grandchildren and new assets and properties are all good reasons to update an estate plan. In order for assets to be distributed according to their owner's intentions, is a good idea to update a will from time to time.

Loved ones often appreciate gifts, but did you know that giving gifts can be a great way for high-asset people to reduce the amount of federal estate taxes paid? As long as the gift stays at or below the annual exclusion amount, there will be no federal gift taxes owed on it. For 2019, this annual exclusion amount is $15,000 from each spouse to each recipient.

Rignanese & Associates is available to work with clients on their legal needs. Please reach out to us at 863.294.1114.

On behalf of Kelly Kennedy of J. Kelly Kennedy, Attorney/CPA, PLLC which has been acquired by Rignanese & Associates, PLLC.