The Right Estate Plan for You

Here's what to consider when choosing an Estate Plan.

Most people haven't made even a simple will, to say nothing of a more comprehensive plan to avoid probate or save on estate taxes. Really no surprise-- we all have things we'd rather do.

The good news is that depending on your age, health, wealth and innate level of caution, you may not need to do much at all in the way of estate planning. And even if you do decide you need a will or a trust, you probably won't need a lawyer. Especially if you aren't born with a silver spoon or fat investment accounts, it is easy and safe to prepare most basic estate planning documents yourself. Just learn what you're doing by using good self-help materials.

The following tips are sorted into broad categories of family situation and age. But keep in mind that age is an imprecise proxy for life expectancy, which is affected by all sorts of other factors -- heavy smoking while participating in extreme sports and driving a motorcycle, for example. It's up to you to add or subtract a few years, based on your health and lifestyle.

25 and Single
What are you doing reading about estate planning? You're supposed to be clubbing until dawn. While you're here you might as well keep reading; this won't take long.

At your age, there's not much point in putting a lot of energy into estate planning. Unless your lifestyle is unusually risky or you have a serious illness, you're very unlikely to die for a long, long time.

If you're an uncommonly rich 25-year-old, you should consider a will. (Any mishap could happen to anyone.) That way you can leave your possessions to any recipient you choose -- your boyfriend/girlfriend, your favorite cause, the nephew who thinks you're totally cool. If you don't write a will, whatever you leave behind will probably go to your parents. Think about it.

Paired Up, But Not Married
If you've got a life partner but no marriage certificate, a will is almost a must-have document. Without a will, state law will dictate where your property goes after your death, and unmarried partners get nothing. Your closest relatives will inherit everything. The only exceptions are California, as of July 1, 2003 and Vermont, where surviving registered domestic partners can inherit just like surviving spouses.

Another option to make sure your partner isn't left out in the cold after your death is to own big-ticket items, such as houses and cars, together in "joint tenancy" with right of survivorship. Then, when one of you dies, the survivor will automatically own 100% of the property.

Have Young Children
Having children complicates life -- but then, you already know that. Estate planning is no exception. Here's what to think about for. Also see planning for your children faqs

First, write a will. Nothing fancy, just a document that leaves your property to whomever you choose and names a guardian for your children. The guardian will take over if both you and the other parent are unavailable. That's an unlikely situation, but one that's worth addressing just in case. If you fail to name a guardian, a court will appoint someone, possibly one of your parents.

The other big reason to write a will is that if you don't, some of your property may go not to your spouse, but directly to your children. The problem with the children inheriting directly is that the surviving parent may need to get court permission to spend or invest the money -- a waste of time and money in most families.

Second, think about buying life insurance to replace your earnings if that mishap chooses you. Term life insurance is relatively cheap, especially if you're young and don't smoke. You can shop for the best bargain online, by consulting free services that compare the rates of lots of companies.

Middle-Aged and Know the Names of at Least Three Mutual Funds
If you've made it to a comfortable time in life -- you've accumulated some material wealth and enough wisdom to know that other things matter, too -- you will probably want to take some time to reflect on what you will eventually leave behind.

But given that you may well live another 30 or 40 years, there is no need to obsess about it. Chances are your conclusions will be different in ten or 20 years, and your estate plan will change accordingly.

To save your family the cost (and hassles) of probate court proceedings after your death, think about creating a revocable living trust. It's hardly more trouble than writing a will, and lets everything go directly to your heirs after your death without taking a circuitous and expensive detour through probate court.

While you're alive, the trust has no effect, and you can revoke it or change its terms at any time. But after your death, trust property can be transferred quickly, according to the directions you left in the trust document.

There are other, even easier ways to avoid probate: You can turn any bank account into a "payable-on-death" account simply by signing a form (the bank will supply it) and naming someone to inherit whatever funds are in the account at your death. You can do the same thing, in almost every state, with securities.

If you have enough property to worry about federal estate taxes, think about tax avoidance as well. Currently, estates worth more than $1 million are taxed; that amount is scheduled to increase in future years. (The estate tax is being phased out, but its future is uncertain; see The Estate Tax Is Dead (Maybe).) If estate tax does take a bite, it can be a big one; the marginal rate tops out at 49% for the largest estates.

One way to reduce these taxes is to give away property before your death. After all, if you don't own it, it can't be taxed. Gifts larger than $11,000 per year per recipient are subject to gift tax, at the same rate as estate tax. Still, an annual gift-giving plan can reduce the size of even a big estate, especially if you have a covey of kids and grandkids. Gifts to your spouse (as long as he or she is a U.S. citizen), direct payment of tuition or medical bills and gifts to a tax-exempt organization are exempt from gift tax.

Another way to cut taxes is with trusts. Many older couples use an AB trust to leave property to each other for life, and then to their children. The surviving spouse can spend trust income and, in some circumstances, principal. An AB trust can shield up to twice the exempt amount from estate tax.

Charitable trusts, which involve making a gift to a charity and getting some payments back, can also save on both estate and income tax. There are many other complex trusts; learn about them on your own and then have an experienced estate planning lawyer draw up the documents you want.

Elderly or Ill
Now is the time to take concrete steps to definately establish an estate plan. First, the basics: Consider a probate-avoidance living trust and, if you're concerned about estate taxes, a tax-saving trust. Write a will, or update an old one.

Then, although no one wants to do it, take a minute to think about the possibility that at some time, you might become unable to handle day-to-day financial matters or make healthcare decisions. If you don't do anything to prepare for this unpleasant possibility, a judge may have to appoint someone to make these decisions for you. No one wants a court's intervention in such personal matters, but someone must have legal authority to act on your behalf.

You can choose that person yourself, and give him or her legal authority to act for you, by creating documents called durable powers of attorney. You'll need one for your financial matters and one for healthcare. You choose someone to act for you (called your agent or attorney-in-fact) and spell out his or her authority. You can even state that the document won't have any effect unless and until you become incapacitated. Once signed and notarized, it's legally valid, and your mind can be at ease.