More about Estate Planning
Flexibility, clarity and certainty are important
What is estate planning?
Estate planning concerns the transfer, inheritance and donation of assets. The planning focuses on your estate, saving taxes and preserving assets, leaving more for future generations to enjoy.
Estate planning is part of civil law, which consists of several areas, namely: Family law, inheritance law and also tax law, which has different areas with influences on planning. Of course, cross-subject issues are the most complex.
Good estate planning is not only about tax law, on the contrary! The most tax-efficient form of inheritance of an estate is important, but you also have to look at the goals of the family, such as supporting the children, a donation to a charity, or a study for the grand- or great-grandchildren. In this way you keep the family wealth and you can offer your offspring a good future. It appears that tax aspects often are predominate, in our opinion this is a form of professional deformation. In many cases it is wrongly assumed that the client is only concerned with minimizing gift and inheritance taxes.
During the process, answers can be given to the following questions:
"How can I make sure that?":
- The surviving spouse is left well cared for;
- There are safeguards so that the (family) business can continue to exist should you or your partner die unexpectedly;
- The family members know who is aware of the most important wishes and where the papers are (think of the: notary, accountant, tax advisor and the bank);
- What is included in my will is also carried out;
- For example, a holiday home is inherited in the same way as my other assets, or not;
- For example, only one of my nephews or nieces inherits.
- It is known that my will may be opened before death.
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"Money Talks, Bullshit Walks"
- Thomas Langerwerf
When is estate planning important?
Estate planning can be interesting during one of the following actions:
- When you start, sell or restructure a business;
- If you want to make a donation;
- When you want to draw up a will;
- If you start living together, getting married or divorced;
- When emigrating or buying real estate abroad;
- If you receive an inheritance or will receive one in the future.
Different estate planning techniques exist within the various elements. For example, under circumstances with the correct prenuptial agreement, the capital to be taxed for inheritance tax can be halved. Also, endowment programs can do wonders for inheritance tax.
Why is estate planning important?
The reasons why estate planning is important are as follows:
- It will help you decide who will inherit your assets
- It will help you override your pre-written will
- It will make sure that your heirs don't overpay in federal estate taxes
- It protects you from unforeseen creditors
- It allows someone to make healthcare decisions for you
- It keeps your assets in the family if your spouse remarries
Estate planning prevents stress
The death of a parent often causes an emotionally difficult period. Properly arranging what to do when it happens takes some of the pressure off the heirs. If nothing is planned, discussions about what the deceased would have wanted can arise.
Designating an executor and planning in advance can prevent future disagreements.
Who is estate planning for?
It is often thought that you must be wealthy to benefit from such planning. However, this is not the case, because everyone should ask themselves (and then establish) who should inherit what. The question is whether the legal inheritance law (which applies when there is no will) is fiscally attractive. The more complex the financial structure or the greater the capital, the greater the importance of estate planning.
How does estate planning work?
Family First 'plants' on the basis of the 'disk of five'. If you check off the parts on this disk, the estate planning advice is a fact. The disk has the following civil and tax law elements:
- Prenuptial agreements;
- Donations;
- Inheritance law;
- Life insurance and pension;
- International right.
How do we help with estate planning?
The challenge for us as estate planners is to make the subject negotiable. The challenge for the client is to articulate his wishes in the civil law and perhaps also the tax area. In our experience, there is a tendency to postpone the difficult issues, which means that there is a good chance that people will die before things are properly arranged. When we guide you, we draw up the estate plan together with you. So you are sure about the future.
