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Most people don’t want to think about estate planning because they don’t want to think about their own death. Unfortunately, it’s much worse to not prepare for when you’re gone. Because it can be so hard to think about, people tend to want to rush through it as quickly as possible, doing things such as using an online program and answering a few questions and then calling it done. Unless you have a very simple estate and maybe just a single beneficiary, it’s best to not take the path of least resistance. The reality is that estate planning often becomes complicated. There are a lot of things to consider in your estate plan – here is a list of many that might apply to you:

1. The documents that you need

A. Starting with the basics, you need a will to help pass along your belongings and nonretirement assets. Retirement accounts and life insurance both have named beneficiaries and don’t go through your will, so if you change your will, it does not change these beneficiaries on retirement and insurance policies.

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The elimination of the Stretch IRA as part of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) Act is going to create big changes for wealth advisors, estate planners, and parents planning to leave behind savings in individual retirement accounts for their kids.

“For a lot of people, the bulk of their wealth has been established in their IRAs,” said Michael Repak, vice president and senior estate planner with Janney Montgomery Scott.

The Secure Act is the most comprehensive retirement bill to pass in a decade and a half, and much of it is designed to stimulate more and better options in the workplace defined contribution market.

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An important new federal law went into effect January 1, 2020 called the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement). This law will change retirement savings and estate planning options for many people. Here are a few of the changes this act puts into place that may have the greatest impact on you and your estate plan.

The SECURE Act raises the age at which individuals must begin taking required minimum distributions from their IRA, 401K, 403B, and other qualified funds from age 70 ½ up to age 72 (an exception being if you turned 70 ½ prior to Dec. 31, 2019, in which case the new rule does not apply to you and you will need to start taking distributions by April 2020 or face penalties). The new law also does away with the 70 ½ age cap on contributing to an IRA. Now you can contribute income to an IRA no matter your age.

The most significant impact the SECURE Act has on estate planning concerns the IRA Stretchout. Before this act, individuals who did not need their IRA money could pass the IRA to non-spouse beneficiaries who could then “stretch out” withdrawals based on their life expectancies. Clients could use this to create a lifetime income stream for their children. However, this can no longer be done under the new law. Instead, non-spouse beneficiaries have to withdraw all funds from an inherited qualified plan within 10 years of the death of the original owner (although there are a few exceptions, such as if the non-spouse beneficiary is disabled.) There doesn’t need to be a set withdrawal schedule – the account just has to be depleted within 10 years. Those most impacted by the income tax consequences will be non-spouse beneficiaries in their peak earning years.

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Maggie Kirchhoff, a certified financial planner with Business & Personal Finance in Denver, has been with her partner, Matt, for 13 years. The two do not plan to ever get married, and they know this means they won’t get the same automatic rights and protections that those who are legally married get, especially when it comes to death.

“A lot of spousal rights are inherent with a marriage certificate,” says Kirchhoff. “For unmarried couples, though, you have to make a concerted effort to cover all your bases.”

The number of unmarried couples who live together was at 18 million in 2016, up 29% from 14 million in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center. Among those age 50 and older, this increase was 75%: About 4 million were cohabiting in 2016, up from 2.3 million in 2007.

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For most Americans, estate planning can be complex and daunting. It might seem overwhelming and expensive, and it isn’t easy to confront one’s mortality and make the necessary decisions for it. Nevertheless, it is essential that every American have one important estate planning document: A Health Care Directive.

A health care directive is a legal document which specifies the decisions for caregivers in the event of illness or dementia as well as giving directions for end of life decisions, including how the body should be handled after death. They are sometimes also called living wills, durable health care powers of attorney, or medical directives.

The Impact of Estate Planning

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Divorces that occur in farm and ranch families present challenges that are unique and that can impact agricultural operations. The National Agricultural Law Center has published a fact sheet series that explains family law in agriculture and addresses some of these unique challenges.

“Family Law Issues in Agriculture” is a set of fact sheets addressing legal issues for families going through divorce and separation – issues such as child support, spousal maintenance, equitable distribution, and community property. It also covers nuptial agreements, estate planning concerns, and tools for alternative dispute resolution.

This series is written by Cari Rincker, the principal attorney at Rincker Law, PLLC, a nationally recognized practice that focuses on food, farm, and family law. Rincker is a trained mediator and adjunct professor at Vermont Law School and the University of Illinois School of Law.

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The financial abuse of elderly people in the United States is unfortunately a very serious problem, with more than $36 billion being stolen from elders each year according to The True Link Report on Elder Finance Abuse 2015.

The True Link study showed that seniors from all walks of life are susceptible to this type of manipulation, and a significant number of victims were younger seniors with college educations and not living in isolation. In fact, they lost more to abuse than those who were older, isolated, and less educated.

Unfortunately, the research shows that family members are the most frequent abusers of seniors. A relative might ask a widow or widower with assets for a “loan” to tide them over or invest in a new business and then fail to repay the loan (or the business fails or the investment is a scam). In cases such as these, the elder often has no recourse.

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You know you need to create a will, but you keep putting it off – it’s difficult to think about dying and about who will take care of your family after you have passed away. But if you’ve only scribbled some notes or considered which lawyer to hire, you risk dying “intestate” — without a will that could guide your loved ones and would likely save them both from family fights and from losing money.

Financial planners say getting people to stop procrastinating on estate planning can be tough. Here is advice from several of them offering their best strategies for helping clients to get this done.

Remember whom you’re doing it for

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Oftentimes, federal workers and retirees don’t bother with estate planning and think that getting a will off the internet and getting it notarized is all they need to do. However, this isn’t necessarily enough. If you are or were a career civil servant, own a house, have money in your TSP account, bank, or investments, you probably have an estate (you almost certainly do if these are true and you are also still married to your first spouse).

So what next?

A will is a very important part of an estate plan, but it is certainly not a complete estate plan on its own.

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Many people know of the stories of well known celebrities, such as Prince and Aretha Franklin, who died without a proper estate plan in place. We want to plan for a good life and retirement, but it is important to also plan for a good end of life. Here are four ways you can refine your estate plan and take steps to protect your assets and prevent unneeded stress and uncertainty for your loved ones.

1. Review Beneficiary Designations

Many accounts can pass to heirs and loved ones without having to go through the process of probate. Life insurance contracts, 401(k)s, and IRAs can be transferred through beneficiary designations, so you get to decide who you want to inherit your accounts by filing out a beneficiary form. Oftentimes you can use these forms to name successors or backup beneficiaries and even split up accounts by dollar amount or percentages between beneficiaries.

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