When it comes to estate planning, it’s common to focus all your time and attention on what will happen once you pass on. While this is honorable, you don’t want to overlook one key fact: you are still alive. For this reason, you need to plan for the future. You need to take a strong look at what you want to accomplish now, as well as after you hang up your work boots.
While estate planning deserves a lot of your time and energy, here is something to remember: this is also a good time to look at your retirement plan. You may soon realize that you can make a few changes here and there to ensure a better life once you reach your goal of retiring.
There may be a lot on your mind, but it’s important to prioritize your approach. This is the best way to avoid mistakes and to move forward in a confident manner.
Here are five points of estate and retirement planning that deserve your attention:
- The impact of your current situation on the future. When it comes to your money, things can and will change over time.
You need to review your current situation to ensure that you understand the finer details. From there, you can better understand how it will impact the future.
For example, you may realize that now is the best time to start paying for long term care insurance. This is something that will benefit you and your family from both an estate planning and retirement planning perspective.
- The steps you can take to enjoy life now, while still leaving something behind to your loved ones. You deserve to have a good time in retirement. You deserve to spend some money, spend time with family, and be glad that you are in such a good position.
At the same time, you want to take steps that will allow you to leave your remaining assets behind to your family.
- Tax tips. You never want to pay more taxes than you have to. If there is any way to minimize income tax while you are alive, it is important to take full advantage.
The same holds true when it comes to estate and inheritance taxes upon your death. You aren’t the one paying these taxes, as you have already passed on. The last thing you want to do is leave your family in a poor position. The less they owe in taxes the more they will receive from your estate.
- Your situation will change. Imagine this: you tackle estate planning for the first time in your 30’s. It is good to get an early jump on this. However, you can expect your situation to change over time.
As you get older, your estate and retirement plans may need adjusted. This is why you should review both on a regular basis. You don’t want to assume that the first plan you put into effect is the one that you can rely on until the day you die.
- Professional help is a good thing. You may believe you can do everything on your own, but there is a good chance you will overlook an important detail.
There are many professionals who can assist you with estate and retirement planning. For example, an estate planning attorney can point you in the right direction while helping you create an estate plan that suits the needs of you and your family. Along with this, a tax professional, can answer questions and address concerns regarding income, estate, and inheritance taxes.
Are you unsure of why now is the best time to create an estate plan? If so, you are in the same position as many others. It’s easy to say you will do this in the future, but you can only put it off so long.
For those who need a push in the right direction, download our free report entitled “Fifteen Common Reasons To Do Estate Planning.” Once you better understand why estate planning is important, it won’t be long before you are taking steps in the right direction. Soon enough, you will feel better about the future.
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