Page 19 - Ultimate Guide to Estate Planning Third Edition_Neat

Chapter 3. What is an estate? What is a
will? What is a revocable living trust?

An estate plan is a plan you have regarding the
distribution of your “estate.” An “estate” is all
your assets, real estate, money, the proceeds
of your life insurance, annuities, retirement
accounts and all of your personal property. It
is, essentially, everything that you own plus life
insurance proceeds. The federal and state
government subscribe to this same definition of
“estate.” The federal and state governments
may tax your estate if it exceeds the estate tax
exemption.

The two most common proactive estate plan
methods are; (1) a will based plan and (2) a
revocable living trust based plan. The other
estate plan tools involve the beneficiary
designations for retirement accounts, life
insurance, and joint tenancy.

Will.
At its core, a will is a letter to the judge
explaining how you want your assets to be
disposed of upon your passing.

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