If you are considering creating a trust as part of your estate plan, understanding the basics of a trust is important. Although all trust require a grantor, a beneficiary, a trustee and trust assets, after that they can be structured very differently depending on the main purpose of the trust. One major distinction among trusts is the revocable versus irrevocable distinction.

Not surprisingly, an irrevocable trust is one that, generally speaking, cannot be changed or revoked while a revocable trust can be changed or revoked. While it is best to think of an irrevocable trust in this way, most states do provide for the modification or termination of an irrevocable trust under certain conditions which typically require court approval.

An irrevocable trust is an inter vivos trust, meaning it goes in effect while you are still alive. One of the major advantages to an irrevocable trust is that the assets used to fund the trust become trust property once placed in the trust and are, therefore, not considered part of your estate for estate tax purposes upon your death. In addition, the trust assets may avoid the often lengthy probate process since they are not owned by you at the time of death.

Assets placed in the trust, however, may be subject to gift taxes if they exceed your lifetime exclusion amount. Another catch to an irrevocable trust is that any transfers made close to the time of death may be considered “gifts in contemplation of death” and may be included in your estate for tax purposes. As such, you should consult your Fayette County estate planning attorney before transferring assets to a trust.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are the parent of minor children, you undoubtedly wish for them to be well cared for in the event of your death. Although unlikely, tragedy can strike at any time, leaving your children without a parent and without financial support in the absence of a comprehensive estate plan.

The good news is that creating a comprehensive estate plan that will ensure the financial well-being of your minor children can be accomplished relatively easily. Although each family presents a unique set of circumstances, there are common considerations for most families with minor children.

One step that can make a significant difference in the event of your death is to convert titles and accounts to joint accounts if possible. By converting the title to real property to joint ownership, or converting a bank, retirement or investment account to a payable on death or joint account, you are able to give someone immediate access to the asset upon your death. This can be important if that person is responsible for caring for your children.

Your Last Will and Testament can accomplish numerous goals; however, the most important may be to nominate a guardian for your minor children in the event they need one. In the absence of your input on the subject, a court may have to rely on other evidence or testimony when deciding who to appoint as guardian if one is needed.

The financial aspect of your estate plan may actually be the easiest part. Assets can be passed directly to the person who will be responsible for your children through your will, or a trust can be created. A trust created by an Atlanta estate planning attorney may offer tax benefits, avoidance of probate and continued control over the money used to support your children even after you are gone.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you love your pet as you love your children, spouse or parents, then you likely wish to provide for him or her in the event of your death. From a Henry County estate planning attorneys perspective, one of the easiest ways to do that is to create a pet trust. A pet trust is relatively easy to create and offers numerous benefits that can help put your mind at ease with regard to your pet’s care in the event of your death.

A pet trust operates the same as any trust, except that the beneficiary is an animal, not a human. Because of this, you will also need to arrange for someone to have the physical, day to day, care of your pet after your death. By creating a pet trust, however, you can ensure that the person who cares for your pet will have the financial means to do so. In addition, you can designate a neutral person as trustee to ensure that the trust funds are used for the benefit of your pet.

Creating a pet trust can also offer tax advantages that simply leaving money to someone in your will does not offer. Finally, a trust also offers the potential for asset growth. By funding a trust now, the trust assets can begin to grow immediately. In the event you outlive your pet, or the trust assets perform especially well, you can designate a remainder beneficiary to receive the trust funds.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Today, remarriage as a result of divorce or the death of a former spouse is considerably more common than it was a few decades ago. Consequently, blended families have become the norm in the United States, instead of the exception to the rule. A blended family comes with a number of challenges, both emotional and financial. If you are part of a blended family, do not overlook the importance of creating an estate plan that takes this into account.

Attempting to create a harmonious blended family can be difficult even when everyone is in favor of the new family makeup. Creating an estate plan can likewise be complicated even without the added considerations that come with a blended family. Trying to develop an estate plan that adequately covers all the issues involved in a blended family without creating discord among the members of the family can seem impossible; however, it can be done and should be done as soon as possible.

Leaving your estate to be handled by the courts upon your death can create considerably more discord and confusion than dealing with the often touchy subject of estate planning while you are alive. If you fail to create an estate plan, state and federal laws will determine what happens to your assets. This could result in a situation where your ex-spouse receives your retirement benefits or your step-children receive nothing despite an agreement with your current spouse to the contrary. In addition, without a Last Will and Testament, at a bare minimum, your estate may be tied up in a probate court for months, or even years, before anyone receives anything. In order to protect your loved ones in the event of your death, take the time now to meet with your Henry County estate planning attorney to make the tough decisions required to create your estate plan.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The idea behind creating an estate plan, and specifically behind executing a Last Will and Testament, is that you have control over who receives your estate assets upon your death. Unfortunately, the terms of a will can sometimes leave a family member or loved one less than pleased. In some cases, you may know ahead of time that a will contest is likely to be filed. Even if you have no reason to believe that a will contest will be filed by someone, preparing for the possibility is still advisable.

Although state laws vary with respect to what grounds are required to uphold a will contest, many states require a petitioner to prove specific facts such as that the testator was subject to undue influence or under duress at the time the will was signed. Another common ground upon which a will contest can be filed is that the testator lacked the mental capacity required at the time the will was executed. While there is no way to ensure that a will contest will not succeed, you can take steps to make success less likely.

Witnesses often play an important role in a will contest. By having your Fayette county estate attorney draft your will, and then signing the will in front of your attorney, you have created an excellent witness to your state of mind and capacity at the time of signing. Another simple step to take is to have a thorough check-up with your regular doctor near the time of execution. Your doctor can then be called upon to testify to your general health and mental capacity at the time, if necessary.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Most people understand why an estate plan is important. Deciding who will receive what after your death is something that most people consider at some point. Planning for your own incapacity, on the other hand, is not something most Atlanta residents think to do. Incapacity planning, however, is equally as important to estate planning for a variety of reasons.

One way to illustrate why incapacity planning is so important is to explain what happens in the event your become incapacitated without a plan in place. Imagine that you are involved in a tragic accident and are lying in a coma in the hospital. If you are married, you may assume that your spouse will have access to your bank accounts, be able to make healthcare decisions for you and decide where you will live. If you are single, you may be under the impression that a parent or adult child could easily step in and take control. In most cases, this is not true. Typically, your parent, child or spouse must petition a court and be approved as your guardian or conservator. Clearly, at this point you have no say in the matter. It could be that you wanted your spouse to make decisions for you, but your parent actually petitions the court and is approved.

By creating an incapacity plan when you create your estate plan, you can eliminate the uncertainty and avoid a situation where your loved one or family member is required to become entangled in the court system in order to make decisions

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Years ago, retirement planning was relatively simple. Most Henry county residents counted on children to take care of them in their old age, supplemented by a lucrative pension plan and/or Social Security retirement benefits. Those days are gone. Today, you are lucky if you can depend on one of those options to support you when you reach your golden years. In order to ensure a comfortable old age, retirement planning should start early and involve multiple sources of support.

Unfortunately, there is not one simple plan that works for everyone; however, there are a number of common tools that are often used as part of a retirement plan. If you are lucky enough to work for an employer that offers some type of retirement plan, a careful analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of the plan is a good place to start. Social Security retirement benefits may be available as they were in the past; however, the future of the Social Security system is uncertain and should not be counted on as a source of support.

Savings and investments have become a necessary part of most retirement plans in the 21^st century. How much you need to save and how to invest those savings will depend on how much income you need to live comfortably and how much you expect to receive from other sources.

The necessary complexity of a modern day retirement plan often leads to complicated tax and estate planning issues as well. Be sure to discuss the tax liabilities associated with your retirement plan as well as how to coordinate your retirement and estate plan with your estate planning attorney.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are a Fayette county small business owner, you may have heard the term “buy-sell agreement” used before but are not familiar with precisely how one is used or why you might want to consider entering into one. At its most basic, a buy-sell agreement is a legal agreement whereby you agree to sell your interest in a small business to someone upon the occurrence of a specific event, such as your death or incapacity.

Buy-sell agreements are most often used by partners in a business or by shareholders of a closely held corporation. The purpose is to erase the uncertainty that frequently follows upon the sudden incapacity or death of a partner or shareholder. In the absence of a buy-sell agreement, your interest in the business would likely end up in a court awaiting a judge’s decision how to handle the matter. By executing a buy-sell agreement, both you and the business know what will happen in the event of your incapacity or unexpected death.

Although each buy-sell agreement is unique to the business and parties entering into the agreement, there are similarities. The terms of the agreement typically dictate a pre-determined value for your interest in the business or a mechanism for determining the current fair market value of your interest. You then agree to sell your interest to someone, generally another partner, shareholder, or the business itself, upon the occurrence of a specific event such as your incapacity or death. The buyer is then legally bound to purchase your interest if the event comes to pass.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When planning your estate, one of your concerns may be how to avoid probate. If you are unprepared, probate can hold up your assets for months, or even years, leaving your loved ones without much needed funds. One tool that may be used when planning your estate is a “pay on death” account.

At your death, probate assets are frequently put on “hold” until a probate court authorizes their release to beneficiaries or heirs. A way to avoid this delay is by converting accounts to “pay on death” accounts.

A “pay on death” account accomplishes precisely what the name implies. When you die, the account is paid out to the beneficiary designated by you when you converted the account. Because the account has been converted to a “pay on death” account, the assets are not required to be included in your estate for probate purposes. However, by avoiding the probate process you also lose the benefits drafted into your estate plan for your beneficiaries. As such, consult with your Atlanta estate planning attorney before using a “pay on death” account and don’t rely on such accounts in lieu of an estate plan.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

An advance directive for healthcare, also known as a living will or healthcare power of attorney, is a legal instrument that allows you to accomplish two important things in the event of your incapacity. First, it allows you to specify what medical treatment you wish to authorize in the event you are incapacitated. Second, it allows you to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacity. Both of these can be of vital importance at some point in your life.

Incapacity can strike at any time and for any reason. A devastating car crash, stroke or other medical emergency can leave you unconscious and unable to express your wishes. As we age, mental incapacity is also a possibility that no one wants to think about but must be faced. Although you cannot prevent the possibility of an incapacitating event, you can create a legal plan for the possibility that protects you in the event that the possibility becomes a reality.

People often mistakenly assume your spouse will legally be allowed to make healthcare decisions on your part. This is simply not the case. In the absence of a healthcare directive, a loved one may need to petition a court for the right to make those decisions. By executing a healthcare directives prior to your incapacitation, you are legally appointing that person, as well as an alternative if you choose, to make those decisions on your behalf.

Furthermore, an advance directive for healthcare allows you to specify what type of treatment you wish to authorize in the event of your incapacity. For example, you can authorize life sustaining measures such as a breathing machine or specifically indicate that you do not wish those measures to be taken. You can also decide whether or not you wish to authorize experimental treatments.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.