Plan with a Purpose: Does Your Estate Plan Need a Check-up?

This presentation was given at Holland Hospital on estate and legacy planning. It covered why estate planning is important to people of all ages, how an estate plan carries out someone's legal wishes as well as avoiding the cost and stress of probate court, and various planning options to leave a charitable legacy.

1. Plan with a Purpose: Does Your Estate Plan Need a Check-up? P. Haans Mulder, JD, MST, MBA, CAP ® , CFP ® Cunningham Dalman, P.C. [email protected] [phone] Serving West Michigan since 1900

2. Overview Estate planning is important for all ages Estate planning carries out your wishes and avoids unnecessary cost as well as stress Estate planning allows you to leave a legacy Serving West Michigan since 1900

3. Important for All Ages If you’re elderly and/or have health issues, estate planning allows the people you’ve designated to step in at the appropriate time and avoid the stress and cost of probate court It could also protect your assets from a Medicaid spenddown Serving West Michigan since 1900

4. Important for All Ages If you have grown children, estate planning allows you to designate what child(ren) will make your financial and health care decisions You determine how to divide the assets among your children and/or the charitable organizations you support Serving West Michigan since 1900

5. Important for All Ages If you have minor children, estate planning allows you to designate who will have guardianship over your children You decide when your children will be financial mature enough to receive their inheritance Serving West Michigan since 1900

6. Important for All Ages If you don’t have children, estate planning allows you to appoint the people you trust to make your financial and health care decisions You decide how to divide the assets among the people who are closest to you and/or the organizations you support Serving West Michigan since 1900

7. Carries Out Your Wishes In your will, you ( not Michigan’s intestacy laws) determine who will handle the process of liquidating your assets and distributing them You ( not Michigan’s intestacy laws) decide how your assets will be divided among your beneficiaries Serving West Michigan since 1900

8. Carries Out Your Wishes In your financial power of attorney, you ( not the probate court) decide who will make financial decisions for you can’t You decide what financial authority to give your power of attorney (i.e. gifting, etc.) Serving West Michigan since 1900

9. Carries Out Your Wishes In your health care power of attorney/advanced directive, you ( not the probate court) decide who will make health care decisions when you’re no longer legally capable You express end-of-life care wishes and who makes those decisions Serving West Michigan since 1900

10. Carries Out Your Wishes If you create a trust, it can allow an inheritance to be held for a particular purpose (i.e. the beneficiary is a minor, on Medicaid/SSI and can’t inherit assets, struggles with addictions, etc.) The inheritance can be protected against a beneficiary’s divorce Serving West Michigan since 1900

11. Avoids Stress and Cost If you have powers of attorney, your financial and health care decision makers won’t have to go to probate court and establish a conservatorship and/or guardianship This avoids stress during a difficult time and unnecessary cost Serving West Michigan since 1900

12. Avoids Stress and Cost If you have a living trust and fund your trust, your trustee won’t have to go through a probate process on your passing This avoids worsening family dynamics, shortens the time to handle the administration process, and unnecessary expense Serving West Michigan since 1900

13. Leave a Legacy Estate planning gives you the opportunity to financially support organizations that improve the health of your community and/or impactful causes It may minimize the income or estate tax burden on your beneficiaries Serving West Michigan since 1900

14. Leave a Legacy You can do it in a number of ways You can name an organization as a beneficiary on an assets (i.e. IRA or life insurance policy) You can name an organization as a beneficiary in your last will and testament or living trust Serving West Michigan since 1900

15. Leave a Legacy The way you name an organization can lessen the income tax burden on your beneficiaries (i.e. leave a portion of taxable asset like an IRA to charity) If you have a large estate, it can minimize or avoid estate taxes Serving West Michigan since 1900

16. Thank You! P. Haans Mulder, JD, MST, MBA, CAP ® , CFP ® Cunningham Dalman, P.C. [email protected] [phone] Serving West Michigan since 1900