After you've considered the individuals in your life you hope will inherit your legacy, one of the next most important steps you can take is to list all of your assets and understand the different methods through which they can be passed to your beneficiaries. Start by making a list of all of your assets that include valuable possessions, businesses, real estate and financial accounts.
Some of the most common types of assets can be passed through your will but others will be superseded by beneficiary designation forms. In order to think about the different types of assets currently in your estate, consider these popular assets:
· Investment accounts, which must have transfer on death designations kept up to date.
· Retirement accounts. Important issues to consider here include taxation and timing of distributions.
· Bank and cash accounts, which might require additional planning to minimize tax impacts.
· Business succession planning.
· Real estate and other key valuables.
Your experienced estate planning lawyer can help you to ensure that you have incorporated all of these assets into your overall estate planning inventory and made specific plans for each one based on your individual intentions as well as strategies that are applicable at the state and federal level. Digital assets or cryptocurrency might also be part of your estate, so don’t neglect them when you’re making your big inventory. These should have an associated transfer plan, too.
For more information about how to make use of your inventory list, schedule a consultation today with a Michigan estate planning lawyer.
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